Arenas makes wagers

Gilbert Arenas was admonished by the NBA for making bets with fans during the Washington Wizards' loss at Portland on Wednesday. Arenas made the bets as he bantered with fans throughout the Wizards' 100-98 loss. He was booed during pregame introductions and whenever he touched the ball because he had promised to score 50 points against the Trail Blazers. After the game, Arenas said he bet a fan $10 that he would make the winning basket. He missed badly -- throwing up a shot that fell short of the rim -- and finished with only 19 points. Arenas later elaborated on his nba.com blog, saying that he made $10 bets with two fans during the game and had obtained their e-mail addresses so that he could pay them off. The NBA since has removed the references to the bets from the blog.

For a guard considered a poor man's Jordan, a $10 wager sounds about right. We all know the real MJ would have had 6-figures riding on the final shot. The NBA should consider itself lucky that it was Arenas and not Allen Iverson wagering with fans. When AI drained the shot at the buzzer and the fan didn't pay up, you may as well just file a missing person's report with the FBI.