I’m not sure of the exact time Gilbert Arenas’ Twitter account, @gilbertarenas, was removed from the Internet (sometime during the evening of January 7th, probably about the time Garrett Gilbert-Javier Arenas zingers were getting started Twitter), but I am sure it existed. I’m also sure that nothing can ever be completely removed from the web … such as a handy little RSS feed I had of Arenas’ tweets.

Over seven days Arenas shared 155 Tweets with the world (I don’t count the ‘non-Tweet’ videos he posted before he really got going on New Year’s Eve). He had some good ones, he had some interesting ones, he had some ‘I’m a silly little kid’ ones. I didn’t mind Arenas being on Twitter so much — it got blown out of proportion — but I doubt I would have done the same had I been in his position … or at least I would have been more apologetic/sensible (I’d like to think).

Then reader Sean Snider sent me a lesson for Gilbert that made perfect sense:

A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold the bird froze and fell to the ground into a large field. While he was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on him. As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, he began to realize how warm he was. The dung was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy. A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him.

Moral of the story: Read more »

Gilbert Arenas tweeted a lot as he brought in the new year. He acknowledged that his gun thing is serious, but that he doesn’t do serious things. He said the Shaq rumor wasn’t true, but indicated that even so, panties, blowies and massages were supposedly at his disposal. Arenas almost complains about the drama in his life, yet embraces it because it gives him the attention he so seemingly and desperately craves. He was just being the crazy (in a good way) Gilbert we know, but yet don’t quite understand.

There are a couple reasons to document Gilbert Arenas’ first 24-hours of Tweeting. For one, you might not be one of his 13,338 growing army of followers, students in the study of Gilbertology. Secondly, Tweets can be erased. This site isn’t going anywhere. And if it does, there’s still always the Internet Archive: Way Back Machine. Also worth considering: It’s quite possible that Gilbert Arenas will deny that he was behind his January 1st 2010 Tweets (@gilbertarenas is not currently a verified account). But knowing Gil (sorta), I doubt it.

During the height of Arena’s Tweets on New Year’s Day, while many were planting a palm-smack on their forehead or pleading with him to stop, I wanted Gilbert to keep going. Not because it provides good blogging fodder, although it does, but more because Arenas was being allowed to be human. Twitter offers celebrities such as him, and normal folks such as you and I, the unfiltered freedom to share thoughts, etc..

Sure, everyone should be careful what they say in a public venue, but with $111 million dollars on your side, you don’t always have to go tip-toeing over people’s sensitivities when it’s your own life. Who is to say that Arenas must shut himself up? Or speak through a mouthpiece, an agent, such as Drew Rosenhaus … could you imagine if he was involved?

I’m just as pissed about the gun incident as the next passionate Wizards fan. These dudes are messing with the franchise I’ll still follow long after they are gone. I imagine I’ll still write something ripping Arenas and Crittenton once all the facts come out. But folks, Gilbert is not a basketball-playing robot. Plus, his tweets are pretty entertaining, albeit a tad immature, a bit naive, and sorta egotistical. Read more »

via Mike James’ Twitter …

But he seems like such a nice guy!…

{via Ned Dishman, WashingtonWizards.com}

Well … the preseason ended on a poor note Friday in Chicago. Meh. At least the Wizards’ preseason mantra of “It’s just the preseason” can no longer be used … cheers all around.

Wizards vs. Bulls

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{flickr/Rick Austin}

Well, I started off trying to listen to the Wizards versus Hawks on DC’s 106.7 The Fan via the Internet. I heard some Randy Foye turnovers, heard him jack some threes and heard him get his shot blocked going to the rack (Foye led the NBA last season with a fifth of all of his inside shots being blocked).

I also heard the Hawks rain threes (4-4) and the Wizards turn the ball over some more (Andray Blatche had three). And this was all in the first quarter as Atlanta took a 35-18 lead.

Thankfully, technical difficulties spared me from listening to the rest as it only seemed to go downhill from there. The most telling stat(s) from the game? The Wizards’ plus/minus leaders were: Paul Davis +5, Vincent Grier +5, JaVale McGee +4, and Mike James +3.

But hey, at least the guy whose struggles I chronicled earlier on Monday had his strongest effort of the preseason. James finished with six points, four rebounds, eight assists and zero turnovers in 24 minutes.

