Gilbert Arenas is goofy, smart and entertaining as hell. Oh yeah, and he happens to be a great ball player.

On his latest blog post, he references the time leading up to his draft day when he felt like the Celtics owner trashed him. Now, he plots revenge in the form of a bold prediction:

Oh man, everybody is jumping on this Celtics band wagon. You know what? I was going to go prediction-free for the whole year, but I guess I’m going to break that now.

Now, if anybody remembers back when I got drafted, I got a report back that the reason I dropped so far in the draft was that Jim O’Brien of the Celtics said that I was too immature and that I wasn’t ready for the NBA. What really happened was that I had an Achilles injury and I went back to L.A. to go get it healed when I was supposed to have a two-day workout in Boston with O’Brien. He didn’t like that. So word came back to me that he was trashing me and it put this knife through my chest about the Boston Celtics.

Back in the day when I would day dream I thought that if I could score 100 points against any team it would be the Boston Celtics. Now, I knew it would never happen, but if I could do one thing in the NBA it would be to score 100 against Boston. So anyway, since everybody is back on the Boston bandwagon it brought back old memories. So listen here. On November 2nd, we’re going to go into that building, we’re opening up Boston. Right now I’m telling the Boston fans: You guys are going to lose. It’s not going to be a victory for Boston. You might as well just cheer for me, because Boston isn’t winning in Boston for the season opener. I’m sorry.

Please Gil, don’t hurt em! Will this be another Phoenix Suns prediction-and-follow-through or Portland Trailblazers bust? Tune in November 2nd and find out.

Among other topics covered in his post is an offer to Mark Ecko to purchase the Barry Bonds no. 756 home run ball to preserve and keep it from any tainting planned. Doubt it’ll work but hey, at least it’s an athlete coming to the aid of a fellow athlete who happens to be under enormous scrutiny.

I had reserved, yet high hopes for the town hall meeting on “The Vick Divide,” hosted by ESPN at the World Congress Center. As the most popular sports network in the world, they are not required to hold such and event discussing an issue — Michael Vick’s crimes and the relation of his treatment to race — that transcends sports. They built up the televised event by providing a balanced panel and promise of balanced discussion between the panel and questions from the Atlanta town hall attendees.Somewhere along the way, I forgot that the “E” in ESPN stands for entertainment.

The panel was an array of players and journalists, each with their choice blend to the event –

• Terrence Mathis spoke early and often of God and redemption, receiving plenty of applause from the crowd, as he tried to defend Vick’s right to a second chance.
• Neil Boortz stayed out of the way for the most part, realizing the atmosphere was heavily pro-Vick, but managed to slip-up when he said “you people” as he broke down a point on Vick’s own accountability.
• Terence Moore was booed more often than ARod in New York when he hits only one home run in a night. He maintained very pointedly that Michael Vick is a pure villain, through and through.
• Selena Roberts did a good job of becoming a fan favorite throughout the discussion. She maintained that the Falcons organization enabled Vick from the word “go” and they should have done more to prevent this from happening.
• Chuck Smith threw in a few choice words here and there but for the most part was relatively useless on stage.

The main problem with the town hall meeting was how openly bias the Congress Center was with Vick supporters. The lopsided reactions to the comments by the panel worked as a disadvantage to the (hopefully) intended balance of the event. And at best, Bob Fary looked more like Jerry Springer, needing to intervene early and often to ask enraged audience members to be civil and let the panel speak.

The pro-Vick Atlanta crowd booed any dissent or knock on the former Falcons star and his crime. The most misguided boos came when the deputy director of the Humane Society spoke of the brutality and cruelty involved in dogfighting, adding how, contrary to popular belief (including my own), dogfighting has been a felony in Virginia for years. The newly changed law was on the federal level, and involved the crime of transporting dogs between states in order to fight. The deputy director was trying to speak for the animals who have no voice and the audience wrongly took out their anger on him.

