Wizards' Gilbert Arenas receives sentence for gun incident

On Friday, Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas received his sentencing for December 2009's gun incident in the locker room. According to the sentence handed out by DC Superior Court Judge Robert E. Morin, Arenas will serve one month in a halfway house, perform 400 hours of community service and pay a $5,000 fine.

The gun incident occurred in the Verizon Center locker room back on December 21. A dispute had arisen between Arenas and teammate Javaris Crittenton over a gambling debt worth just a few hundred dollars. Arenas brought several handguns into the team's locker room, laid them out near Javaris' locker along with a sign that said "PICK 1".

Due to the incident, Arenas was suspended by the league for the entire season to set a strong precedent for this situation. At his sentencing, Arenas apologized and said he wakes up daily wishing this never happened. In another recent pro sports gun incident, NFL star Plaxico Burress of the New York Giants was carrying an illegal firearm in his pants, when the gun went off and shot him in the leg. The NFL wide receiver was sentenced to 2 years in prison due to NY's gun laws. Some people, including the prosecutors in the Arenas case feel he got off lightly, avoiding any major jail time.

Read more about Arenas' sentencing here at ESPN.com

Cavs get Jamison & Celts Knicks Nate Robinson trade

Two teams who made moves on Wednesday were the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers. Boston's move which was rumored earlier Wednesday afternoon has the Celtics sending Eddie House to the New York Knicks in exchange for the 2010 Slam Dunk champion Nate Robinson. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers didn't get Ama're Stoudemire as they'd initially hoped, but most likely got the second best option available in terms of a versatile power forward, with Antawn Jamison. The Jamison trade is a 3-team affair which involves the LA Clippers in addition to the Cavs and Wizards.

For the Antawn Jamison deal, Cleveland will also pick up guard Sebastian Telfair. The Clippers get Drew Gooden, while the Wizards receive Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Al Thornton, Brian Skinner and a Cavs first-round pick.

The Celtics trade is a bit peculiar as Boston is looking to be a serious competitor in the 2010 Playoffs and return to their glory of two years ago with a trip to the Finals. Eddie House was an integral part in their championship team providing scoring ability from off the bench. It's possible the trade for Robinson could be part of a multi-team deal which also involves Ray Allen or other members of the team. The Wizards appear to be in complete rebuild mode now after trading away Caron Butler to the Dallas Mavericks and now Antawn Jamison. Their only legit superstar remaining is Gilbert Arenas who is currently suspended for the remainder of the season due to the gunplay incident involving teammate Javaris Crittendon. It's questionable if the Wizards will hold onto Arenas following his suspensions or seek to free up more salary space.

With the NBA trade deadline looming for Thursday, Ama're Stoudemire is still the big name out there that several teams are looking to acquire. Stay tuned!

Wizards Mavs 7-player trade swaps Howard & Butler

The city of Dallas is looking ahead to the 2010 All-Star game to be played Sunday, but meanwhile the Mavericks swung a trade Saturday while not many were looking. It was speculated that Caron Butler would be dealt from the Wizards and he was on Saturday. Dallas traded away Dwight Gooden and Josh Howard as well as two other players in exchange for Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood, DeShawn Stevenson and cash. The Mavs are looking to build up momentum for their 2010 playoff run by bringing in Butler, who president of operations Donnie Nelson calls a good fit for their team. He also admitted it was a tough decision to give up Howard, but said you've got to "give quality to get quality".

The Wizards meanwhile are hurting with a record of 17-33 and low expectations since losing Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton for the season following their gun incident in the locker room. The team president expressed their needs in the current season:

"We're all disappointed in how our season has gone. We need some freshness and we're getting proven players who will help us, and it gives us some flexibility down the road," Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld said. "We want to remain competitive and maybe this group can provide a spark. The group had gotten stale, and we needed a change." (NBA.com)

Also involved in the deal were James Singleton and Quinton Ross who the Wizards acquired. This marks the 8th new team for Drew Gooden who is becoming a journeyman of sorts, while Howard has spent all his career since 2003 in Dallas. The Mavs will now acquire the additional skills of Butler who is averaging about 17 points and 7 rebounds per game, while Haywood was averaging around 10 rebounds a game.

