The Wizards 104-99 win over the Detroit Pistons last night at the Verizon Center evened the season series to 2-2, solidified D.C.’s grip on the top spot in the Eastern Conference, and has rendered it extremely probable that Eddie Jordan will coach the East’s All-Star Team in Vegas. Good news all around then, except for the small matter of Antawn Jamison re-injuring the left knee he tweaked playing Boston on January 20th. Jamison suffered…

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…

Underrated for years, Wizards star Gilbert Arenas has recently arrived as a true media-validated superstar complete with the lavish birthday party and loose talk of MVP awards. The obvious question becomes: When does the backlash against Gilbertology begin? Perhaps this very afternoon. Arenas fans who tuned in to ESPN.com scheduled chat with the high-scoring point guard were disappointed when, after almost fifteen minutes of waiting, we heard that “we were forwarned that he might not…

The Wizards absolutely crushed the Memphis Grizzlies last night at the Verizon Center in the most one-sided NBA game we’ve witnessed in a while. D.C. exploded to a 45-18 lead in the first quarter, and set a new Verizon Center record by scoring 77 in the first half. Gilbert Arenas took his new Kobe-inspired mantra of “quality shots” seriously, scoring his 31 points on just 13 field goal attempts in 33 minutes. Thanks to injuries…

We considered giving in to the late west coast start time and going to bed last night with the Wizards leading the Lakers by ten after three quarters during which they’d generally stayed firmly in control. We’re glad we persevered. First, the Lakers staged a major rally late in the fourth quarter driven by stellar three-point shooting and several botched clutch free throws for D.C., forcing overtime. Then, Agent Zero turned the hibachi to high…

Of all the rivalries in recent sports history, few have been as one-sided as the Wizards’ struggles against their Southeast Division antagonists, the Miami Heat. Indeed, it’s not clear you can even call it a rivalry, since in actual rivalries both sides sometimes win. D.C.’s hoopsters, by contrast, have been losing for a long time now. Sixteen straight games, including a four-game sweep in the 2006 Eastern Conference Semifinals, and sweeps of the regular season…

Monday night’s solid win against the Dallas Mavericks, halting one of the league’s best teams’ hot twelve game winning streak, ought to give the Wizards a jolt of confidence as they head tonight to Madison Square Garden to face off against the hapless New York Knicks. Should, but likely won’t, for the simple reason that the game won’t be played in Washington, D.C. Not that MSG is a particularly intimidating venue these days — the…