The unyielding Vick support from the audience set the town hall meeting into shambles. The end result wasn’t exactly a fair and balanced judge of how divided of society is about race and their public perception. For future reference ESPN, or any other network attempting a similar venture, should have the same type of panel — a mix of players and journalists who covered the event — but give them a more closed environment without crown noise biased in any way. The one thing the crowd provided was evidence that Vick still has very persistent and loyal support in Atlanta.

Vick’s crimes cannot be defended. He pleaded guilty and apologized for his involvement. We can argue that every person deserves a second chance after paying their debt to society. We can try and figure out a pattern of events that led Vick to committing this crime. We can even argue how serious the crime of dogfighting is. But the argument of whether Vick is guilty or not is settled.

Some varied, more detailed responses of the ESPN “Vick Divide” Town Hall:

• ESPN Reminds You Black And White People Hate Each Other (Fynalcut)
• Vick Town Meeting (Atlanta-Journal Constitution)
• Across The Vick Divide The Chasm Is Larger Than Ever (The Starting Five)

I am disgusted by the decisions of Major League Baseball and Marc Ecko regarding the handling of the Barry Bonds 756th home run baseball. It makes for a funny story, but it compromises the prestige of the Baseball Hall of Fame and every record ever accomplished and/or broken in baseball. Dale Petroskey, President of the Baseball Hall of Fame said he would welcome the vandalized ball;

Statement From Hall of Fame President Dale Petroskey Regarding Marc Ecko Ball Donation

“Since the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum first opened in 1939, the generosity of players, teams and fans, like Marc Ecko, has made it possible to preserve baseball history in Cooperstown. Every one of the nearly 35,000 artifacts in our collection has been donated,” said Dale Petroskey, president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

“We’re grateful to Marc for donating this baseball, which represents one of the game’s most historic records. Baseball belongs to the fans — it always has and always will. The asterisk represents the voice of the fans at this moment in time. The level of interest reflects the strong bond between baseball and American culture. Our responsibility as a history museum is to present every story in proper context, and this ball allows us to do that.”

I am not a huge baseball fan, but I am a huge sports fan. I respect baseball for its rich history and the many great athletes that have played the game. My personal opinion is that their Hall of Fame (along with the NBA & NFL) should be more selective, but that is a different story. Baseball needs a salary cap and Commissioner Bud Selig completely botched and continues to mishandle the steroid problem. Dale Petroskey will only magnify this if the vandalized ball is allowed into the Hall of Fame.

Barry Bonds may have done steroids. He may not have earned his spot as the greatest home run hitter of all time. But no one knows the truth… I have more of a problem with Mark McGuire who inadvertently admitted to taking steroids during his Congressional hearings. Or Sammy Sosa who forgot how to speak English during his hearing and immediately became terrible after steroid testing began. Barry Bonds was an amazing player before the steroid era and continues to be an amazing hitter as MLB players are tested for steroids. Not to mention pitchers definitely took steroids as well, so the advantage couldn’t have been that great.

The world of baseball began to attack Barry Bonds in a witch hunt manner when it became evident that he would surpass Babe Ruth as the greatest hitter of all time. Hank Aaron maybe have held the record, but Babe Ruth is viewed as the homerun champ in mainstream America. Since Selig, Congress, and America were not able to legally prove that Bonds is a cheater, defacing the record breaking ball is the next best thing. It may not be the right analogy, but it’s similar to OJ being pronounced innocent, but he loses everything in a civil suit. It’s a loose comparison, but you get the point.

If the mutilated baseball is allowed into the Hall of Fame, the great museum of baseball history can no longer be taken seriously. Baseball does not make my shortlist, but this is just stupid. The idea of this defamed baseball being on display not only takes away from Barry Bonds legacy, but every other great honored by the Hall of Fame. The allure of Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente, Joe DiMaggio, and Wade Boggs loses its magic. The Hall of Fame should be held at the highest standard, not comprised by ignorance or publicity.

