Gilbert Arenas reveals the true origins of "Hibachi" during his Adidas Philippine Tour 2008

The Washington Wizards new $111 million dollar man to be Gilbert Arenas, Jr. arrived in Manila, Philippines yesterday.

His lone itinerary for the evening--meeting with the Philippine press and answering some great questions fielded in by Philippine sports columnist, NBA.com blog squad blogger, and broadcaster, Mr. Joaquin M. Henson.

Here are some of the highlights:


The Hibachi Grill to be honest

Gilbert Arenas, Jr. sheds some light as to the origins of his catchphrase, "Hibachi."

"Actually, it started with Brendan Haywood. You know, We got beat really bad and Kirk Hinrich…was, he scored about 30 something on us and Brendan Haywood was like, "Man he bring out the Hibachi Grill tonight!""

"So I was like, well, usually, I usually score 30 points. So I’m the Hibachi. And so from there I just took it."

I guess this means we can owe a debt of gratitude to Big Brendan and Chicago Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich's hot shooting night for Hibachi!


Gilbert also had some advice to young college players who are aspiring to make it big in the field of professional basketball:

"My junior high coach told me.
You know, I stick to it to this day...
You know believe in yourself.
You know when all things fail, its just you, its just you and your dream...
And you got to always believe"

Gilbert Arenas is visiting Manila from July 5-7, 2008 as part of his Adidas Asian Tour promoting his new line of footwear.

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Miami Heat Defense made D Stevenson feel like Hibachi

December 14, 2007 - Washington 104 @ Miami 91

Much like the struggling Nets, the Miami Heat have yet to hit mid-season form and win games with some semblance of consistency. It could be worse though, they could be the New York Knicks who can't win anything.

Looking forward, I really don't expect anything to change in the near future as the Heat lost (by a lot as they were down between 8-11 points at HOME to the Gilbert Arenasless Washington Wizards) despite having almost their whole lineup ready for action (this is basically Jason Williams as everyone else (outside the regulars) doesn't get off the bench and Smush Parker doesn't seem to exist anymore in the eyes of the Heat brain trust after his $12 dollar valet parking fiasco a couple of weeks ago).

How bad are things down at South Beach? Well, longtime Heat bear writer Ira Winderman put it best.

Winderman wrote for sun-sentinel.com:

Stevenson said on TNT's halftime interview, "I felt like Hibachi," a reference to the sizzling streak shooting of sidelined Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas.

Stevenson entered having scored 28 total points on 32-percent shooting in his four previous outings.

With the victory, the Wizards improved to 9-5 in Arenas' absence.

The Heat's defense (D.Wade has to take some blame here with his freelancing defense on Stevenson) actually made another player feel like Hibachi?

That's rich!

It's certainly something that you don't hear everyday (and at halftime to boot!).

But I digress, DeShawn Stevenson has and will be given credit. He can shoot the basketball, especially if there is no one in front of him (See Hibachi vs. DeShawn shoot it out in a February 07' YouTube Clip).

Last night, the defense was at best....token.

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Gilbert Arenas: "Every great player has missed at least one year."

Ouch!

I'm sure the city of Washington, their NBA franchise, and legions of fans are all crying out in frustration just about now. It's like reliving the 06'-07' season's bad dream wherein Caron Butler broke his hand and Gilbert Arenas was literally knocked down soon after with a torn meniscus in his left knee.

What horrendous luck...

AP Sports Writers Mike Cranston and Howard Fendrich had this to say:


"CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Washington Wizards leading scorer Gilbert Arenas underwent two different surgical procedures on his left knee on Wednesday and will miss about three months.

Arenas had been experiencing swelling and soreness in the knee which he had surgically repaired late last season. After sitting out the past two games, Arenas did not travel with the team to Charlotte and underwent an MRI Wednesday morning, which revealed a cartilage tear.

"I'm just going to sit in my sorrows again. I have three months to (be) back positive again, but right now, it's hard," Arenas said in a posting on his blog Wednesday. "I need to start thinking about longevity in my career instead of just this injury right now. Every great player has missed at least one year."

Team physician Dr. Marc Connell repaired a partial tear of the meniscus and performed microfracture surgery on a non-weight bearing bone on the side of his knee.

"It's not as bad as the injury in April, but it's tough," wrote Arenas, who will begin rehabilitation next week.

"We expect Gilbert to make a full recovery," Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld said.

The 6-foot-4 Arenas is averaging 22.4 points.

Wizards center Brendan Haywood said. "Playing without Gilbert Arenas is going to hurt this team."

Arenas began the season by playing as though nothing was wrong, averaging about 40 minutes per game. But after Washington's third game, he said his knee felt stiff, "like a 5-pound weight is on it."

