TheWirk.com ~ voted BallHyped.com's 2010 "Best Independent Sports Blog": Soooo... You want me to bid on a Gilbert Arenas jersey...

Ok - So tonight I went to the Capitol Movement, Inc.'s 5th Annual Winter Fundraiser and Reception... It was a fun time had by all with a vast selection of silent auction items. The evening was covered by The Hill, DC Metromix etc. so if you're curious you can look at the pics or you can wait for some pics to show up on my facebook account.

At any rate, some things I find interesting. Here goes. My friend, Damien, reminds me about the event tonight and asks me if I'm going. I waffle. He says the magic words, "Natalie's going". Needless to say that's guaranteed fun and, I'm in.

We go to The Reserve and I survey the scene. Guys you are crazy not to show up at events like these. The girls to guys ratio is 10:1. Trust me. You all made a big mistake. Huge...

I notice a dear friend of mine who writes for the Washington Post and works for ESPN is listed as a sponsor of the event. I doubt he's gonna appear though because he failed to mention it the night before. At any rate, I'm gonna have fiun. Nat and I arrive at the venue, buy our tickets, and grab what is to begin many glasses of wine... I start to explore the silent auction items and a few things interest me...

1 - There's an autographed Brett Favre football that someone had bid $1K for...
2 - There's a Chris Paul autographed basketball that someone has bid the minimun $150 for...
3 - There's a Gilbert Arenas jersey up for auction...

The Brett Favre football is appealing because the odds of me buying a pair of Wranglers and having him sign them are bleak.. LOL! Let's face it. Brett is not gonna be playing many more games and he doesn't seem like the guy who's willing to sit at a mall/autoshow and sign autographs. The thousand dollar question is ~ am I willing to spend at least $1,025.00 and get in a bidding war? Ultimately, I decided, NO.

We move onto the bargain item of a Chris Paul autographed basketball... I think back to 2 years ago or so, when I met Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas. Chris was on crutches then, and I honestly had know idea who he was... I only recognized Dwyane at the time... My friend, Richie, who's casino host extraordinare at the Hard Rock told me, that if I was patient, I could meet Dwyane. Needless to say, I was patient... After some time and an introduction, I was posing for a picture with Dwyane and ironically Chris was in the background, on crutches, on the left side of the pic... Dwyane, Chris, and their crew were rolling dice in the cabana by the pool and having harmless fun... This was 2 years ago or so, and I still have those dice in my Dior Boston Logo bag.. Those dice ARE money...

Lastly, I recall the Arenas jersey and all the headache Gil has brought to his fans and the Washington faithful... Those that know me, know that I am not a Wizards fan. Those that know me, know that I have a tendency to vote for the coach when it come to me picking teams during March Madness... I was a Lute Olsen fan,, Hell, if he was still coaching, I'd still be a fan. I've never met the man... I know nothing about him. BUT, I know "people", and Lute seemed like a good guy so when it came to push or shove, I chose the Wildcats...

Last night I was chatting at dinner with my sports friends about Gil... We talked about guns in the NBA and the other athletes that could've gotten in trouble for punching their babysitter, sexual assualt, accidentally shooting someone, jumping into the stands and punching people etc. and many ~ too many names (e.g. Ruben Patterson, Vernon Maxwell, Jayson Williams etc.) ~ come to mind... I started to think. These other individuals did what they did and were caught and their careers for themost part seemingly continued. Hmmmm... Interesting... Guns and violence don't surprise me in professional sports. It's a different world. Professional sports is a fraternity. There's a circle of trust in locker rooms, on the court, on the road, etc. Those individuals in the fraternity do not tamper with the bond that is created by becoming a part of the team.

I looked at the Brett Favre ball today and someone made a comment to me at the event tonight about fidelity, and I found myself waving her off. I don't care if the guy I admire on the field/court is a complete POS at home. I don't buy a ticket to see him at home. Then I thought about women and the times I was sitting in a professional athlete "family lounge". What's the family lounge environnment? It's a bunch of woman, children, and friends who "saw no evil, heard no evil, and will not speak evil"... You know the saying, "They alway kill the messenger".. Yeah, welcome to the family lounge. You tell someone that their spouse or significant other may be doing something shady and brace yourself for what you're about to hear. It's much easier and safer to just watch Seinfeld re-reruns, keep your mouth shut, and smile.

Gilbert Arenas' jerseys and other items have been removed and according to friends are no longer for sale at the Verizon Center. Wow. OK... I find it funny then that this item seemingly was bid on so little, when it could EASILY become a rare collector's item :-P I uploaded a pic of this on my fb account during the night with a comment saying that Gil's gun(s) would've gotten more bids than that jersey... Yes, I said it ~ and it's funny, so go ahead and laugh out loud...

That's all I have... It's late...