There may be more moves in the days ahead, as the NBA Trade deadline officially hits on February 18, 2010.

Read more about today's trade at NBA.com

Papa Johns Says Sorry to Lebron

Papa John's Pizza recently issued an apology to NBA star Lebron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers. The store had made T-shirts which pictured Lebron James' number with the word "crybaby" printed beneath it. The shirts were created so Washington fans could taunt the young star. Wizards center Brendan Hayood had called James a crybaby during the series after Lebron complained over hard fouls.

In order to make up for the incident, Papa Johns is giving back to the people of Cleveland, through a donation of $10,000 to the Cavaliers Youth Fund. Also, this Thursday, a large one-topping pizza will cost just 23 cents out of respect to King James' number. Stop by Papa Johns if you're a Cleveland resident.

Now that's a great deal, but will it be a victory meal or comfort food after the Cavs face the Celtics?

Source: SeattlePI.com.

Wizards & Celtics Win, Avery Gets Axe

Despite losing guard Gilbert Arenas for the remainder of their postseason, the Washington Wizards pulled off a thrilling 1 point win over Cleveland Wednesday night. Caron Butler was the hero as he scored on a layup with 3.9 to go. Lebron couldn't deliver on a layup on the other end, Wizards win 88-87. Without Arenas though, it will be tough for the Wizards against the Cavs. According to Associated Press, Arenas felt a pinched nerve in his knee and consulted with team doctors about not playing the rest of the season:

Arenas missed 66 games during the regular season and an MRI taken before Game 3 revealed that his surgically repaired left knee has a bone bruise and a pinched nerve.

"This nerve pinch, it just came out of the blue," Arenas said. "The swelling and the achiness — I can play through that — but the nerve pain where each step feels like you're hitting my funny bone, eventually, that was wearing and tearing. It's not going anywhere."

Read more about Arenas' injury here.

The Celtics and Hawks resumed Game 5 of their deadlocked 2-2 series. The game held in Boston, saw the Celts jump out to a double digit lead in the 2nd quarter. The Hawks went on a brief run in the 3rd, but it was short lived. The Celtics' defense which had been lacking in the past few contests showed up this time to hold off the Hawks. Celtics win 110-85 behind 22 from KG, 20 from Pierce and 19 from Ray Allen. Game 6 is Friday at 8PM in Atlanta, and the home team has been yet to lose in this series.

In other news, as the Mavs lose, they also lose their head coach. Avery Johnson was given the axe on Wednesday after another disappointing first round playoff loss for Dallas. The coach is usually the first place most GM's go after when teams don't live up to expectations. Avery may find himself in a new job somewhere soon as AP reports Chicago and New York as potential suitors. There's also plenty of potential coaches floating around who would love to take on the challenge of Dallas, which has plenty of all-star talent on its roster.

"This is something that needed to happen," Johnson said. "There's no animosity or bitterness. We all still really care about each other, but it was time to go in a different direction. ... We didn't win the championship, but if you look at the whole body of work that we put together over the last 3 1/2 years ... we'll put it up against anybody."

(Source: Associated Press)

NBA Playoff Blowouts Mystery

One might expect the Eastern conference to be a lot less competitive, but the Western Conference has been very enigmatic as the first round of these playoffs have gone on. Only 2 close games, with a classic double-overtime thriller between the Spurs and Suns. The Rockets also pulled out a close win over the Jazz in Utah, by just 2 points and a huge block by Rocket Carl Landry. In the east, we have had just 1 real close game with Philly pulling off an upset at the end, otherwise it's been teams just trading blowouts.

