USA - Blazers' Oden will take summer break

From: www.theolympian.com
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PORTLAND - Top draft pick Greg Oden needs to have his tonsils removed and is expected to miss the rest of the Portland Trail Blazers' summer league games.

After he tapes the ESPY awards in Los Angeles, he will undergo a tonsillectomy Saturday, at the Vancouver Clinic in nearby Vancouver, Wash., the team said.

Recovery time is expected to be two to three weeks.

"Greg felt that this was the right decision to make in the interests of his health, and we support that decision 100 percent," Trail Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard said. "The sooner he gets the procedure done, the sooner he can get back on the court at full strength."

Oden, a 7-foot center who played one season at Ohio State, was the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.

In his summer league debut, Oden scored six points and had two rebounds before leaving with 10 fouls, the maximum allowed in the summer league. The Blazers lost 74-66 to the Boston Celtics.

In his second game against Dallas, a fatigued Oden finished with 13 points, five rebounds and nine fouls. The Mavericks won 72-68.

Oden will miss Sunday's matchup with Seattle that would have pitted him against No. 2 pick Kevin Durant.

"They'll make more money during the regular season," Oden jokingly said earlier this week.

Oden will also miss the U.S. Senior National Team's minicamp July 20-22 in Las Vegas. He is invited to train with the Americans in August before the FIBA Americas tournament if he has recovered.

That would give him extra time with Portland coach Nate McMillan, who is an assistant under U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski.

n JAMES TO MAKE COMEDY DEBUT: Sports fans know LeBron James can dunk. They'll find out what kind of comedy chops the Cleveland Cavaliers star has on the ESPY Awards.

The 22-year-old NBA star and late-night host Jimmy Kimmel are co-hosting the annual show honoring the year's best sports moments tonight at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre. It airs on ESPN at 6 p.m. Sunday.

"I'm not really a comedian," James said after rehearsals Tuesday. "I'm just a funny person. All my stuff is kind of on the fly. I'm all about doing things that are unexpected."

James will be the second athlete to host the show, joining seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, who did a ribald monologue last year.

"I know how far I can go with things," James said. "I'm not that type of guy to single out anybody. I'm a team player."

Kimmel made no such promises.

"I'm not really looking to mock anybody, but there are certain things that have to be addressed and I will," he said. "Hopefully, (Barry) Bonds will show up and Kobe Bryant."

Kimmel said the sight of him and the 6-foot-8 James on stage will remind viewers of "Twins" co-stars Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

"A lot of athletes are guarded and they learn to speak in cliches and they learn how to never say anything," Kimmel said about James. "He doesn't seem too worried about embarrassing himself."

The 39-year-old comedian said James has "a little surprise performance" planned.

James wouldn't provide details, but said, "It's not basketball. It's not bashful, either."