“YOU SUCK GILBERT!,” yelled a member of the attending audience who witnessed Gilbert Arenas’ 2-14 performance (1-9 from three-point land), right after the final buzzer sounded on a Washington Wizards loss to the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday night.

And Gilbert did suck, but getting impatient with his play right now lacks an understanding of how difficult it really is to score in the NBA … when the clock is ticking and the lights are on.

A lot of people can hit in practice. Regular guys, like this guy, go on shooting streaks by themselves, easily. Watch any NBA player, even a big man, in most non-game settings, and they are hitting shot after shot. Sure, hitting a baseball is probably the hardest thing to do in sports, so then shooting the rock in practice is the equivalent of Albert Pujols hitting countless dingers off a bullpen pitcher during BP.

“You always think he’s going to make the next one, that’s just the way he’s been,” theorized Flip Saunders on his streaky shooter after the game. “I hesitated because Nick [Young] made some shots, you know, putting him in. But the thing was, Gil’s the one guy that was actually rebounding for us in the second half. He was our second leading rebounder, and he was active as far as getting his hands on a lot of balls.”

And do give Arenas credit. He gathered six rebounds, skying high for an offensive board after a Kirk Hinrich three miss with 7:42 left in the game. That aggression led to an Andray Blatche layup, assisted by Arenas, that put the Wizards up 75-74. Arenas also, for a stretch in the second half, turned into a creator because he knew his shot wasn’t working (although four assists to four turnovers on the game is not a good ratio). It’s just that at the end of the game, Arenas was left wide open, and honestly, was the Wizards’ best chance to get hot and start sinking game-saving threes.

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{photo: A. McGinnis, TAI}

[Gilbert Arenas gets some gum/candy for Lester Hudson. Watch out Lester! Tony Kornheiser says that candy could be POISON!]

Bullet Point Thoughts on Gilly …

• So that Gilbert guy … you know what he did and you know he has been punished for it in the form of a fine (and likely old man giddiness via Tony Kornheiser … I bet old Tony popped a Viagra and everything when he heard Arenas lied to his coach).

• In fact, there are a lot of blowhards diddling themselves over Gilbert today. They were just waiting for him to slip up and now they’ve got coitus interruptus all over their keyboards and microphones. Steinberg over at the DC Sports Bog aptly addresses the rhetoric of John Feinstein, Kornheiser and Skip Bayless.

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[Author's Note:  The editor of this site, Mr. Kyle Weidie, cannot stand Tony Kornheiser.  He thinks Tony is old, out of touch and unnecessarily negative about all things Washington Wizards--especially Gilbert Arenas.  He acknowledges Tony was a great sports writer at one time, but Kyle thinks those days are long gone.  I am a huge Tony Kornheiser fan, and I enjoy his articles, his books, PTI and his radio program, so for me to even get this article on Truth About It, is a coup of epic proportions.  Keep that in mind as you read please. -Rashad]

Washington Wizards Owner Ted Leonsis made an appearance on Tony Kornheiser’s radio show yesterday on ESPN 980 in Washington D.C., and his main focus was to discuss the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Challenge.  That event, which will take place on October 23rd, will feature several events (20 mile cycling, a 5k Walk, and a 3K walk just to name a few) that will start and end at the Washington Monument on the National Mall.  This event is designed to assist those individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and Best Buddies International (a charity that Leonsis is actively involved with), and the Special Olympics (founded by the late Eunice Kennedy Shriver) have partnered to make this event possible.

After Leonsis spent several minutes discussing this worthy event, Tony asked him to address some issues related to the Washington Capitals and the Wizards.  The Capitals-related issue involved Leonsis and his beef with the writer of this article.  But since we are a Wizards blog, we’ll spend more time delving into the basketball portion of Tony’s queries.

As a bit of background, Tony is not a fan of Gilbert Arenas.  He respects his talent and his abilities, but he does not respect the antics that come with having him on the team.  In fact last year, in an appearance on Dan Levy’s On The DL Podcast, Tony ripped Arenas by calling him “the worst person on the Earth.”   Despite my loyalty to Tony, I was incensed at this view, and I wrote a rebuttal and so did the editor of this site. It should also be noted that Tony went on that rant BEFORE Arenas brought guns in the locker room.

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This is Capt. Jeff Bower, been with the ‘force for years … too long to count. He was a Lieutenant forever, but then finally said, “I’m getting too old for this sh*t,” the prerequisite about of times and Bam! … he was promoted to Captain. You’ll never find him without a wad of chaw tucked in his cheek … Chattanooga Chew is the preferred brand, but he’ll settle for Brown’s Mule should the situation become dire. Cap’n Bower has often impressed with his ability to drink coffee and eat donuts while he’s working on a fat tobacci wad. Otherwise, he holds the distinction of being from Pennsylvania while also looking like he’s from Pennsylvania.

In another life, Bower is the current head coach/GM of the New Orleans Hornets and coached Rik Smits at Marist.

This is Rufus McKenzie. Rufus has looked the same exact way since the sixth grade — haircut, body-type and all — except that he’s now bigger, much bigger. Rufus was “discovered” outside of a Louisiana Wal-Mart where he was accepting a challenge to see how many shopping carts he could pick up at once. He could tell ya how many he lifted, but then he’d have to kill ya. Ever since, Rufus has been a bodyguard/roadie on the Blue Collar Comedy Tour. He’s also holds the Arkansas state record for amount of Lil’ Smokies consumed in one settin’ (that’s “sitting” for you city-folk). Again, he could tell ya how much he ate, but he’d have to kill ya.