In the Washington vs. Cleveland series, we've seen statements made by both teams. Cleveland blows out Washington in game 2. Washington returns home for Game 3 and blows out the Cavs by even more points. In their past playoff series, they had some great, thrilling close games, with King James or Agent 0 factoring into the win, usually near the buzzer. It isn't anything like that this go round. The Celtics have routed the Hawks several times now, and that's to be expected. Boston is definitely a superior squad to most teams, and in the weaker East they should blowout the upstart Hawks. Philadelphia provides one of the few surprises in the East for some compelling contests against stalwart Detroit. They also may provide the reason we are seeing blowouts. A team like Detroit might underestimate Philly and think they can just get by. Doesn't work that way. Same goes for Cleveland and Washington, are they winning huge, then assuming it comes easily?

But the West is where the question mark really lies. It was one of the most competitive seasons in recent years, with the standings decided in the final week of play. The Lakers captured the 1 spot, with New Orleans second. Teams like Dallas and Denver were lower seeds, but in the East they'd be winning playoff series. The Spurs Suns first game made us all believe "wow this Western Conference playoffs will be spectacular". Now Phoenix finds itself down 0-3. The Spurs as reigning champs are just a great example of how good teams execute. They put on offensive and defensive clinics. The shots almost always fall for San Antonio, and if a team like Phoenix isn't keeping up, they lose. Bye Bye Phoenix, unless you can really pull off a serious gameplan and upset these ferocious world champs.

Expect the action to pick up as we get to the Western final four, Round 2. If it comes down to Spurs vs. New Orleans or Dallas, and Lakers vs. Jazz (or Rockets), we've got the makings of some real classics.

Soulja Boy Marv Cranks Dat

A Marv Albert-Soulja Boy Mashup?

In case you missed it, the whole fiasco started when the Wizards decided to start trash talking before they even set foot in Cleveland for Game 1. First, Gilbert Arenas, aka "Agent 0" decided to say there's no way Cleveland could beat them 3 straight playoffs and that this year's team wasn't as good as before. Then, DeShawn Stevenson who has no real credentials other than being associated with Arenas as a teammate, decided to open his mouth and call out Lebron as "overrated". Big Mistake. When you call out one of the top players in the league before a series starts, it's more than enough to propel the Cavs to things like Monday night's 30 point win.

King James also used a rap analogy as his retort, saying that Stevenson calling him out was like Soulja Boy calling out Jay-Z. It just wouldn't make sense or be realistic to even consider the 1 hit wonder Soulja Boy calling out one of the Greatest of All Time in Jay-Z.

TNT got into the fray of things as well. Analyst Marv Albert discussed the whole war of words during Monday night's game, and Marv's iPod full of rap songs was also joked about. Then the creative folks in TNT's editing lab got into things, and what resulted was a mashup of Marv meets Soulja Boy.

Watch the YouTube video of Marv Albert as Soulja Boy here!

2008 NBA Playoffs Day 3

Just two games on the NBA Playoff slate Monday night with Washington and Cleveland resuming their series, and Utah going back into Houston for their Game 2.

Cleveland gave the most dominant performance of the playoffs so far winning by 30 points over the Wizards. Lebron racked up 30 points, 12 assists and 9 rebounds in the impressive victory. Cleveland had a 13 point lead at halftime, then pulled away in the 2nd half. Clevleand now leads 2 games to none over Washington, who thought it would be a good idea to trash talk Lebron and the Cavs before the games began.

Cavaliers Top Wizards 116-86 for 2-0 Lead in NBA Playoff Series

On the other hand, any of the Utah Jazz could have talked trash about T-Mac before their series and been ok. Utah did more of the same against Houston tonight, picking up a win to go 2-0 in the series. T-Mac was 1 assist shy of a triple double, playing a brilliant game despite the losing effort. A dejected McGrady was shown leaving the court prior to Deron Williams giving his postgame interview to Craig Sager. Game 3 is Thursday night at 10:30 PM. This could be yet another disappointing early exit for T-Mac in the playoffs.

