Fast Break

NBA

Oden will miss rookie season

Greg Oden’s rookie season with the Portland Trail Blazers ended before it started when the 7-footer had knee surgery Thursday.

The top pick in the June draft went in for an exploratory procedure on his right knee and ended up having microfracture surgery, which means he will sit out the season.

“Greg looked at me as he was coming out of his surgery, and he and his mom, Zoe, probably said ‘sorry’ 20 times,” Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard said.

“I could feel the weight of the world on his shoulders. And as a leader and as leaders of this organization, my first thought was how lucky we were to have a guy that cares about the organization that much.”

Dr. Don Roberts performed the surgery to repair the damage, which Pritchard described as the size of a fingertip.

Oden is expected to be on crutches for up to eight weeks. Full recovery likely will take six to 12 months, the team said.

“At this point in time, we don’t see him coming back this season,” Pritchard said.

Auto racing

McLaren F1 team fined $100 million

The McLaren team was fined $100 million and stripped of its points in the constructors’ standings in the spying scandal that has rocked the sport.

McLaren, which leads the current drivers’ and constructors’ standings, was punished by the World Motor Sports Council for allegedly using leaked secret technical documents belonging to F1 rival Ferrari.

Team drivers Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, currently 1-2 in the championship standings, were not punished and can continue to compete for the season title.

“Ferrari is satisfied that the truth has now emerged,” the Italian team said in a statement.

The $100 million penalty includes McLaren’s expected loss of income, and McLaren still could be penalized for the 2008 championship, FIA said in a statement after a hearing.

“We have never denied that the information from Ferrari was in the personal possession of one of our employees at his home,” McLaren team chief Ron Dennis said. “The issue is: Was this information used by McLaren? This is not the case and has not been proven today.”

McLaren escaped the harshest possible penalty, as FIA could have kicked the team and its drivers out of the 2007 and 2008 championships.