He then had excess fluid drained from the knee for the second time in three weeks on Nov. 7. He played the next night, a loss to New Jersey that dropped the Wizards to 0-4, but had a long conversation with Nets star Jason Kidd on the court after the final buzzer. Kidd offered advice about dealing with a return from surgery.

Arenas stayed in the lineup until missing Saturday's game against Portland, then sitting again Tuesday against Philadelphia. Without Arenas, coach Eddie Jordan said Antonio Daniels will continue to play point guard.

"Every team goes through it, and every team tries to find a way to win on a consistent basis," Jordan said. "We've gotten better at moving the ball."

This whole ordeal has all been a bit new to Arenas -- a three-time All-Star -- whose only previous significant injury in the NBA was an abdominal problem that limited him to 55 games in 2003-04.

He finished third in the league in scoring average in 2006-07 at 28.4 points, but missed the last two weeks of the regular season and all of the playoffs after having knee surgery.

"Gilbert worked extremely hard this summer to be ready for the beginning of the regular season," Grunfeld said. "This is very unfortunate because he was starting to play at a high level prior to the surgery."

"That's the business, man," Haywood said. "Life's not always fair. He's out right now and everybody is down about it. Everybody wishes him the best. Right now all we can do is pray for him and hope he has a speedy recovery."

Jordan wouldn't say whether he'll push management to sign another player."

I guess this will give Gilbert even more time to blog with all of his "cats."

For all you Fantasy NBA players out there--one piece of advice--pick up Antonio Daniels while you still can.

His stock just went up ten fold for the next three months.

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Twenty Years of Heat Basketball

The Miami Heat recently celebrated their 20th anniversary by announcing that they will be using 89' throwback basketball jersey's during several games this season was well as unavailing a mural (which lists all 154 players who have donned Heat colors) outside the American Airlines Arena in downtown Miami; Miami, Florida.

Did you know that in the Heat's two decade history, they have retired only one jersey number? Number 23 was retired in honor of the legendary Michael Jordan (who never played for the Miami Heat) during his final season with the Washington Wizards back in 02'-03'.

Till that point, only 4 of the 154 players in Heat franchise history have ever worn #23: John Morton (91'-92'), Gary Grant (96'-97'), Rex Walters (98'-99'), and former NBA Slam Dunk Champion Cedric Ceballos (00'-01').

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NBA Gems (This early into the NBA 07'-08' Season)

The Scintillating Six:

1) Brendan Haywood (Wizards) - With the exit of his arch rival (Etan Thomas) due to open heart surgery, the center spot of the Washington Wizards belongs solely to Haywood and he hasn't disappointed by coming up with the first three game double-double of his career. Brendan is currently averaging 10 markers, 13.7 boards, and 3 rejections per game.

2) John Salmons (Kings)- With Mike Bibby out with an injured thumb and Ron Artest serving a seven game suspension, someone had to step up. Enter John Salmons and his 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists. Now I know why he turned down that deal with the Raptors to sign with the Kings last year :)

3) Kelenna Azubuike (Warriors) - Hard surname to spell but his game is everywhere with 20 points and 1.7 3's per game. Golden State coach Don Nelson loves Azubuike's work ethic and this bodes well for Kelenna, especially when Stephen Jackson returns from his seven game suspension (that was imposed by the NBA following his guilty plea to a felony charge of criminal recklessness for firing a gun into the air outside an Indianapolis club).

4) Carlos Delfino (Raptors) - Finally free of the Motor City's overcrowded backcourt, this native of Santa Fe, Argentina is making Toronto Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo an early candidate for GM of the Year with averages of 7.7 points, 5 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 2 steals, and 1.7 3 pointers made per contest.

5) Ronnie Brewer (Jazz) - A first-round pick of the Utah Jazz a season ago (he went 14th), Brewer has supplanted Gordan Giricek as the team's starting SG to the tune of 16 points and 2.8 steals through four games.

6) Al Horford (Hawks) - Taken with the 3rd pick in the 07' Draft that featured Oden and Durant. Florida's Al Horford needs to early shake off foul trouble (4 fouls in less than 4 minutes into the second half of their opening night game against the Dallas Mavericks) and make the most of his minutes on the floor while Atlanta Hawks center--Zaza Pachulia--is out (until mid-November with a sprained knee).

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Gilbertology: Arenas talks about trade rumors and fantasy basketball

A prolific talker and scorer for the Washington Wizards, Gilbert Arenas, Jr. never fails to come up with new material that makes me smile. In his latest post, Arenas talks about the possibility of being traded West to Tinsel Town.


