Javier Arenas, cousin of Gilbert Arenas, has a 63 yd. interception return for a touchdown in Alabama’s 49-14 thrashing of Arkansas on Saturday.  The pickoff was the junior’s first career interception.

This saturday, they’ve got their big match-up against #3 Georgia.  In his career, Gilbert is 6-4 in the state of Georgia, so if you’re looking for a pick for the game, I’d go with the Tide.

Ivan Carter gives the latest on Gilbert’s knee situation on Wizards Insider, mostly focusing on his latest blog post.  He also includesa little personal analysis and in doing so comes up with quite possibly the best quote from someone not named Gilbert Arenas about Gilbert Arenas.

The thing hovering over all of this of course is that contract. I said this when he signed it and I’ll repeat it now: from here on out, everything Gilbert does will be viewed through the context of the $111 million Abe Pollin and Ernie Grunfeld committed to him.

When he scores 35 points in a loss, folks will ask why he didn’t have 12 assists.
If he misses a game-winner, folks will say that a guy making that much should make that shot. If this team loses in the first or second round, folks will point to the contract and say that he is not a true franchise player.

As I’ve mentioned before, I grew up in Minneapolis and those are the exact kinds of things that were said about Kevin Garnett after he signed his huge deal back in the day. “Why can’t he get them out of the first round?” “He’s a great player but not a clutch scorer in the fourth quarter.” “He’s not a real leader.” Etc. Etc. Etc.

Now that KG is a champion, nobody mentions the contract.

I’d take Gilbert’s word on the subject.

[NOTE: Before I begin, I'd just like to offer a quick apology.  In the last post, I said that I hoped that Gilbert had a "better surgeon this time around."  That was a poor choice of words.  Ultimately, the surgeon that performed all of Gilbert's isn't responsible for any of the problems that have taken place over the last 17 months.  The knee is a tricky joint and even the finest surgery can lead to complicatons later on down the road.  Placing the blame on him was an incredibly short-sighted response to a multi-faceted problem.  Now, with that said, let's return to our original programming.]

Over the last two days, I’ve struggled with what I’ve wanted to say in the wake of the news that Gilbert Arenas underwent another knee surgery.  It seems like whenever I try to write something out, it comes out as some rambling post that doesn’t make any sense, or it ends up sounding like some weird, written-out, Gilbert-ized version of LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE.

I’m still not sure that I’ve been able to process it all, but I have been looking around and seeing what everyone else has been saying about what’s happened.  The feeling that I’ve gotten from a lot from Wizard fans is a sense of frustration.  Frustration that Gilbert still isn’t healthy after 17 months and two surgeries.  Frustration that the team won’t be able to show what they can do when they’re healthy for a whole season…again.  Frustration that the team just spent $111 million on a player that won’t be healthy to start the season.  Frustration that many within the organization knew that his rehab wasn’t going well and yet no on the outside had any idea until he had the surgery.  Frustration that he might not be the same ever again.

There’s a lot to be upset about, and understandably, many have tried to put the blame on someone.  Whether it’s Gilbert, management, the training staff, Gerald Wallace, or a combination of all them, it seems like we’re all trying to find a scapegoat for this saga.  The reality is, no one is at fault here.  Unless LeBron is paying someone off inside the organization to keep Gilbert on the mend (can we get someone to investigate that?), I don’t think anyone can say that they’re not trying their hardest to get Agent Zero back to 100%.  It just hasn’t worked out yet.  The only thing we can do right now is sit and wait, just like Gilbert is doing right now.

I’m still trying to formulate my thoughts on the latest development in the injury saga.  Rather than try and rush out something that doesn’t make sense, I’ll instead give you some thoughts from a wide array of sources.  I’m not saying that I agree with everything opinion posted here, but I think it’s important to get a feel for what people are saying:

First, the news on the situation:

• Wizards Insider
  
• Washington Post
• Washington Times
• ESPN

Now, opinions on the matter:

“Predicting an NBA athlete’s recovery from knee surgery can be tricky; there are positive outcomes (Amaré Stoudemire, Jason Kidd) and there are negative ones (Penny Hardaway, Chris Webber). But any time a player’s knee has to be probed three times, it significantly reduces his chances for a full recovery.

