check that...

as long as gilbert arenas is playing for the wizards, i will have a problem cheering for them.

from the washington times' mike jones

"Hidden agendas. You can't win like that," Arenas said. "I've never been on a team where you have eight free agents next year. ... I've never seen it turn out well. Sometimes it works out for the best because everybody's hungry and everybody's fighting. Sometimes it works out for the worst when everybody's out for their own.

"I guess when you start losing, everyone wants to start pointing fingers everywhere else," Arenas added. "I converted my game to try to get people involved. ... I think the only person who actually had to sacrifice was me. Everybody else can just play their game."

so... "i have no ability to make a coherent argument" and "i've got a gigantic ego," all in one go!

"I'm sitting here thinking, 'Damn, do I have to go into attack mode like I was two years ago to get us over the hump?' I hope not," Arenas said. "But like I told [Jamison], couple more games before I just say, 'Hey, I'm going to have to carry you guys on my back.'

"The NBA's a ship. It's going to keep moving. Teams are not waiting for us," Arenas continued. "As the captain, I've got to steer my ship. If I've got to steer it to land until everybody wants to jump on, then I'm going to do it. [Dwyane] Wade had to do it last year [in Miami] until everybody was ready to play; I'm going to have to do it this year. We'll see who comes and follows. [If] nobody wants to follow, then the thing's just going to keep moving."

um... same thing, but in a different order?

As Arenas said that, Haywood walked by and, calculated or not, began singing a line from the latest Beyonce song. "I got a big ego," crooned the center, who kept on moving.

yeah, haywood!

oh, and in case anybody thinks that arenas is actually a dwyane wade-esque player who has to suffer a horrible team (making his statements somewhat excusable):

Arenas has, however, remained the team leader in shots taken, averaging more than 19 a game, but his .390 shooting percentage is the worst of all the starters.

this man is going to carry a team on his back? he'd sooner run his ship aground.