Arenas wrote:

"Nothing against getting traded, but that would be a dumb thing on the part of the team who is accepting me because, don’t they know I’m a free agent? What that means is, if you lose somebody who you really want and you come get me back and I leave too … TA-DAH! That means you have nothing.

So take my name out of it because whoever gets me, there ain’t a guarantee that I’m staying.

Y’all go ahead and take my name out. To all of my friends back home who want me to become a Laker: If you have NBA LIVE 08 you can fantasy draft me, because otherwise I don’t think that’s happening any time soon."

"TA-DAH! That means you have nothing."

These words sum up "unrestricted free agency."

Does it shock you that Gil put it that way?

Maybe not.

After all, would you expect any less from Mr. Arenas...

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Buzzer Beaters, Halle Berry, Signature Shoes, and Gilbert the Man...who says "Hibachi" everytime he scores...

The outspoken Gilbert Arenas, Jr. has done it again! In a "web-exclusive" interview by Complex Magazine's Joe La Puma, Arenas discusses a wide array of topics in a twenty-two question shotgun session.

This article has everything from David Stern to Wizard team policies and conduct, his love for MJ's (Michael Jordan) kicks, the possibility of competing with Marbury's Starbury's, Politics, *grin* Halle Berry, as well as his thoughts on Kobe Bryant and the "mental game," the Most Improved Player award in 03', and being a "shoot-first, pass-second" PG.

Be warned though, it took FOREVER for the Complex Magazine website to load (or it could have just been my server...at this point, I'm not sure) so just be patient, it was funny and well worth it.

Agent Arenas plays it straight

Washington Wizards point guard and NBA Live 2008 endorser Gilbert Arenas, Jr. finally posted on his blog (over at NBA.com) since the release of Live 2008. In his latest entry, Agent Arenas clears the air as to why he is the genuine article when it comes to HALO 3 Online gaming. Arenas also touches on several other topics in this comprehensive entry: Thoughts on teammate Etan Thomas’ open heart surgery, Live 2008, and his new interactive cartoon Gazo the Pranksta (An acronym based on his initials – Gilbert Arenas (G-A) and Zero (Z-O)).

Oh yeah, some enterprising fellows already got gazothepranksta and generationzero over at Yahoo Mail in Yahoo.com.

When Nothing Else Matters (Hardcover)

Category: Books
Genre: Biographies & Memoirs
Author: Michael Leahy

Published in 2004, author Michael Leahy shares his experiences during Michael Jordan's last comeback to the National Basketball Association.

Leahy's potrayal of Jordan showed a different side of the basketball legend which is not normally seen in the eyes of the public. Jordan, the "the most marketed player in the history of the NBA," was finally..."mortal" and did go through the same trials and tribulations (from a heightened perspective) that we all go through at some point in our lives. Leahy accounts the days wherein Jordan was at his best and would score 35 points over the span of several games to the days wherein he wasn't unstoppable and hit his career lows of 8 and 2 points respectively.

What stood out for me was Jordan's lambasting of players who didn't play up to his standards. Leahy quotes Jordan on numerous occasions wherein he would lambast teammates. Coach Fred "Tex" Winter, an assistant with the Los Angeles Lakers and former assistant coach with the Chicago Bulls summed it up best, "you either work hard or Michael has no use for you."

But the one paragraph in Leahy's entire book which rocked my very foundation of emulating Michael Jordan was the following:

"His people had held him up as a man to be emulated, making Jordan more than a half-billion in endorsement dollars in the process...he had raised the bar on his behavior during 17 years of unremitting self-promotion, in campaigns approved by the Jordan camp and coordinated by Nike and other corporate sponsors that elevated him from great athlete to hero and, finally, to moral symbol.

...when you present yourself as virtuous in years of ad campaigns and TV commercials, you will be fairly held in time to that standard. Fairly held because uou have sold your basketball shoes to people plunking down in excess of $100 not merely for a chance at better Ups but for a way to rub up against your aura, to feel a tiny sense of you in that admittedly silly way people feel when they wish to emulate anybody, to be inspired by your class and elegance, your morality and grace, as they've heard it told. And if some of that was artifice, then so, too, was everything you sold with your likeness on it."

Disturbing but quite true, personally, I have seen myself on many occasions wanting to "be like Mike." I've bought the shoes, worn the clothes, gotten the cards, read the books...and it is only now I realized. What about me? Leahy's book showed me that. In the years that I have been collecting "Jordan" in order to be inspired, all I needed to do in the end was look in the mirror in order to be inspired.

This is a great book that puts any not only Michael Jordan's life in perspective but also that of your own, especially if you are a Jordan fan who has collected his paraphernalia over the years.