If the branded baseball is allowed into the Hall of Fame where will it end? What else will be accepted? Roger Clemens has been linked to steroids by multiple sources, but no one as chased after Clemens. It is interesting that after the Jason Grimsley investigation Clemens is no longer playing as if he had found the fountain of youth… What if I bought Clemens’ 1000th strike out as a New York Yankee ball and donated it to the Hall of Fame with an asterisk branded on the ball? Would it be accepted? Let’s take it one step farther. What if Bill Cosby donated Josh Gibson’s Negro League Pittsburgh Crawfords jersey to the Hall of Fame with the inscription, “If America allowed me to play I would be the single season record holder instead of Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire, or Babe Ruth.” Or what if I got a hold of a Negro League Satchel Paige baseball and branded “This ball would have kept Babe Ruth to only 713 Home Runs if I was white,” then donated it? How would it be received?

First, I would like to apologize for taking so long with this piece. That sick feeling in my stomach after leaving Fed Ex Field on Sunday is just starting to leave…

Where to begin? Although I was furious after the game because we miss out on a huge opportunity at being one of six teams still undefeated, I am not worried. At least I keep telling myself that. Desperately trying to convince yourself that any lose is a good thing is damn near impossible to do, but like Kweli… I try.

Even though we are entering Week 4 of a very long season, I try to avoid writing about my beloved Washington Redskins during the season. I was afraid to praise them the first two weeks in fear of having it backfire in such a big game last Sunday. But now that it happened I am happy it did. I hate when the bandwagon articles start to surface and the DMV (DC/Maryland/Virginia, I hate this nickname, because who doesn’t hate the real DMV?) starts buzzing about my team. I read an article in the Washington Post last week about the team starting 6-0. I have co-workers and friends approaching me proclaiming they love Jason Campbell and we have a shot at the Super Bowl. This after everyone told me I was stupid for applauding the team for drafting Landry and arguing that Campbell is the truth. I hate that. It infuriates me that the Redskins are notorious for smelling themselves. Last year was a joke, so I am comparing this team to the 2005 team that made the playoffs.

In 2005, Gibbs entered his sophomore season of his second tenure. The Redskins flew under the radar to start the season quietly starting the season 3-0. Once the nation began to take notice what happened? We dropped two close games to Denver and Kansas City. After rebounding with a clobbering of San Francisco the stage was set for the biggest game of the season, the 4-2 Redskins against the 4-2 Giants. The Washington Redskins decided not to show up and got demolished 36-0. Do you remember that game? Tiki had 206 yards rushing! That was all I could think about as I walked to my car after the game on Sunday. Another statement game against the Giants where we don’t show up. The Skins eventually made the playoffs that season and will hopefully this year, but damn Gibbs, I need a big NFC East statement game to show me we are ready for the playoffs. I need to know we can handle a playoff atmosphere.

The 2007 Washington Redskins are a good team. Not a great team (yet), but a solid NFL team. We have a strong and capable defense, we can run the ball affectively, and have playmakers at receiver, tight end, and quarterback. There is no excuse for losing a game like we did on Sunday. When playing an offensive team such as the Giants we cannot afford to take our foot off the pedal in the third quarter. It is no secret that since Gibbs’ return the team has lacked the killer instinct. I want to see us run the score up on a division rival to say, “Yeh we kicked your ass, remember it because when we come to New York we are going to do the same thing.� Instead Gibbs showed that we can’t put teams away. If New York had fallen to 0-3 their season would have been over, any opportunity you have to end a division rivals season you do it. Instead we turned a two team race for the division (Washington & Dallas) into a four team race.

The Washington Redskins played too conservative in the second half. There was no urgency in the third quarter. Al Saunders and Gibbs were content with a strong first half and wanted to preserve it. Where were the screens? We have yet to run a screen for Santana all season. Where was the end around pass by Randel El? Why not work Lloyd into the offense? (I still like Brandon) Where was Cooley? Do Sanders and Gibbs watch film? When the Giants played the Cowboys tight end Jason Witten had 6 catches for 116 yards and a touchdown. Against the Green Bay Packers the Giants allowed tight end Bubba Franks to have 4 catches for 20 yards and a touchdown. Even Green Bay’s backup tight end Donald Lee had 4 catches for 35 yards and a touchdown. Umm we couldn’t get Chris Cooley more than 3 catches for 19 yards? Todd Yoder couldn’t get a pass? He already showed he can demolish Weapon X up in Philly, you think Yoder couldn’t have done the same to Big Blue?

