Note to athletes worldwide: Guns and gym bags do not mix. In fact, guns and most things do not mix. Gilbert Arenas must have missed the memo. The Washington Wizards guard was foolish enough to possess firearms in an NBA locker room, and now he will pay the hefty price. Commissioner, David Stern, came down hard on Arenas Wednesday with an indefinite suspension effective immediately. The ruling occurred on Arenas’ 28th birthday. Maybe he should have wished for some common sense before blowing out his birthday candles. Perhaps Arenas’ uniform number “zero” stands for the amount of common sense he has. This isn’t the first time the Wizard hoopster has been suspended because of a gun-related incident. He sat out the Washington home opener in 2004 because he failed to maintain proper registration for a gun while living in California. The most recent incident pegged Arenas for bringing four unloaded guns into Washington’s Verizon Center locker room. Four? Why in the world would an NBA player need to carry four guns to a home game? Arenas claims he wanted the weapons out of his house after the birth of his daughter. Investigators believe the guns were present following a gambling dispute and heated discussion with teammate, Javaris Crittenton. D.C. newspapers reported Crittenton brandishing a gun and loading it with ammunition. Arenas’ latest claim is an even poorer show of judgment. The Wizards’ star joked about carrying firearms, citing it was a misguided effort to play a joke on a teammate. The NBA will continue to investigate the Arenas Arms situation. Arenas will sit out without pay even after apologizing for his actions on Monday. The Wizards will be deprived of their on-court leader because of his off-court behavior. I hope the next time a professional athlete thinks about hauling heat into an arena, they use common sense first.
The Washington Redskins have their man. Mike Shanahan was hired to replace the fired Jim Zorn in D.C. The former Denver Broncos head coach was introduced Wednesday as Washington’s head coach and executive vice president. Owner Daniel Snyder’s embattled Redskins are coming off a 4-12 season. Snyder felt the need to hire an established and strong leader to run a team that hasn’t made the playoffs in eight of the past eleven seasons. The owner also hired a general manager, Bruce Allen, for the first time in 11 years. Snyder took control of the Redskins in 1999. He’s been very hands-on and influential in roster moves since he’s been in the front office. Washington hasn’t been as strong in their performance during this decade. The Redskins are 82-99 on his watch. Six coaches have come and gone, including Hall-of-Famer, Joe Gibbs returning from retirement. Marty Schottenheimer was hired in 2001, but canned after an 8-8 season. Zorn was called upon for his first stint at head coaching. He was a last-minute option for Snyder after all other coaching candidates turned him down. It was a no-win situation from the get-go 23 months ago for a man without even coordinator experience. Snyder promoted Zorn to head coach after interviewing him for an offensive coordinator slot. Zorn’s zesty rokie year with the Redskins started off surprisingly well. Washington began 2008 with a 6-2 run but lost 18 of their last 24 games. Zorn’s second season was anything but zealous, leading to yet another Snyder staff overhaul. Shanahan will make $35 million over the next five years and have control over coaching and executive football decisions.
Parting Points: Song of the day- “All Over You” by Live
Congrats to U.S. Hockey’s World Juniors for clipping Canada 6-5 in overtime in the world hockey junior championship game Tuesday.
Hook ‘em Horns! Here’s hoping Texas topples the Crimson Tide tonight.
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