Links, commentary, a D.C. photo…

[Key Elementary School - NW Washington, DC - photo: K. Weidie]

Eventually, soon, I would like to make a more comprehensive post regarding Javaris Crittenton’s Tweets on this here site. There’s a problem with his Tweets… in that it’s Twitter. It would be very hard to gather context from each and every one of Crittenton’s Tweets, much less the small sample used for my piece on TrueHoop, or even from any number of people publishing thoughts and ideas on the social media tool.

To put it clearly: Nothing can be gathered, inferred, or deduced from Crittenton’s Tweets. They are simply an additional window into the life of a figure whom so many people are now trying to futilely gain information about. Yes, the Tweets came directly from his mind, but we don’t know what kind of filter he was putting his thoughts through… just like we don’t know what type of filter athletes, or anyone, puts themselves through during interviews and other media interactions.

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Commentary, links, randomness…

Unfortunately, good people, John Wall tragically lost his right arm in Tuesday’s earthquake. (#Moment of Silence)

Seems like the Jerry Stackhouse owned by @n1coolguy didn’t fare so well either.

 But hey, Stackhouse has long been a fixer-upper … See? Good as new.

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On several planes, Gilbert Arenas and Dan Snyder are totally alike. On about a million they are not.

One commonality I can easily think of is that they both appear to be utterly oblivious to the general sensibilities of those who live in reality. Now, it’s not completely the fault of these men that they live in a fantasy world – NFL owner, a $100 million contract NBA man — but the ridiculous ways they can act is on their own accord.

Another similar trait of the two maligned D.C. sports figures? (One of whom the city no longer has to deal with.) Both are championing legal maneuvers against free speech.

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Everyone probably knows a big smart ass and how it’s sometimes hard to determine when they are joking and when they are not. Or someone without a filter that contradicts themselves repeatedly in the same conversation. These are the characteristics of Gilbert Arenas and why I long ago stopped trying to comprehend Gilbertology. I do not have enough degrees to dissect his words, rather, I elect to chalk them up as “Gil being Gil.”

Gilbertology was on full display during Arenas’s lengthy radio interview on Thursday with Mike Wise and Holden Kushner on DC’s 106.7 The Fan.

Arenas discussed his thoughts on John Wall, reflected on his experience in Washington, revealed what he really told Andray Blatche, took responsibility for his mistakes, hoped Wizards’ fans will eventually forgive him, and opened up about his time in the halfway house, where he learned to play chess.

The juicy parts, since we’ve yet to hear Arenas comment on this matter, were him refuting some of the personal dirty laundry that the mother of his children and ex-finance, Laura Govan, had been airing in public. He somewhat told his side of the story and kept returning, often unprovoked, to the sore subject of his failed relationship. You could definitely tell he is knee deep in the angry, bitter stage of grief.

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Some leftover pictures, commentary, and links at the bottom…

Kevin Seraphin.

At some point during the Celtics game, mid-third quarter, John Wall expressed dismay about a questionable call that didn’t go the Wizards’ way … that’s a $50 fine face, perhaps.

On Boston’s subsequent out-of-bounds play, Wall did what he usually does in bouts of heightened emotion, good or bad … he pulled his shorts up.

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Barkley works the Shake Weight, a Wizards ticket giveaway, commentary and links …

First, TAI is giving away two tickets to Wednesday’s game versus the Pacers (courtesy of StubHub). The seats are good (Section 101, Row L … behind the Wizards’ bench) and John Wall is good (as in he’s back and should be playing). You can win these two free tickets by being the first to email the correct answer to the trivia question I will post from the @Truth_About_It Twitter account at 11 am EST on Wednesday, December 29. The answer must be emailed to truthaboutit@gmail.com.

Also note: The Wizards are pulling something out of the Miami Heat’s playbook to get fans to arrive to games early (not sure if the idea actually originated with the Heat, but they did do something similar earlier this year). Starting when the doors open at 6 pm for Wednesday’s game versus the Pacers until 6:30, the Verizon Center will be offering food and drink discounts outside of section 107. [via @WashWizards]

WIZARDS-ROCKETS.

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First Wizards-related web stuff, then pictures of rallies.

1) According to Asia-Basket, Javaris Crittenton has signed with the Zhejiang Guangsha Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association. Evidently he’ll be playing there with another former Wizard, Peter John Ramos.
[h/t: NiuBBall.com]

2) As you probably know, John Wall tweaked his ankle versus the Hawks on Saturday, but should be okay to play against the 76ers on Tuesday. Gilbert Arenas, however, is unlikely to go (via Washington Post). Arenas is getting MRIs, Cortizone shots and seeing specialists about his ankle. Bad timing for Wizards fans who really want to see him play, but Arenas’ patience is tested more. You have to think, loving the game as he does, that he’s desperately anxious to get on the court for a real game. But it would be a good sign if he takes precaution, and it’s not much of a sign of anything else beyond that.

3) The mother of Gilbert Arenas’ children and his fiancee, Laura Govan, recently spoke with S2S Magazine. She denies the rumor about her and Shaq, saying it’s something that Shaq’s ex-wife, Shaunie, made up. But whatever with all that, here’s the best part:

“Laura is a former basketball player and coach who met Gilbert while she was working at a Golden State Warriors basketball camp. He wasn’t “Agent Zero” or the “$100 Million Man” yet. Laura said she tried to ignore Gilbert’s smiles and glances and even turned him down when he asked her out.

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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.

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