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The battle for Wizards starting shooting guard is crucial. The backup power forward spot almost just as much, especially with Antawn Jamison nursing injury and little to show in terms of front court depth. The backup point guard position, however, is a relatively unheralded story.

The talented and rock-steady Randy Foye is thought by many to be the favorite to spell Gilbert Arenas. Foye is also in the mix to play off the ball some. But, there’s already quite a crowd competing at shooting guard with Mike Miller, DeShawn Stevenson, Nick Young and even Caron Butler factoring in.

And then there’s Mike James. With Javaris Crittenton currently out with a foot injury and an unknown timetable for return, some of the competition at point has been eliminated … or at least postponed. But with two DNPs in five preseason games, is James being given a fair shake?

“The only way you can really assess yourself is by playing … I got two DNPs in preseason,” James said after Friday’s practice. “Whether it’s fair or not, I’m not the coach, so I can’t say. All I can say is the opportunities I have, I gotta take advantage of them, weather they’re short or not.”

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Even though we’re in a state of “this damn economy”, we can rest comfortably that there’s always an NBA player willing to implement his own mini-stimulus package to consumerism … such as Gilbert Arenas and his need to purchase a refrigerator and microwave for one day. And this took place in Michigan, which has recently fallen on hard times … so more kudos to Gil.

How do we know about all this? Why, the Twitter account of one @bigdaddywookie aka JaVale McGee.

{via @bigdaddywookie}

Now, some were calling it ‘rookie hazing’ … but JaVale will be the first to tell you, he ain’t no rook.

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{via WashingtonWizards.com}

It started sometime in the hour of three o’clock pm on Thursday when Mike Jones of the Washington Times (@sptswrtrjones) tweeted, “Arenas watched two scrimmages this afternoon. Jogging with a slight hint of a limp.”

Uh oh.

My first intuition was to not push the panic button. If Wizards fans are approaching the 2009-10 season as a whole with guarded optimism, then they’re probably guarding optimism surrounding Arenas’ knee more than Avon Barksdale’s crew guards the stash house.

Including reports that Arenas sat out of Wednesday evening’s scrimmages to “rest,” Flip Saunders has maintained that his absence is because he recently aggravated a dislocated finger on his left hand that initially occurred about two weeks ago.

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I won’t be down in Richmond to cover training camp until this weekend, but there’s plenty of output from those in the mix on the campus of VCU. Here’s the run-down …

(and yes, still jealous that I’m not down there … still making “livin’ money” during the day instead)

Flip Saunders, master teacher [via WashingtonWizards.com]

Project Comeback

Gilbert Arenas hasn’t spoken yet this week, but according to Saunders and some of his teammates, he is rolling right along.

“I thought he looked good. If you look at how his team does [in scrimmages], I think that’s the most important thing,” Saunders said. “One of the main comments that came out from our meeting afterwards with the coaches was they didn’t realize how well he can really see the floor, push the ball and create. He’s gone three practices in 24 hours and Idon’t see any ill effects. He exploded when he needed to explode and got where he wanted to go. He’s trying to understand his role and what we want him to do, and trying to be that leader.”

[Wizards training camp: Day 2 - Mike Jones | Wizards Outlet, Washington Times]

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First up, our friend Andray Blatche. What you will see in the video embedded below:

• Andray making cupcakes at Red Velvet.
• Andray eating cupcakes and drinking a juice box with NBC 4′s Lindsay Czarniak.
• Andray’s mini-jersey chain bling.

And now LaVar Arrington posting up Gilbert Arenas … and missing the bunny.

As you can see, so much is going on at Wizards training camp and it’s just day one. And I’m stuck doing ‘regular’ work in DC. Thankfully, there are plenty of people in Richmond covering the events. Read more »

I’m not even sure you can call JaVale McGee a ‘hipster’ in this instance, since so many aspects of hipsterism have been disseminated into mainstream (and copied and recycled like a virus). But thick frame glasses, a faux(ish)-hawk, and a horizontally striped v-neck is all I need to make the insinuation. Wait, what the hell is a ‘hipster’ in the first place?