NBA playoffs: Jazz take 2-0 series lead

A look at Tuesday's Playoff schedule:

Toronto Raptors vs. Orlando Magic 7:30 PM (NBA TV)
Atlanta Hawks vs. Boston Celtics 8:00 PM (ESPN)
Dallas Mavericks vs. New Orleans Hornets 7:00 PM (TNT)
San Antonio Spurs vs. Phoenix Suns 9:30 PM (TNT)

Also of note, Brendan Haywood had a hard foul on Lebron James during their Game 2 and was ejected. TNT also decided to jump all over the Lebron James comments towards Deshawn Stevenson who called him "overrated". Lebron had said Stevenson calling him out was like Soulja Boy calling out Jay-Z. TNT analyst Marv Albert discussed it during Monday night's game, then later TNT's genius staff superimposed Marv's head on a dancing figure while Soulja Boy's hit "Crank Dat" played.

Lakers & Pistons Win on Superbowl Sunday

On a day of one of the biggest upsets in sports, the underdog New York Giants took out the undefeated New England Patriots. ending talks of the perfect season. Two NBA games took place were definitely in the shadows of the biggest game of NFL's season.

In one contest, the Lakers took out the Washington Wizards 103-91. Cron Butler returned from injury hiatus, but scored just 15 points for his team. Kobe notched 25 in the first half and 30 points for the game to help his team win. The Lakers lead the game through the entire contest in DC.

The other game of Sunday's 2 game schedule saw the Mavericks get crushed by the Detroit Pistons, 90-67 Rasheed scored 21 points along with 9 rebounds. This was the Pistons' 5th straight win. THere as no clear reason for the Mav's letdown in this one, comparing turnovers and points in the paint, things looked even, but the Pistons managed to completely dominate, leading by as much as 26 in the game.

It still looks wide open for who will be the NBA champs this year. The Pistons are definitely sending a message in the East, but you can't count out teams like Boston, Orlando and maybe even Cleveland. As for the West that Conference is very wide open, with many analysts saying until the Spurs are beaten in a series, they are the team to beat.

Pilots Picket affects NBA Teams

There's a small piece of news involving the pilots who fly NBA teams from city to city. On the New York news this morning they showed pilots in a picket line outside MSG, protesting their current contracts. According to People's Weekly World:

NEW YORK (PAI)--After 3 years of fruitless talks, Champion Air pilots will take to the informational picket lines on Jan. 15 at Madison Square Garden in New York, Airline Pilot reported. The National Mediation Board, which oversees airline labor-management relations, has yet to respond to Champion management’s demand that their talks recess--or order the airline to bargain. Champion, a charter carrier, flies 13 NBA teams to games, including the Washington Wizards, who play the New York Knicks at the Garden that night.

It's interesting that they chose to picket at the Knicks game. Things could get real messy if NY fans also start to picket the Knicks for keeping Isiah as their head coach.

Gilbert is Sorry, Sorta?

Gilbert Arenas decided to semi-apologize for his big prediction when he wrote on his latest NBA blog. He had previously made a bold prediction that the Wizards would upset the Celts on opening night, and of course the Big 3 spoiled the party.

"They had it and I had to eat my words on national television. 0-1 on predictions is not the way you want to start out the season, especially me with my mouth.

But I did have two fans sitting on the front row wearing No. 0. They sat right next to the bench. They were two really good fans.

I've been going to Boston for many years now and I've never seen anything like that. I know most of you were watching it on TV, but if you were there you could hear them just chanting my name which was beautiful because I don't think even Michael Jordan got his name chanted in another arena like that.

Even though mine was chanted for hatred, it felt good. Now there's a bond between me and the Boston fans. "

Agent 0 will probably be keeping his predictions to himself now. You can read more from the latest blog of Gilbert Arenas here.

It's Early for the East

The clocks have been moved back 1 hour for Daylight Savings Time, so it's early on the East coast. It's also early for the Eastern Conference, but there's been some interesting developments so far.

