Leads Jai-Rai Lose Second-Straight, Despite End of Arenas' 3-Week Billboard Starvation Standoff
UDORN (AP)—Gilbert Arenas had had enough. And Jai-Rai management finally caved.
Udorn's mercurial point guard ended his hunger-strike stand-off with team owner Devin Jackson last week, finally getting the starting nod against Los Iguanas de Maracaibo in a key World Conference matchup. The appearance of the seldom-started Arenas wasn't enough to overcome the Igs, however, as the Jai-Rai lost 5-4.
Since Week 3, when he was benched for up-and-comer Russell Westbrook, Arenas has been defiantly camped on a billboard in downtown metropolitan Udorn, refusing to come down or eat anything until Jai-Rai brass realized their "grave misdeeds."
"We just beat the Butchers, and all of a sudden coach comes up to me and says they're gonna try somethin' different for a few weeks. I'm like 'what? I'm Gilbert Arenas, dang it!'" the former All-Star explained. "I'm back, baby! I'm healthy! They don't know who they dealing with."
From his lofty perch in front of a billboard outfitted with the saying "I'm Gilbert Arenas" and "Start Me Or Starve Me!", and armed with nothing more than a bullhorn and a sleeping bag, Arenas beckoned at passers-by to honk if they wanted him back in the lineup. The scheme seemed to be working during a Week 3 loss to Zermatt, but the groundswell died down after the Jai-Rai pummeled Nephi 8-1 thanks to solid play from Westbrook.
"Yeah, that was a tough week. But I had to hold my ground. I had to let them know that I wasn't joking around," said Arenas. "Do I look like the type of guy who'd joke around about something like this?"
Ultimately, management decided that the negative PR the team was getting far outweighed the benefits that could come from winning a stand-off with "Gasbag". A Week 5 loss to bottom-feeder New York may have had a little something to do with the change of heart, too.
"We respect Gilbert as a player and a person," said Jackson. "We learned a lot about each other over the past few weeks. I guess I underestimated the type of crazy I was getting involved with when I drafted him."
After the final horn sounded on the Jai-Rai's loss—their second series loss with Arenas running the point—Jackson's tune suddenly changed.
"It was good to have Gilby come down and play again. And you can definitely tell that his not eating for three weeks helped him lose some off-season weight, so it was really win-win for all of us. But I think it's back to billboard for you, Gilby."
Udorn's mercurial point guard ended his hunger-strike stand-off with team owner Devin Jackson last week, finally getting the starting nod against Los Iguanas de Maracaibo in a key World Conference matchup. The appearance of the seldom-started Arenas wasn't enough to overcome the Igs, however, as the Jai-Rai lost 5-4.
Since Week 3, when he was benched for up-and-comer Russell Westbrook, Arenas has been defiantly camped on a billboard in downtown metropolitan Udorn, refusing to come down or eat anything until Jai-Rai brass realized their "grave misdeeds."
"We just beat the Butchers, and all of a sudden coach comes up to me and says they're gonna try somethin' different for a few weeks. I'm like 'what? I'm Gilbert Arenas, dang it!'" the former All-Star explained. "I'm back, baby! I'm healthy! They don't know who they dealing with."
From his lofty perch in front of a billboard outfitted with the saying "I'm Gilbert Arenas" and "Start Me Or Starve Me!", and armed with nothing more than a bullhorn and a sleeping bag, Arenas beckoned at passers-by to honk if they wanted him back in the lineup. The scheme seemed to be working during a Week 3 loss to Zermatt, but the groundswell died down after the Jai-Rai pummeled Nephi 8-1 thanks to solid play from Westbrook.
"Yeah, that was a tough week. But I had to hold my ground. I had to let them know that I wasn't joking around," said Arenas. "Do I look like the type of guy who'd joke around about something like this?"
Ultimately, management decided that the negative PR the team was getting far outweighed the benefits that could come from winning a stand-off with "Gasbag". A Week 5 loss to bottom-feeder New York may have had a little something to do with the change of heart, too.
"We respect Gilbert as a player and a person," said Jackson. "We learned a lot about each other over the past few weeks. I guess I underestimated the type of crazy I was getting involved with when I drafted him."
