Greg Oden joins Republican party

After undergoing his second major knee surgery in three years, Portland Trail Blazers centre Greg Oden has decided to leave his injury-riddled basketball career behind and join the Republican party. The former number one pick said he didn’t know what to do with his life until Massachusetts senator-elect Scott Brown inspired him to enter the political arena.

“When I fractured my patella in December I knew my basketball career was over,” explained Oden. “I needed to find something else to do with my life, but it wasn’t until Scott Brown won Ted Kennedy’s old Senate seat that I knew what that something was.”

At that moment Oden began furiously uploading naked pictures of himself on to the Internet.

“I had to show Republicans that I was a viable candidate,” said Oden. “If it worked for Scott, I knew it could work for me.”

And work it has. After carefully examining each image, a Republic brain trust consisting of former vice-president Dick Cheney, radio personality Rush Limbaugh and former Idaho senator Larry Craig has decided that Oden has “the right stuff” to win the Oregon senatorial seat from democratic incumbent Ron Wyden.

“We thought Scott looked nice in his photo spread,” said Craig, “but considering what Oden has between his legs, we feel he can go all the way to the White House.”

California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger agreed. “Oden is next logical step for our party,” said the former bodybuilder. “This is the kind of thing that fires up our voting base.”

Click here to see Oden’s man parts (not work appropriate).