That’s not a medical opinion. That’s just common sense.”  Chris Mannix – SI.com

“There were all these chances for one of the parties to insist on having surgery earlier.  It could have happened in May.  It could have happened in early August.  It could have even happened in July after the contract was finalized, though you can imagine the kind of outrage that news would have received.  Any of the parties could have insisted on surgery.  Arenas could have seeked a second opinion in May.  The doctors could have operated in May or in August.  Grunfeld could have insisted himself on the surgery when he first heard about Arenas’ rehab struggles.  Finally, Arenas could have not be his usual stubborn self when he first started struggling and just gotten the procedure over with.”  Pradamaster – Bullets Forever

“I can’t help but feel like I’m over reacting….but I also can’t help feeling like the shock of this all could have been avoided by being let down in doses along the way. Just calm down (I’m telling myself), this team is full of gamers and a month is only about 14 games. Besides, Arenas said, “I probably could’ve gotten by without it, until June, but if I went to do something spectacular, it probably would have buckled under on me,” and I only want the best that Gil has to offer.”  Truth About It

“When they signed Arenas, the Wizards were thinking long-term. Their core should be together and productive longer than Boston’s or Detroit’s. But in the near future, with Arenas making $177,000 per game this season, it’s an expensive experiment. And all we’ll learn during the first part of the season is whether Arenas spent his new money upgrading his wardrobe.”  J.A. Adande – ESPN

“Let’s face it, Gilbert probably won’t be right this season. Who knows if he’ll ever be right again? But if he can come back in time for Game No. 27, jump on the scorer’s table while LeBron throws chalk, score 50 points and then take a bow at center court….well, at least we’d have something.”  Dan Steinberg – DC Sports Bog

“It’s only a month of the first half, which doesn’t matter, except for when it does. See also Ellis, Monta. And let’s not forget that with the Celtics not quite old yet, the Cavs having made some improvements, the Pistons seamlessly bringing on their youth movement, Miami bearing nuclear arms, and Toronto reformulating itself, the East is no longer a place where teams can bide their time and fumble around till they get their footing.”  Bethlehem Shoals – Sporting News

“The idea that the player who lit up the arena and gave the District’s hoopheads hope is now crippling its future simply because he’s on crutches months after signing a $111 million deal and will be out for probably yet another month?

It just goes to show what he meant to everyone in the first place.”  Mike Wise – Washington Post

“Tough break for Wizards fans. But, as Lucky Day shrewdly observed in the Latin American classic ¡Three Amigos!, each of us has an El Guapo to face. For some, shyness might be their El Guapo. For others, a lack of education might be their El Guapo. For the Amigos, El Guapo was a big, dangerous man who happened to be the actual El Guapo. And now it appears that a gimpy left knee has become Agent Zero’s El Guapo.”  Basketbawful – Deadspin

“The last time the Wizards had a problem with floating debris, they traded him to L.A. for Caron Butler.”  Gourmet Spud – Deadspin commenter

“He envisions a return to games in December, though I suspect that’s a best-case scenario. It means that Arenas will miss at least 14 games this coming season, the number the team plays in October and November. Earlier this Summer, Arenas signed a 6-year $111 million contract to stay in Washington and, hopefully, play basketball games.”  Spence – DC Pro Sports Report

“Everyone just relax. This team will be fine without him for a month or so. It’s a washout. They put saline solution in there to washout his knee. That’s all it was. It was going to be a little while before he was 100. This will help him get closer to 100 sooner.”  igetbucketsson – Bullets Forever commenter

“Why’s everybody tripping out?”  Gilbert Arenas