McGee has already expressed displeasure with the nickname Epic Vale (or The Choppa, or whatever), opting to dub himself ‘J-Mac’ or ‘Big Daddy Wookie’ or ‘Kill + Mode = Chee$e’.

But now, perhaps ‘Blipster Daddy Wookie’ should be added to the list. And with the stuffed shark in the background, I’m not sure on which site this photo would be more appropriate, this one or this one.

In other news, via Twitter, JaVale might sell his all black Impala on 24s for 25K. Holler at him if you’re interested.

And now, highlights from ’round the World Wizards Web…

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What in the name of Eva Perón are these two doing here?

Well, with a glimmer of the Sun of May in their eyes, and perhaps fueled by a well-aged Malbec, these two Argentinians seem to be re-enacting the final match of the U.S. Open with household fireplace tools, celebrating a big win by fellow countryman Juan Martín del Potro over Rodger Federer.

Carry on boys,  see you on the hardwood.

(Speaking of … the Wizards and Spurs will first face off on November 21st in San Antonio, and the return favor will be on January 2nd in D.C.)

With Haywood back in the fold, there might not be a lot of minutes at the center position. Saunders might not lean on [JaVale McGee] too much if he starts believing his own hype and focuses more on video and music production and less on rebounding and blocking shots.

- Michael Lee – Wizards Insider, Washington Post

This may not be the first jigging of the knob on the door of criticism should McGee struggle next season, citing his “extra curricular” social media activity as a possible target for blame.

When the guy is having slumber parties with Nick Young, staying up until 7 a.m. and making videos about playing doctor, pointing out potential connections between sophomoric activities and performance on the court is easy to do.

But when it comes from a Wizards/NBA beat reporter for the Washington Post, it can be seen as a subtle, but valid challenge to McGee, preemptively opening the inevitable eyes of Wizards Nation.

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You may think yesterday’s press conference introducing Fabricio Oberto was about closure … about finalizing the chapter on 2009 summertime movement … about alleviating the angst of Wizards fans hoping for a reliable big man to secure depth.

You’re wrong. Yesterday was all about Gilbert Arenas.

As soon as it was mentioned that coach Flip Saunders, who has been visiting almost all of the players on his team in their summertime locale, made a trip to Chicago to check on Arenas, zealous ears perked up.

Maybe media types assume fans are hungry for Agent Zero morsels since the all-star’s self-imposed moratorium on communication of any type. Or perhaps Arenas’ “so goes him so goes the team” importance is realized whereas any little bit of information about him needs to be magnified and manufactured into web hits.

Whatever the case may be, the assumption that this is ‘The Year of Gilbert Arenas’ is 100% correct. New found depth be damned. You know it, I know it … we all know it. This team is going nowhere unless Agent Zero’s Takeover (part 3 or ‘reloaded again‘ … I’m not sure which one we’re on) reigns supreme.

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mikemiller33.com

Mike Miller is for serious about his social networking. How serious? Damn serious enough to debut his new website with an inspirational ‘Eminem’ “song” that came out seven years ago.

Miller also has a new blog entry, introduced by the ‘frightening/sad/tough/crying on the inside/I’m from South Dakota/my fav rapper is Killer Mike/I’d eat a man’s heart if it were legal and tasted like cheese wiz & beer‘ face you see above.

Damn. That’s serious enough to remove the ‘r’ from ‘for’ and make it a fo’.

Mike Miller is fo’ serious.

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Ya’ll remember Brian Cardinal?

He was on the Wizards for all of 15 minutes (literally, he saw 15 total minutes of court time in a Wiz uniform)….scoring four points and pulling down five boards over five games. And that was the only action on the court he saw for the entire 2002-03 season.

The Wiz got him in September ’02 when Michael Jordan traded Rip Hamilton, Bobby Simmons, and Hubert Davis to the Pistons for Jerry Stackhouse, Ratko Varda, and Cardinal…..that really worked out. Nice move for the future MJ.

In the present day, people are all like, “Oh, Brian Cardinal looks like a dad,” or “Brian Cardinal looks like an abusive husband.”

Get off his jock. First of all, my dad don’t tweet….and you can pretty much take any 6’8″+ white dude, and dub him as a potential abusive husband, as long as he doesn’t look absolutely goofy like Gheorghe Muresan or Walter Herrmann.

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