It wasn't even a battle; the Vikings were brutalized by the Jayhawks. As much as I knew it was coming, I hoped Portland State would prevail. Realistically there wasn't a chance – Which is why I had Kansas beating Portland State in the first round. Actually, I have Kansas going all the way on my bracket (smart or not – who knows), but I wouldn't have minded if my picks were shattered by the Vikings.

I guess its time for PSU to follow the Yellow Brick Road back to Stott Center. Now let's see how the Ducks fair up – Quack, Quack!

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Austrian skier Mattias Lanzinger crashed into a World Cup Super G while skiing in Norway recently, and had a terrible accident which eventually called for an amputation of his leg. Reports and a personal blog by a member in his camp state that the amputation could have been avoided, had a helicopter been on site to fly him out of the mountains.

A helicopter not being there caused him to wait for hours, only to experience massive swelling and cutoff of blood to his lower leg. Though it's already been expressed â€" I can't believe how an obvious thing like having a helicopter on site wasn't included in the skiing competition's safety measures.

Check out the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V28GKbLN3pE

My knee has been in pain recently due to Patellofemoral Syndrome (Runner's Knee), and it pisses me off that my running ability is slowly weakening. I can't begin to imagine what I'd do if my leg was amputated.

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It's become a regular notion for sports fanatics to converse about media-driven athletes, that they often forget to touch up on other athletes who remain less visible. With constant press about HGH intake, match-fixing and dog fighting from one person to another, people clump all athletes onto the same pedestal – One that is less humane from the average person's. In doing this, we treat athlete scandals as an everyday thing and forget about other athletes participating in "humane" activities.

I'm no exception to this – Which is why I was astonished when I stumbled upon Greg Oden's personal blog last week. I know – I'm a little late in the game in finding his blog since he's been writing for some time now. But I was amazed by some of the actions and words that transcended through his blog.

Being PARADE's High School Player of the Year, Gatorade's national Boys Basketball Player of the Year (for two consecutive years), inducted into the Associated Press All-American team and finishing as the number one draft pick in the NBA, one would think his words would come arrogant. In contrary, his thoughts have been very humble.

What struck me first was his blog about January 27th – A day he would never forget. Oden incorporated all his emotions into this piece and by the end of it I was feeling his pain. It's not everyday that you read a personal note from one of your favorite athletes, in which he converses about crying and speaking to his male best friend regularly on the phone – And still think he is as masculine as before. The death of his friend may have buffered "non-masculine" words, but it still caused me to have greater respect for him knowing that he pains too (or that he's down to earth).

I then read his next blog titled "Road Trip", in which he apologized to his fans for not blogging regularly. He hasn't only been writing for himself, or for press, but he's been writing for his fans – To develop a relationship with him. He just seems to be a very respectful person.

Lastly, what got me to write "An Ode for Oden" was his commentary on the conversation he had with presidential candidate Barack Obama. He put himself in the position of a fan – He was nervous and studied Obama's campaign before connecting with him. These are things I would probably do if I was getting ready to speak with Oden one-on-one. I guess in the same sense Greg Oden was surprised to see that Obama is "human", I too was surprised.

Either Greg Oden is truly a humble athlete or the NBA fame just hasn't gotten to him – Whatever it may be, for now an ode for Oden remains.

GO BLAZERS! RIP CITY!

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The rivalry between Los Angeles and Phoenix became more intense with the recent trades which brought Pau Gasol and Shaquille O'Neal out west. It's evident that Gasol didn't need much coaching to adjust as a Laker. Not only did he win his first game in the gold and purple uniform, but the Lakers are 7-1 with him. Shaq on the other hand has some work to do. After Wednesday night's showdown between the two teams in Phoenix, fans realized the Lakers are taking over the Pacific.

"Give me four or five days to really get in tune and I'll get it," stated O'Neal. But even after four or five days of rigorous training with the Suns, will he be able to pace himself to their speed? Shaq is a great player and an even better citizen (as we've all seen from his honorary police work and reality television sitcom benefiting obese youth), but I don't know if he's still in his prime to match up to other centers in the league. During Wednesday's game, he was tumbling all over place.

There's no doubt that he'll be an icon next to Nash, bringing in heeps of fans ? But once Kobe's pinky heals and Andrew Bynum returns to the playing field, it may be too late to clinch the division title.

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Following Andy Pettitte on the list of athletes taking HGH, comes a very familiar face to all – One baseball and non-baseball fans have heard of. Alex Rodriquez, an 11-time All-Star and New York Yankee, was put on blast by the media for exaggeratedly stating that he was tested 9 to 10 times last year for steroid intake.

After the statement was made, there were assumptions that the only reason he would need to be tested multiple times was if one or more of his initial tests came out positive. A-Rod later mentioned through a Yankee spokesman that his quote was taken literally and he was exaggerating to make a point.

"My intent was simply to shed light on the fact that the current program being implemented is working, and a reason for that is through frequent testing. I apologize for any confusion I may have caused," stated A-Rod. Despite his attempt for clarification, Rodriquez continues to fight for privacy from the media on various issues.

My personal opinion: You can check him off on the list next to Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds. We've long passed the days of Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle, when talent was pure. It's not to say that today's athletes have lost pure love for the sport – But honestly, if I was offered a 10-year, $275 million contract as A-Rod's, I too would indulge in something.

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WOW – Imagine proposing to someone you love in front of 20,000 (18,300 to be exact) people and getting rejected.

Now watch it on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MN0eAGmMOU (If this link doesn't work, search it)

A poor sap watching the Houston Rockets game with his girlfriend proposed at halftime, only to be rejected. It's not clear what was said to him, but one can assume it was "definitely, maybe not".

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You have to admit it, whether or not Patrick Ewing and Hakeem Olajuwon are remembered as NBA players in the midst of Kobe Bryant and Lebron James - They are legends to many.

Patrick served as a beast (physical appearance and emotional mindset) for the Knicks during the late 80's and 90's and Hakeem was a defensive asset for the Rockets around the same time period. For those who don't remember, The Knicks and Rockets played against each other in the 1994 NBA finals which would have gone to New York - If it wasn't for Hakeem's shot block on then superstar John Sparks late in the 6th game. Unfortunately, Patrick Ewing never earned an NBA championship ring, but did serve as a two-time gold medalist at the Olympics.

I have to say though, the fact that both him and Hakeem are on the list of finalists for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is honorable.

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