Starting the day the Greg Oden way

It's just about time we all took a step back and acknowledged what's so glaringly obvious: Greg Oden took a shitload of something.

(By the way, this isn't some slam on Ohio State--I've got nothing but love for the OSU basketball team. Shit, I wish Oden and his 40-year-old HGH-using head was a Hawkeye.)

I don't know whose head is more of a dead giveaway: Oden or Barry Bonds. Barry's safe for now, but just wait 'till Oden starts going gray at 21.

Look at that picture. Everyone knows 18- and 19-year-olds just don't look like that--especially ones who are, let's say, 7'0", 280, and as fleet afoot as centers who are 60 pounds lighter.

If he has stopped taking anything now, he's pretty much in the clear. Not "above public reproach" clear--more like "Barry Bonds" clear. As in, "We all know what you did, but you got away with it, so thanks for ruining it for the rest of us." He's still, in all likelihood, going to start breaking down physically a lot earlier than his peers. It's doubtful he'll be contributing in any significant way once he hits, say, 29 or 30.

Do you suppose any NBA GM's are going to come out and say any of this? Will they keep it private and just quietly move him down their draft list? Or are we looking at the next #1 pick who can't fulfill his potential?

It's a shame, too. He plays center defensively as well as any 18-year-old I've ever seen. He's, above all else, a really fucking good basketball player. I just wonder how much of it is due to growth hormones or other performance enhancers--and I wonder how long it'll be before it catches up to him and his body.