Recovering from serious knee surgery and with his Portland Trailblazers out of the race for the playoffs, Greg Oden did the sensible thing, and played pickup basketball earlier this week at a Portland gym.

How do we know this? From a post on BaseketballForum.com. Lest you think it’s isn’t true, the Blazers apparently were alerted to the internet rumor, and it turned out to be correct.

Now Greg Oden is, as you might expect, in some hot water with the team. Read more…

PORTLAND OREGONIAN badass (we mean that in a complimentary way) John Canzano has a piece today on why he wants Portland Trailblazer Darius … Miles Out Of Town.

Canzano makes a fine case on why dead weight-Darius should retire. But more interesting is Canzano detailing Miles’ recent visit to a local strip club - with Oregon QB Dennis Dixon. Read more…

Greg Oden is glad the Portland Blazers are doing so well this season. He just wishes he was in on the fun.

(Where’s Waldo?: The Greg Oden Edition)

(Hint: He’s not suited up.)

The ASSOCIATED PRESS reports that the NBA’s #1 pick is disappointed he’s not taking part in his team’s blazing play, as they’ve won 18 of their last 21 games.

“I would just like to be out there to be able to say, ‘You know what, I’m out here, I’m working hard and I’m helping these guys win.’”

Despite sitting out his rookie season with a knee injury, Oden says he’s already learned a lot just by being on the NBA sidelines:

“It’s really helping me with my confidence. Just being able to watch these guys play, see them play and see them miss shots. When you watch them on TV, you’d think they never miss. Just being around the guys night in and night out, you just feel more comfortable that when I come in next year, I’m going to be ready to play against them.”

The Blazers could have used his confidence - and the rest of him - on Wednesday night, as Portland lost to the Celtics, 100-90.