The Redskins only had the ball for ten minutes in the second half. Our offensive productivity was embarrassing. We had the ball for three minutes in the third quarter resulting in two three and outs. That’s too long for our defense to be on the field.

I have no problem with the last drive. I was impressed with how Jason got the team down to the one yard line during the two minute drill. I would have preferred to have Clinton in the game instead of Betts, but Clinton is still out of shape from skipping pre-season and practice.

I am taking this loss with a grain of salt. It was a great learning experience for our football team. Gibbs, Saunders, and Williams will not allow our team to lose a 14 point lead again this season. The Redskins fell apart right before the bye, leaving the taste of defeat in their mouths for two weeks instead of one. Coming off the bye the team faces the Detroit Lions, another team who can score in bunches and can’t be counted out of any game. Hopefully the Redskins have learned their lesson or my Week 5 synopsis might not come till the following Friday.

• Maybe my vote tilted the scale? Ok, not so much. With a majority of 47% the fans have spoken: brand Bonds’ No. 756 with an asterisk and sent it to the hall. The move will be historic, monumental and hopefully remind people of baseball’s overall issues with integrity not just with players, but also within their leadership. Ecko will work work with the Hall of Fame to be sure “the whole story is told.”
• Even you have to agree with Mariotti here: Rex had a reign of error over those Bears. Now Lovie Smith plans on benching Grossman in favor of Brian Griese. Yes, Grossman was the man at the offensive helm during the Bears’ Super Bowl run last year but how many times did he shoot them in the foot? Pretty soon, after Griese has a bad game or two, those thoughts of McNabb flying the Eagles’ coup in favor of his hometown will become much more real.
• Sorry for lingering on this hometown lovin’ but those beleaguered Nationals keep handing L’s to playoff teams — ask those first-place Mets.
• Years ago, in the wee hours of the night I watched as a group of guys played cricket outside in an empty shopping center parking lot and could not, for the life of me, understand how to play. I still do not have a clue how to play but if they keep making the game leaner, fast and furious, I’ll lift it from its current spot of 792329 on the ranking of sports I enjoy. (we enjoy only what we understand, no?)

ESPN should be applauded for putting together a town hall meeting to discuss such a highly publicized, highly dividing topic in a public forum.

Although it will look and sound a lot like a trashy talk show at times, the end product will be beneficial to those who haven’t had a chance to (or didn’t want to) listen to varying views on the issue.

Bob Ley from Outside The Lines is moderating the discussion, and his discussion panel consists of Selena Roberts from the New York Times, Terence Moore of the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, Chuck Smith (ex-Falcons player) and ex-Falcons player and Vick teammate Terrence Mathis. There are a few others but I didn’t catch all of their names and can’t recognize their faces right now, but when I update this again I’ll add them. Also, Jeffri Chadiha is planted blogger-style on the panel stage with his laptop, reading forum comments from the ever-present, ever-resounding netroots community.

Hopefully the discussion will be productive and helpful… ok, maybe not. But let’s hope at the very least we get a balanced discussion of professionals, mixed with a bunch of people in the crowd yelling at Moore. Let me give you this right now: Selena Roberts just upped her readership at NYTimes.com because she’s on point right now. Works out that NYTimes.com just opened up all of Roberts’ pieces to the public.

So on goes the town hall meeting, another hour to go… I’ll try and post more later.

WOW… the white guy on the panel almost said, “you people…” it’s going to be a rowdy hour to go.

Side note: If Michael Vick is probably at home right now watching the town hall meeting he’s either:

• Booing Terence Moore from his couch
• Applauding Selena Roberts and creating “I heart Selena” shirts
• Playing Madden ‘08 and lauding in the last year for a long while he’ll be playing in a NFL stadium without using a cheat code.

Some other links:

• Some ESPN town hall hate from Moore’s Atlanta-Journal Constitution coworker.