- The surprise of the young NBA season so far would have to be an undefeated Indiana Pacers team. The Pacers have gone 3-0 beating the Memphis Grizzlies, Washington Wizards and Miami Heat. The Pacers team webpage is already saying the Pacers are a team who's able to find ways to win and asking if they might fit into the playoff picture. If so, the East is more competitive than we all thought. The Bucks and Sixers haven't looked terrible so far and they were predicted to be near the bottom of the Conference this season. Remember, it's still early.

- The other surprise although it is early is the Chicago Bulls. They've dropped games to both the Pacers mentioned above and the Bucks, who are two teams you might have considered out of contention this year. Looking at stats, Ben Gordon is leading them and is one of 5 double-digit scorers. Ben Wallace's numbers look subpar with just 4.5 rebounds per game, 2 assists and 1.5 blocks. They need his rebounding and defensive help, although Tyrus Thomas may take that on. Again, it's early and you can't possibly believe a team like Chicago won't turn things around and go on a win streak. Getting Kobe would have been nice, but now that it seems unlikely, the Bulls can get on track. The Bulls despite their losing ways are giving away an SUV on their website.

-The Celtics aren't so much a surprise. The Big 3 did their thing in their opening game and defeated the Washington Wizards. Ray Allen, KG and Pierce combined for over 60 points in the win which is a good sign of things to come should they stay healthy. It didn't help either that Gilbert Arenas talked a bit of smack to Boston and it fans on his blog.

- Gilbert Arenas is also considered to be struggling, as his stat lines aren't looking nearly as nice as last season. Gil's coming off an injury and rehab and is most likely still working himself back. However, he seems to like making premature blog statements against teams like the Boston Celtics. Bad idea.

NBA Star Troubles

In recent news, several NBA stars seem to be getting themselves into trouble. Here are 3 recent NBA or former NBA player episodes/incidents.

1) James Posey - Reckless Driving

"Boston Celtics forward James Posey was suspended Friday for one game by the league for pleading nolo contendre to reckless driving, in violation of the law of the State of Florida.

The 30-year-old Posey will serve his suspension when the Celtics open the 2007-08 campaign versus the Washington Wizards on November 2".
(Source: Sportsnetwork.com)

Update: Posey will be appealing the 1 game suspension.

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2) Lonny Baxter - Gun Charges

"Lonny Baxter, a standout on Maryland's 2002 NCAA basketball championship team, was sentenced yesterday to 60 days in prison on a federal gun charge. His attorney acknowledged that Baxter had "an unhealthy interest in firearms," but argued that the offense warranted only probation.

U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte also gave Baxter two years of supervised release after his prison time. The judge said he would allow the 6-foot-8 forward to play overseas during those years." (Baltimore Sun article here)

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3) Stephon Marbury - Compares Dogfighting to Hunting

"Marbury's latest public dustup in an offseason filled with controversy came on Monday, when an Albany TV station aired an interview in which Marbury called dogfighting "a sport" and said Vick was "a good human being" who "fell into a bad situation."

"We don't say anything about people shooting deers and shooting other animals, you know what I mean?" Marbury said in Albany, where he was promoting his Starbury line of affordable shoes and clothing." (Source: Newday.com)

Update: Marbury issued a statement to explain his remarks.

Shooting at DeShawn Stevenson's Home

Authorities in Florida are investigating a shooting at Washington Wizard player DeSahwn Stevenson's Orange County home. Apparently, the man, Curtis Ruff was inside Stevenson's place when Stevenson returned home with several girls from a club. Ruff let the group inside, then got into an argument with several men who were waiting outside of Stevenson's home. Ruff then went to his car and pulled out a gun, but ended up being shot in his leg.

From Central Florida News 13:

“That's one of the unanswered questions,” said Jim Solomons from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. “We got that information early in the morning. There was an indication that the people at the house, that means the victims, did not fire at their assailant. But obviously we have some questions, and there is a strong indication there may have been shots fired at the house because we have a man shot. He drove himself to the hospital, and he has a gunshot wound to his leg. So there's a piece of the puzzle that doesn't quite fit."

At this point, no one has been arrested and deputies are investigating.

