It probably won't bring security to Baghdad, but last night brought some surge news that can generate bipartisan support inside the Beltway: Gilbert Arenas has pulled off a surprise come-from-behind victory over Vince Carter to be the second Eastern Conference starting guard in the NBA All-Star Game. Just two weeks ago, Carter led Arenas by 214,460 votes and his lead appeared so insurmountable that we spent some time yesterday afternoon writing a draft post complaining about the injustice of it all. The surprise prompted some re-writing, but extra work aside we're glad to see it.

Certainly, Agent Zero deserved to win. For starters, Gilbert scores more points (29.7 versus 24.5), but he also scores more points per forty minutes (29.4 versus 25.5) and does it more efficiently (true shooting percentage of 57.1 versus 54.9 for Carter) while playing more minutes. Gilbert dishes more assists (6.2 to 4.5) and snags more steals (2.0 to 1.1). Carter's only edge is a minor one in rebounding where he pulls down 5.7 board a game against just 4.5 for the Hibachi -- not nearly enough to make up for Arenas' superiority in other categories.

The only thing to worry about is that historically DC's star has fueled his game with resentment at a career-long series of perceived snubs. An unquestionable moment of getting the recognition he deserves risks making Arenas' future play less All-Star worthy. Be that as it may, for now we can't really do anything but congratulate Gilbert on a well-deserved victory.

Photo by Kyle Gustafson