Gilbert Arenas talks smack about Milwaukee

[SupremeHustle]

Milwaukee is one of the most deplorable places on earth. I can't believe anyone would live there by choice. I've never heard anyone say, "Ya know, someday, I'm going to live in Milwaukee!" I'd rather live in downtown Baghdad, than move back there.

Just my $.02

[unklchuk]

To the extent that NBA ball is an urban (street, ghetto) game, a lot of players will want a fast-paced highly-urban place to live. They want from their residence what they (in many cases) want from their NBA jobs - a lavish buffet where they pick & choose whatever they damn well want. Non-stop action to supplement what may or may not be happening in their heads.

But there are enough winning basketball players who see the city of residence as the back drop for the life they will build with their family & friends. (Not as an adrenaline machine.)

Milwaukee measures up pretty well in that regard.

Knowing that the Gilberts of this world think they don't want to be here won't cause me sleep loss. That's not putting him down. Just different strokes for different folks.

[El Sid]

I actually appreciate the fact that Gilbert talks crap about our city. Everybody gets mad at Gary Payton and a few other players in the past who have made similar comments but the question is why don't they like Milwaukee?

Payton didn't think we had enough strip clubs, a lot of these other guys want the limelight because they're selfish like agent zero playoff series wins and Milwaukee doesn't afford them that spotlight. I've heard a lot of people from other parts of the country state that people up here can spot BS from a mile away and our area doesn't have that hollywood appeal so why would these guys want to come here?

They're selfish, immature, celebrity type personalities that couldn't stay faithful to their wife if her name was Jessica Alba. I like the fact that Payton, Marbury and Gilbert don't like this town, that just means that respectable people and respectable athletes probably will.

[El Sid]

Milwaukee is one of the most deplorable places on earth. I can't believe anyone would live there by choice. I've never heard anyone say, "Ya know, someday, I'm going to live in Milwaukee!" I'd rather live in downtown Baghdad, than move back there.

Just my $.02

Honestly???

[WRau1]

Ah, Agent hom0.

[DanoMac]

Just like Charles Woodson hated coming to Green Bay, and now loves it. Players need to give it a chance.

[jerrod]

Ah, Agent hom0.

clever

[Badgerlander]

Milwaukee is one of the most deplorable places on earth. I can't believe anyone would live there by choice. I've never heard anyone say, "Ya know, someday, I'm going to live in Milwaukee!" I'd rather live in downtown Baghdad, than move back there.

Uhm, Bagdad? Seriously? Wow, no need to go there. There are some nice places there but really, c'mon.

I like Gilbert, and I'm not surprised by his comments. He just signed a 1kmillion contract, he doesn't care what anyone thinks. These guys make millions and they want to go out on the town and feel like they are somebody. Where can they go in Milwaukee?

[trwi7]

Where can they go in Milwaukee?

Art's.

[Balls2TheWalls]

I'm getting the feeling the SH was joking and people are taking his comments a little more seriously than he meant to have them taken. Maybe I am in the wrong here.

[THE DINJ]

I think the unasked question so far is why would this guy want to take a dig at Jefferson? He didn't say, "Richard Jefferson got traded to that stink-hole Milwaukee. Too bad for him." Instead, it was, "That was a funny one when I heard that one." There is definite glee in there.

And the fact that he posts something like this on an official NBA-sanctioned blog is very odd.

[coolhandluke121]

I hope Arenas does something selfish and the Wizards trade him for Redd to punish him. Then he will be fired up and play ridiculously well for a few seasons.

Actually I don't really want that - despite all the bumps in the road I want to see the Bucks get it together with Redd on the team, sort of as vindication for everyone involved.

Mason, Redd, Bell, and Bogut all like Milwaukee. CV and Simmons seemed perfectly fine with it except when they weren't getting playing time. Ray Allen liked it here. I'm not worried about the city's image at all. I am a little worried about the market size and arena issue, but whatever.

[BrewCityBBQ]

Look we all know that Milwaukee is the greatest city of all time. What the man who's name is Gilbert says doesn't matter. Who listens to a guy named Gilbert anyway?