Arenas Blogs Back on Sharks

The media and sports debate shows were tearing up Gilbert Arenas this past week over a blog he posted, seen at NBA.com. In the blog Gilbert discussed the topic of "Shark attacks". Here's the original post:

"There are these things called shark attacks, but there is no such thing as a shark attack. I have never seen a real shark attack.

I know you’re making a weird face as you’re reading this. OK people, a shark attack is not what we see on TV and what people portray it as.

We’re humans. We live on land.

Sharks live in water.

So if you’re swimming in the water and a shark bites you, that’s called trespassing. That is called trespassing. That is not a shark attack.

A shark attack is if you’re chilling at home, sitting on your couch, and a shark comes in and bites you; now that’s a shark attack. Now, if you’re chilling in the water, that is called invasion of space. So I have never heard of a shark attack."

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Since shows like Pardon the Interruption and Rome is Burning have criticized Arenas for the comments above, Gilbert has responded back saying it was a joke he was re-telling. Agent 0 fired back to the critics in his latest blog:

"I mean they were even talking about it on PTI. Patrick McEnroe was saying I should quit making jokes about sharks and worry about rehabbing. Patrick, you’re right, I should be focusing on my knee. I guess taking 15 minutes to tell a joke doesn’t leave 23 hours and 45 minutes the rest of the day to be working on my knee. Rome was killing me too, but Rome’s my boy so I can’t say anything bad about him.

Patty Mac, shouldn’t you be “focusing” on talking about real sports that are going on? I didn’t realize that telling jokes can get me on PTI. I should do it more often.

Did you hear the one about the monkey and the dog …

I would finish the joke, but I already spent too much time on this post and need to get back to the gym according to McEnroe.

Before I do though, I’m going to go play with my new pet. It’s called a “liger.” It’s a cross between a tiger and a lion. I made it up. Man, I’m so original.

(Yes, I stole that from Napoleon Dynamite. Rent it. It’s funny.) "

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Oddly enough, Gilbert didn't state he was re-telling a joke until after the criticism. A disclaimer might have helped, but he really is entitled to say what he choose, as it is his blog. Also, in his defense, a recent Larry King show with hosts of a show about Sharks discussed how they don't believe shark attacks are a developing problem and they even echoed the idea that when you are in the water, you are in a shark's environment. They claimed you're not necessarily being attacked, but the sharks are going after food that happens to be in their environment. You decide.

It's also good to see that the NBA Referee scandal isn't rocking the sport so badly this week, thanks to Gilbert and KG.

Gilbert Arenas' blog at NBA.com can be seen here.

Arenas' 100,000 Shot Challenge

In Gilbert Arena's recent blog entries he discusses several things, including a personal challenge to himself to make 1000,000 shots over a stretch of 73 days.

"Right now I’m in the middle of making 100,000 shots over 73 days. It’s a little mini-series I do. Right now I’m shooting 69.7 percent from the three-point line and I’m shooting 79.3 percent, I think, from the college three. There’s three people that rebound and tally my makes and misses. One kid is Jared, he’s a ball boy and there’s also Drew Cleary, our strength coach, and Brian Chase. He’s actually trying to make the team and doing it with me."

On Sticking to his diet:

"I’m still on my diet too. It’s going well, I’m ripped baby! Of course I’m still tempted by Cheetos. I just said I’m still on a diet, but I didn’t say I don’t cheat away from the diet. Of course I do. I’m an American! We eat bad!

Kobe Bryant lost 20 pounds, so that’s good. I’ll body him. I gained seven pounds, but this is a good seven. I’m at four percent body fat now. I was at 11 percent body fat when I got hurt. So I’m down to four percent and it’s all muscle, cut up, you know, looking diesel."

On Team USA:

"Team USA should do well this year. I was looking at the roster and they’re finally putting a roster together that looks like it can compete -- they got shooters, they got all around players. I don’t know about some of the players, I’m not sure if they’re really USA Basketball material, but at the end of the day if they pick it, they pick it. It needs to be a versatile roster in the end."

Check out Gilbert's Agent 0 blog here.