After the final horn sounded on the Jai-Rai's loss—their second series loss with Arenas running the point—Jackson's tune suddenly changed.
"It was good to have Gilby come down and play again. And you can definitely tell that his not eating for three weeks helped him lose some off-season weight, so it was really win-win for all of us. But I think it's back to billboard for you, Gilby."
Around the WFBL
Kings 5, Abominables 4
Sundancers 7, Stratagem 1, Everyone 1
Trojans 5, Underdogs 4
Gators 5, SnowBees 4
Butchers 6, Tigers 3
Week 6 Game of the Week Voting Results:
Los Iguanas de Maracaibo 5 (62%)
Udorn Jai-Rai 3 (37%)
Week 5 EBP:
Marcus Camby, Richmond—5 votes (62% of vote)
________________________________________________________
Fun Facts: Dec 1-7, 2008Gallon of gas: $1.81
Gallon of milk: $2.74
#1 Song: "Live Your Life"—T.I. ft. Rhianna
#1 Movie: "Four Christmases"
Each week, This Week in the WFBL looks back and shines a light on a moment in the WFBL's illustrious history. This week, we look at Week 6 from 2008 (Dec 1-7). Unlike this season, there was a clear divide in the WFBL between the contenders and the pretenders. In Week 6, two of the contenders met, with upstart Nephi taking on seemingly indestructible Park City in a Wasatch Conference showdown.
WEEK SIX, DEC 1-7, 2008
Strats Still Special Despite Success, Roy Claims
KG and the Strats bounce Bosh and the 'Dancers from the unbeaten ranks.
NEPHI (AP)—Now the only remaining unbeaten team in the WFBL, the Nephi Strategem toppled the Park City Sundancers 6-2-1 this week, extending their now longest current winning streak to 7—if you feel good about counting their victory over Rigby in the 11th place game last year. The Strats can also now stake a claim to first place for the first time in franchise history, though they are finding out that winning is not all it is cracked up to be.
"Back when we used to lose, other teams would treat us like we were special," explained Brandon Roy. "Players and coaches would always be making a point to tell us how proud they were of us, that we even managed to field a team at all. Now that we're winning, the other teams don't quite know what to think. They look like they have been betrayed. Well, I'm here to tell you that we are still special, we're just winning now. Is there anything so wrong with that? Management is still perfectly willing to make ill-advised trades, as evidenced by the deal to ship Ron Artest to Richmond for Marquis Daniels this week. See? Still good ol' lovable Nephi."
Kevin Garnett interrupted, "But did they really need to include Udonis Haslem to sweeten an already lopsided trade?" Owner Justin Banks soon joined the discussion, "Hey, I've been wondering where Udonis has been. I think I might have misclicked on his name. I didn't mean to trade him—lol."
Roy is right about one thing, Nephi will always be special.
So what about Park City? How are they dealing with their first loss of the season? Owner Dave Barton was happy to oblige with a characteristically pompous answer. "Look, it's all part of our master plan. We decided that now was the best time to lose, so we didn't turn into some massive juggernaut that everyone is constantly gunning for. We all know how well that turned out for St. George last year. So all of you that were wondering why Mo only dished 6 assists, or what the story behind our sudden dive in free throw percentage Saturday night was, now you know. Yes, soon we will..."
Barton, who didn't get the memo that James Bond analogies are so 3 weeks ago, trailed off and paused before continuing, "You know, I really need to get better at not explaining away my machinations to the whole league, so I'm just gonna stop myself right there. Sometimes I'm just so proud of my ingenuity that I want to share. Maybe next week I will take a cue from Auric Goldfinger by inviting all you media types to my rumpus room for postgame interviews. That way I can have the satisfaction of getting to explain my elaborate plot in great detail before I gas you all to death. Who's in? Wait... I just did it again, didn't I?"
The Strats continued to surprise the league, winning their next three series. But ultimately, their inexperience in the limelight caught up with them, as they stumbled down the stretch, missing out on the regular season conference title and ultimately bowing to Twin Falls in the first round of the Playoffs. Meanwhile, Park City's evil plot to control the league was foiled by their arch-nemesis Zermatt, in the 2009 Concludings.
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