In another life, Rufus is really named Aaron Gray and is a center for the New Orleans Hornets of the National Basketball Association.

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[Editor's Note: Wizards games aren't just about basketball, they're about the whole fan experience. And Truth About It.nets bring you that experience from up close. Here's the debut edition of 'Under The Hoop' -- pictures and commentary by TAI photographer Adam Douglas from last Tuesday's match-up against the Charlotte Bobcats.]

7-Day Dray decided to play only seven minutes because he did not hustle back on defense after this shot.

“Who You Got?”

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I guess the pressure of a $111 million contract can hang over one’s head when they are injured or aren’t performing well. Must be nice … most would love to be called “Mister $111 Million.”

The idea of contract money being a burden to Arenas seems silly to the common man, and such silliness unfortunately led to Gil putting undue pressure on himself. Can anyone blame him for signing? Can anyone blame him for being injured? Not at all. But I suppose it’s a valid concern when blowhards like Tony Kornheiser spit their ignorant rhetoric. Kornheiser doesn’t go to Wizards games (maybe he watches him), and he doesn’t talk to Gilbert Arenas.

Not to turn Arenas’ 45 into a rant against Kornheiser and those alike. They are entitled to their opinion. But when their imbalanced analysis lacks compassion, patience and reason, it’s hard to take their thoughts on the matter seriously … and that’s why I don’t.

I’ve been hard on/disappointed with Arenas myself in the past. And the patience of Wizards’ fans has been tested for years. But what’s a little more in this holiday season? Gilbert Arenas is not a bad actor and he doesn’t want to let people down … not reasons to pepper him with “worst person in the world” comments as if he were Latrell Sprewell.

At basketball value, 45 points is just a small, but desperately needed, bonus. Some are calling it a breakout, but it doesn’t mean much unless part of a sustained run. But hey, it’s a start, and the beggars of Wizards Nation are in no position to be choosers.

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See that fella above? That’s “Dinner Bell” Mel Turpin, a member of the cursed Washington Bullets/Wizards draft history … sorta.

Turpin was taken by the Bullets with the 6th overall pick in the famed 1984 NBA Draft … the Hakeem Olajuwon, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, and of course, Sam Bowie draft. Bowie was a teammate of Turpin’s at Kentucky, and while both are known as busts, it’s Bowie’s name that most often gets mentioned amongst NBA basketball infamy.

With Rick Mahorn and Jeff Ruland already holding down the paint, Turpin was immediately traded by then GM Bob Ferry to a team currently generally managed by his son Danny, the Cleveland Cavaliers. In exchange, the Bullets received Cliff Robinson and Tim McCormick, who was promptly sent to the Seattle Sonics, along with Ricky Sobers, for Gus Williams.

Williams lead the ’84-85 Bullets in scoring (20.0) and assists (7.7), while Robinson was fourth on the team in scoring (16.7) and second in rebounding (9.1). That Bullets team improved by five wins over the previous season’s mark to finish 40-42, but still lost to Barkley, Julius Erving, and Moses Malone in the first round of the playoffs.

Williams only played one more year with the team before signing with Atlanta, spending a single season there before retiring. Robinson also spent just one more season in Washington before being traded to Philadelphia, along with Ruland (who would only play 18 games for the Sixers over two seasons), for Moses Malone, Terry Catledge and two first round picks.

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[image via Gilbertology]

Tony Kornheiser will turn 61 on July 13th. Fully entrenched into his sixth decade, we can only hope that Tony has been given a shingles vaccine, the CDC recommends it.

Kornheiser shares a birthday with Spud Webb, boxer Michael Spinks, Harrison Ford (who is six years older, but about 6o years better looking than Tony — self deprecating joke that TK would make alert), was born on the exact same day as Aunt Viv from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air (the second one, after the first one left due to difficulties with Will Smith), and fittingly, shares a b-day with some fella from Queens named Dick Bunt, who played for both Kornheiser’s Knicks and Baltimore’s Bullets.

Life expectancy has increased in recent years. If it were 1935, Tony would be reaching the age where he would be expected to pass. Not so these days. That’s why some are proclaiming that 60 is the new 40.

So hey Tony, turning 61 is not all that bad, just as long as you’re following MSN’s 12 steps you must take at age 60. Although, according to Kornheiser’s On The DL Podcast with Dan Levy, he’s not closing in on a retirement date, he’s looking for another job.

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I’m tired of Tony Kornheiser’s “haha, look at me and my self-depreciating ‘comedy’ when I really have an over-inflated ego the size of Shaq’s dumps” shtick … it’s been stale for a while now.

People tell me that long ago, he used to pen some great stuff …. and I even remember reading some of said stuff. But Kornheiser is becoming the epitome of a bitter old codger who I aspire not to be when I get older.

Tony Kornheiser is nothing but a hater.

Of course, I write this with the caveat that as a ‘blogger’, I have “hated” on some people/things, i.e, LeBron James, but I do so comfortably knowing that I’m no where near the jerk/dick Kornheiser is, especially in terms of his unabashed and unreasonable hatred of “new media” … such as blogging.

But also, Kornheiser has touched on a subject near and dear to my heart, the Washington Wizards.

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