Apparently, Greg Oden's exploratory knee surgery procedure found something alarming enough to announce the potentially franchise-saving center will miss his first year in the NBA. Of course, there could be no happier news to deliver to a Portland Trail Blazer franchise seeking to crawl out of a few years of obscurity and turmoil.

During the much-publicized procedure, doctors found the 7-0, 250 pound center had some cartilage damage. In order to repair his knee, microfracture surgery was performed on Oden's knee. Over at the Trail Blazers' site, team doctors had this to say:

"Greg had an arthroscopy and a micro fracture surgery today," said team physician Dr. Don Roberts, who preformed the surgery. "He was found to have articular cartilage damage in his right knee. The area of injury was not large and we were able to treat it with micro fracture, which stimulates the growth of cartilage. There are things about this that are positive for Greg. First of all he is young. The area where the damage was is small and the rest of his knee looked normal. All those are good signs for a complete recovery from micro fracture surgery."

While it's hard for Blazer fans to find many positives out of today's news, it should be noted just how successful Amare Stoudamire's return from a similar procedure has been. Besides, it's not like their cupboard is completely bare. The presence of Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge and Channing Frye should go a long way salving the wound until Oden returns.

In fact, the idea of having a healthy Oden joining this already-talented nucleus should be just enough to talk the most ardent Blazer fan down... or at least I'm hoping so.

Get well, Greg. The NBA and the Blazers need you.