You still have until midnight tonight to vote at www.vote756.com whether you want to have Barry Bonds’ career-breaking No. 756 sent to the Hall of Fame with or without an asterisk, or shot into outer space. Crazy, absurd, a bit off the wall? Sure. But hey, if fashion designer Mark Ecko follows through with his promise to let the fans decide, this may be one very historical moment in time.

• Mark Ecko stopped by ESPN to chat with fans
• The Mindrite Sports take — “Deciding The Fate Of Bonds’ Historic No. 756″

• Just when you thought it was safe to order your steroids through your best, most reliable Chinese source, you find out “they” were after you the whole time. Sucks for you… and the “Raw Deal” you caught.
• Vick, already starting to get out of shape after losing his number-1 physical activity in life for a while, will need to duck and dodge more charges in Virginia. These charges look to put the ex-Falcons star in the Big House for up to 40 years. Now that he came off as remorseful and genuine… can he get some PETA support to lighten charges? Ha… I know, I know… can’t have it both ways.
• Tim Tebow once karate-chopped Chuck Norris, knocked him into a deep coma and later revived and played chess with him on the moon. Here’s some more uncomfortable love and adoration from a man who generally enjoys hating on your faves. (Don’t get me wrong, Tebow is a Heismann top-5)
• Deuce McAllister injured his knee last night and rumor has it… he’s done for the year. But, hey, Eli Manning was out for a month a week ago so… hold out hope, Fantasy Football owners.
• The Mets have to hate themselves and the Nats right now. The Yankees… could clinch a playoff birth as early as today. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times… no?

It’s almost hypocritical that I call myself a sports fan knowing that I don’t enjoy watching most sports. Basketball, baseball and football, sure. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Swimming, track, archery, fencing, wrestling, soccer? Not for me. Lacrosse, bowling, volleyball, water skiing? Not a chance. I was stunned when I went to England to find that not only did the sport of cricket actually exist, but that it’s as popular over there as the NBA is here. Check out five minutes of a cricket match sometime if you’ve got the chance. Or, if you can’t make that happen, just throw a bag of party ice in the sink and watch it melt. Good call on that one, England.

Until this month’s US Open, such was the case with me and the sport of tennis. I just didn’t get tennis. Sure, I had played it before and had a blast. My sophomore year of college there was a pair of courts outside my front door that the roomies and me frequented. But you were as likely then to catch me watching Wimbledon as you were One Life to Live. It was just plain boring.

That changed two weeks ago. I was at a friend’s place to view the US Men’s Basketball Team shred yet another North American lightweight. Predictably, the US jumped out quick and early and never looked back. The lead hit the margin of some 30 or 40 points when one of the residents flipped it over to tennis–and not just tennis, but women’s tennis. I was taken aback instantly and almost made a joke until I realized this guy was not kidding. He really wanted to spend his God-given time watching tennis.

So, not wanting to make a scene, I quietly sat back and watched. Ten minutes later I didn’t care about going back to the basketball slaughter. Here were two women duecing and adding their way like only the world’s best can. Granted they were cute, which was more than could be said for Coach K, Mike Miller, and the other ballers littering the hardwood over there on channel 64. But a few nights later when I caught a men’s match I was only pulled in deeper.

Sunday’s championship pitted the number three player in the world, 20-year-old Novak Djokovic, against numero uno Roger Federer. To say this guy is number one in the world is actually a bit of an understatement. Kobe, A-Rod, LT, even Tiger–I don’t know if they can measure up to what this guy is doing. Here was #1 vs. #3, but it might as well have been #119 challenging the throne. Federer completely dismantled the kid, winning all three sets to capture his fourth straight US Open. Fourth!

Looking past the rocket serves, the most inspiring part to me was Federer’s powerful composure. Like a top surgeon performing a routine double bypass, Federer remained emotionless throughout the duration of the match. Almost robotic. He would go as far as to give a fist pump after landing a big shot, but other than that he might as well have been taking a stroll on a Tuesday. He didn’t look in the game—he looked above it.

Before too long it was over. The trophies were brought out and runner-up Djokovic was lauded again and again by the broadcasters for his excellent effort and bright future. The fact that Federer was the winner came as almost an afterthought. But after four years of domination isn’t second place as good as a tennis player can hope for? Number one is spoken for and it looks like that’s not going to change anytime soon.

