[Buckskin86]

ODEN ENJOYING 'VACATION': @ A familiar sight on the Blazers long seven-game road trip has been injured center Greg Oden, who continues his rehab from microfracture surgery.

The 7-footer has been watching from the bench, usually bespectacled and wearing a dapper suit.

In a Podcast posted on the team's official Web site, Oden says he's been having fun traveling with his teammates. "I'm in a great position, I hate to say it, but I've got a year's vacation," he joked. But he added more seriously: "It's good. It's a great learning experience for me to be here and see the things that I'm seeing, and just witnessing and learning without having to play."

Oden turned 20 this week. He was the top pick in last year's draft, after playing a season at Ohio State.

His rookie season ended before it even started, however, when he had surgery on his right knee.

AP Wire - Oregon | kgw.com | News for Oregon and SW Washington