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[The DC Council -- After each Wizards game: setting the scene, rating the starters, assessing the bench, providing the analysis, and catching anything that you may have missed. Unlike the real DC Council, everything here is over the table. Game 14 contributors: Kyle Weidie and John Converse Townsend with first-hand coverage, and Sam Permutt watching from afar.]
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Wizards links in bullets with general commentary on the side, and a picture…
[NYC subway transit, E line - photo: K. Weidie]
> Is the NBA destined for a lockout? Why yes, it was. But check out my pre-lockout contribution about the lockout on ESPN’s 5-on-5 anyway.
[ESPN.com]
> I know it’s very old now, but he’s what I wrote for the DCist about the draft and the kiss that saved it.
[DCist]
Of course Gilbert Arenas might be back on Twitter. Of course, he might not be.
Of course close members of the media are reaching out to the @agentzeroshow Twitter account. Of course it is responding.
Of course it sounds like typical Gilly. Of course, well-studied imposters can be quick to deceive. Read more »
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.
A D.C. pic, links and commentary …
[Riggs LaSalle Recreation Center - NE Washington, D.C.]
The Wizards will be seeking their first road win on the season when they play the Pistons in Detroit at 6pm tonight, and likely will have to do it without John Wall again.
[Wizards Insider]
Looks like the Pistons are inserting Jason Maxiell into the starting four spot instead of the rail-thin Austin Daye to better compete with the athleticism of Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee.
[Detroit Free Press]
Lakers coach Phil Jackson recently said that the Pistons don’t look like they’re trying. Ben Gordon responded by saying that guys need to look in the mirror.
[Piston Powered]
This is Yi Jianlian’s buddy, his teammate, to the left and Yi is naturally to the right. The buddy’s name is Zhaoxu Zhang, but you can call him Max.
Max is 7’3″ and will be a junior for the Cal Golden Bears this season (tallest guy in school history). And while Max hasn’t seen a minute of court action in China’s four games at the FIBA Worlds in Turkey so far, that hasn’t precluded him from being team hype man. Let’s check Max in action … Super-Manning that ‘H’
Great.
A D.C. pic and some links …
I probably should have included the above pic of the Monumental Sports banner on the Verizon Center in my post about a similar banner on another building. I guess I was distracted by the dueling plastic drum drummers. You can spot the other one, right?
Otherwise, not much happened Wizards-wise today. Kirk Hinrich did return to Sioux City for a golf benefit, said it was “a little weird” when he had his presser and put on a Wizards jersey. Glad he hit that free-throw.
With a hotly contested 142-all summer league contest on the line, Nick Young’s killer instinct took over as he hit the buzzer-beating game-winner … over former teammate Shaun Livingston no less. He then smiled a lot in the post-game interview. The video, via Ball Is Life, is embedded below.
{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.
Ernie Grunfeld didn’t reveal anything new in Thursday’s press conference, just ask Michael Lee of the Post and Mike Jones of the Times, both alluding to the recycled themes we’ve heard for most of the summer.
But it’s been “one of the longest summers ever,” according to Grunfeld. He’s anxious to get the season started and have his “wait and see” mantra put to the test.
“I haven’t been this excited in a very long time because of the change that we have. There’s a different sense around here. There’s a different sense around the team. The players feel this new kinda of enthusiasm, there’s a new kind of professionalism, and just a new way of doing things. I think it’s exciting for us and exciting for the players.” -Ernie Grunfeld
flickr/Geoff Livingston
When Andray Blatche changed his number from 32 to 7 in July, little did he know his action would result in a tribute to who is likely the best power forward in NBA history.
Blatche told the DC Sports Bog, “I’m wearing 7, and that means 7 days [a week] of hard work, 7 days of being focused.”
I’ll refrain from being snarky in this instance, this post is not about Blatche. I’ll just imagine Haywood or Jamison putting Andray in a headlock, rubbing him on the head, and bellowing, ‘Whatever you say kiddo,’ as ‘Dray is shuffled away like a little scamp.
When: Tues., May 21 - 7:30 pm
Where: Lou's City Bar - Columbia Heights, D.C.
Across The ESPN TrueHoop Network