Gambling with the Game

The biggest story of the past year has not been about "amazing" happening because OMG it sure does happen. And the way it happens is through gambling.

david Stern has spent the last year promoting legalized gambling on games which is probably the sanest way for the government to get a piece of the action it is currently not getting a penny from.

But the larger shadow of gambling that casts a pall over the game are incidents like the one on Christmas eve, in which newspaper reports allege that Gilbert Arenas not only had a stash of guns in the lockeroom but other teammates did as well.

And, as if that incredible story wasn't enough, Arenas allegedly drew a gun on Teammate Jarvis Crittendon who was angry about an unpaid debt and Crittendon did what any civic minded citizen would do, he quickly drew out his own gun. This Roadrunner/Wiley Coyote - life is stranger than Saturday morning cartoons - satire fortunately ended in the two of them being investigated by the Feds.

And why not. Imagine the potential havoc that could play out if an unbalanced fan or player enters the locker room, discovers a handy weapon, and decides to shoot up the place and disrupt the officials who are manipulating the game's point-spread. That would piss off a lot of people.

Yes gambling is the past decades most reoccurring story for the NBA. If it's not Charles Barkley's debt, the Charles Oakley collection agency, referees who've rewritten the record and standings for who knows how many teams, now its locker room showdowns.

My, my, my. I'm willing to bet the next decade has got to get better than this past one.