Arenas Of The Absurd

We're rapidly coming to the point, we think, where we can place pictures of Gilbert Arenas and Michael Jackson side by side, and point to Arenas and say "He's the eccentric one." (Though Gilbert is decidedly more charming and, uh, a little less creepy, we think.) The latest out of Washington D.C. is this: Arenas has plans to thin the air in his house, having workers install tents in various rooms to simulate high altitude conditions.

"I had my house converted to the Colorado altitude, so I am always above sea level," Arenas said Monday at the Wizards annual pre-training camp media day. "I had to put a tent in one room, and then they are going to come during training camp and fix the whole house. Then I have a portable tent I'm taking on the road."

The idea, he said, is for him to not get so tired during the fourth quarter of games. And that doesn't sound half as crazy as some other stuff in the Arenas file:

• Revealed last year that he sometimes plays online poker during halftime. • Wears No. 0 because, he says, he was supposed to get zero minutes at the University of Arizona. • Told Washington Post that because he was cut from the U.S. world championship team (although officially he left due to injury), he would "exact revenge on Team USA assistant coaches Nate McMillan and Mike D'Antoni" by scoring 100 points each on their respective teams, Portland and Phoenix. • Said that he got himself in shape for training camp this year with a week of boot camp with "a military dude in San Francisco." • Once attempted a free throw in a regular season game by bouncing the shot off the floor, missing badly. • While with the Warriors, once took a shower at halftime in full uniform. • Two years ago, spent Christmas with 200 kids, taking them all to see The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. • Before every game, hides a teammate's jersey somewhere in the locker room to makes him look for it.

Arenas' House Converted To 'Colorado Altitude' [MSNBC]