[emunney]

Wait, is he saying that NBA players don't want to come to Milwaukee? Why is this in his personal blog and not on 60 Minutes?

[old skool]

I was never too fond of Arenas until a year ago when I saw a piece on ESPN about Arenas and a young boy that he has befriended.

I am fuzzy on some of the specifics, but a young boy about age ten or so suddenly lost both of his parents. Arenas visited him - possibly in the hospital. Later he stayed in touch. Spent some time with him. Got him some clothes. Encouraged him to focus on school. Got him a job as a Wizards ball boy. Has stayed in the boys life for like four years now. Not like a PR stunt. He considers the boy a friend and does things with him. Not just writing the occasional check. Doing things with him. The relationship is more like older brother/younger brother than anything else. A pretty neat thing to do for a young boy who is suddenly all alone in the world. It was obvious that Arenas was making a huge difference in this boy's life.

Since seeing that, I have taken a different view of the screwy things GA says and does. It's hard not to respect him for years if selfless interest that he has taken in just one of the faces in the crowd.

oLd sKool

[BrewCityBBQ]

I was never too fond of Arenas until a year ago when I saw a piece on ESPN about Arenas and a young boy that he has befriended.

I am fuzzy on some of the specifics, but a young boy about age ten or so suddenly lost both of his parents. Arenas visited him - possibly in the hospital. Later he stayed in touch. Spent some time with him. Got him some clothes. Encouraged him to focus on school. Got him a job as a Wizards ball boy. Has stayed in the boys life for like four years now. Not like a PR stunt. He considers the boy a friend and does things with him. Not just writing the occasional check. Doing things with him. The relationship is more like older brother/younger brother than anything else. A pretty neat thing to do for a young boy who is suddenly all alone in the world. It was obvious that Arenas was making a huge difference in this boy's life.

Since seeing that, I have taken a different view of the screwy things GA says and does. It's hard not to respect him for years if selfless interest that he has taken in just one of the faces in the crowd.

oLd sKool

Ok thats great, I once gave money to a homeless man on the street. Now you may say big deal, but I make much less then Gilbert does and I may have made a great difference in that mans life. Point is what does that have to do with this thread?

[SupremeHustle]

I'm very serious, except for the Baghdad part.

Note: I'm talking about Milwaukee proper. Not the 'burbs and such. I have no idea what life in a Milwaukee suburb is like. I'm sure it's lovely. And maybe the city itself has improved. But the segregation and the crime alone is just too much for me. I'm waaayyy too new school for those old school antics.

Minneapolis FTW. Seriously.

[fam3381]

I think the unasked question so far is why would this guy want to take a dig at Jefferson? He didn't say, "Richard Jefferson got traded to that stink-hole Milwaukee. Too bad for him." Instead, it was, "That was a funny one when I heard that one." There is definite glee in there.

Yeah, it didn't strike me as odd or particularly annoying that he'd imply players wouldn't want to play in Milwaukee--I don't think that's such a shock. But it was all fairly mean-spirited towards both Jefferson and the city itself. It's like he really wants to get booed Payton-style when he's in town...maybe he just feeds off that sort of antagonism.

[fam3381]

Note: I'm talking about Milwaukee proper. Not the 'burbs and such. I have no idea what life in a Milwaukee suburb is like. I'm sure it's lovely. And maybe the city itself has improved. But the segregation and the crime alone is just too much for me. I'm waaayyy too new school for those old school antics.

Minneapolis FTW. Seriously.

I've lived in Boston for nine years and don't see myself moving back to the Midwest anytime soon, but I can assure you that the suburbs of Milwaukee are indeed lovely, and that NBA players can afford to live there.

I think Boston and NYC are both much cooler than Milwaukee in terms of the cities themselves/things to do, but Milwaukee's not bad in my book. The most annoying thing to me is the lack of public transportation. But the suburban life is pretty much the same everywhere from what I can tell. And in Milwaukee it's a lot cheaper too.

Also, for the record my sister lived in Baghdad for 18 months and prefers Wisconsin.

Mequon FTW!

[oshmeehan]

Arenas and RJ played together at the University of Arizona