Tennis, I salute you. Welcome to the shortlist.

What is wrong with Brian Billick?

I picked the Baltimore Ravens to start the season 11-0. After week 1 my profound prediction is down the drain. Don’t blame me, blame Billick. Why did Billick fire one of his best friends, former Ravens offensive coordinator Jim Fassel, because he wasn’t getting the job done offensively if Billick can’t do any better?

Here’s my honest opinion of Brian Billick…

Billick has… had (past tense) a reputation of being an offensive genius. From 1992-1998 he was the offensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings. He is the only offensive coordinator who can boast scoring league record 556 points in a season. He actually won the Baltimore Ravens head coaching job because he was thought to be an offensive mastermind. But the truth is that offense would have scored those points regardless of who the coach was. In case you forgot about the Purple People Eaters, they consisted of Randall Cunningham, Chris “all he does is catch touchdowns� Carter, Randy “I play when I wanna� Moss, and Robert “I agree with Tiki’s decision� Smith. Except for Robert Smith you had a future Hall of Famer at every skill position. Fast forward to Baltimore…

Billick’s problem is that he always tries to out-scheme himself instead of simply realizing what he has. In the back of his mind Billick feels he still has to prove to everyone that he was responsible for that insane 1998 offensive explosion not Moss, Carter, Smith, and Cunningham. So Billick tends to go pass happy at the worst possible times… for example:

In 2003, running back Jamal Lewis had a record-setting season for the Baltimore Ravens. Lewis finished with the second highest total rushing yards in NFL history with 2,066 rushing yards including 500 yards against the Cleveland Browns in two games.

Side note: Remember when Jamal Lewis said he was going to break the single game rushing record against the Browns? Then did it? He rushed for 295 yards in one game! He would have had 350 if it wasn’t for a holding call that brought back a 60 touchdown run. If I played for the Browns, I would have tried to break his leg once he reached 200. It’s weird now seeing him in a Browns jersey. I honestly don’t know if I could cheer for him if I was a Cleveland Browns fan. Think about… not only did he run all over your team in 2003, but he was also apart of Art Modell’s team that won the Super Bowl. If there was anyone to hate in the world of Cleveland football other than Modell it would be Jamal Lewis. But now you have to root for him? It just seems odd. I still feel dirty having cheered for Deon Sanders when he played for the Redskins in 2001.

Ok back to the story… The Ravens finished 10-6 in 2003 and hosted the Tennessee Titans in an AFC Wild Card game. For some odd reason Billick decided not to use Jamal Lewis in that playoff game. Lewis only rushed the ball 14 times and gained a measly 35 yards. Let me repeat myself, your running back just had the second highest rushing season in NFL history, you have one of the best defenses of all time, and your only going to run the 14 times in a playoff game? The game was close the entire contest, so there was no need for Billick to go pass crazy to catch up. Billick wanted to show everyone that he was the offense genius of 1998, so he had Anthony Wright throw the ball 37 times versus running the ball with his 2,000 yard running back. Fast forward to this season…

In the Monday Night football game last week the Ravens had first and goal within the 5 yard line with about a minute left to play. The team was down by seven points and desperately needed a touchdown against their division rival Cincinnati Bengals. The Ravens traded for star running back Willis McGahee in the off season and gave him a big contract for moments like this. But what did Billick do? Have his back up quarterback throw the ball three straight times ending the game with an interception. Stupid!

On Sunday with three minutes left in their game with the Jets, the Baltimore Ravens were up seven points and had possession. Baltimore again had their back-up quarterback in the game and their new million dollar running back behind the line, what did Billick order? Two passes that were incomplete and a run… 25 seconds off the clock… punt. The Jets were able to march down the field and into the red zone. If it wasn’t for Ray Lewis’ interception the Jets could have taken the game into overtime. Again, why is Billick calling passing plays? Because he wants to prove to everyone that he is an offensive genius and that his boy Boller can walk on water… BRIAN BILLICK, GET YOUR MIND RITE!