Washington Wizards Basketball Team

Michael Jordan's coach pleaded with him to go back in the game, and the opposing coach made sure Jordan had the chance to end his career with a basket. Jordan's last shot was a free throw, and like his final appearance in an NBA uniform, it was good. One of the greatest players in NBA history played the final game of his illustrious career Wednesday night, not in the setting that he would have preferred but in a special atmosphere nonetheless.

True to his zany self to the end of a farce he created, blew up and then volunteered to atone for, Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas was suspended for the rest of the season by NBA Commissioner David Stern on Wednesday. Arenas' teammate, Javaris Crittenton, who engaged in this so-called joke that involved five handguns in the Wizards dressing room, was also suspended for the season. None of the weapons was licensed in the District of Columbia, and bringing them to the arena was a violation of NBA rules.

In danger of missing the playoffs for the 10th time in 11 years and struggling at 13-19, the Washington Wizards fired Bernie Bickerstaff as coach on Monday and replaced him in the interim with assistant Jim Brovelli, 57. "It was very difficult. It was something I didn't want to do today, but I felt I had to," said General Manager Wes Unseld, whose friendship with Bickerstaff dates to the 1970s, when Unseld played in Washington and Bickerstaff was an assistant coach.

Maybe it was supposed to be a joke when NBA player Gilbert Arenas displayed a gun in the team locker room last month to goose a teammate into paying a gambling debt. But the Washington, D.C., authorities apparently don't share his sense of humor. On Friday, Arenas -- who grew up in Los Angeles, graduated from Van Nuys' Grant High and was a three-time NBA All-Star with the Washington Wizards -- pleaded guilty in D.C. Superior Court to a felony count of carrying a pistol without a license.

He's back! He's back! Oops, well, he's almost back. For 90 minutes Monday, Michael Jordan was listed as an active player for the Washington Wizards on the team's Web site. Apparently, someone pressed a button a little too soon. "Just a clerical error," NBA spokesman Tim Frank said. "Our Internet department was making preparations in case he comes back." Jordan had all but confirmed he would announce a comeback at a news conference as early as this week.

Michael Jordan plans to play another season with the Washington Wizards, confident his 39-year-old knees are sound enough to allow him to finish his contract with the team. "My love for the game of basketball continues to drive my decision," Jordan said Thursday in a statement released by the Wizards. "Physically I am feeling very strong, and feel that the steps I took in the off-season have allowed me to return to the game in great condition."

*--* Pts Player, Team Opponent Date 60 Gilbert Arenas, Washington Lakers Dec. 17 (OT) 58 Kobe Bryant, Lakers Charlotte Dec. 29 (3OT) 57 Michael Redd, Milwaukee Utah Nov. 11 54 Ray Allen, Seattle Utah Jan. 12 54 Gilbert Arenas, Washington Phoenix Dec. 22 53 Kobe Bryant, Lakers Houston Dec. 15 52 Kobe Bryant, Lakers Utah Nov. 30 51 Gilbert Arenas, Washington Utah Jan. 15 51 Richard Hamilton, Detroit New York Dec. 27 (3OT) *--*

Former Chicago Bull star Michael Jordan and Washington Wizard majority owner Abe Pollin have reached an agreement in principle that would give Jordan control of the team's basketball operations, sources with knowledge of the situation said Thursday. The agreement is not definitive, the sources said, as ownership equity of the Wizards needs to be resolved.

MJ's back! MJ's back! So how come it doesn't feel like old times? It's as much a measure of the Washington Wizards' desolation as Michael Jordan's popularity that the news he was taking over the team's basketball operation was greeted by wild rejoicing in the nation's capitol. Of course, with the Wizards having sunk from "perennially disappointing" and "often in trouble with the law" to "textbook definition of hopeless," you didn't need to be a living legend to look like an improvement.

Good-night (again), sweet Mike, even if parting has become such obsolete sorrow. Not that this is your usual sentimental farewell. Having demonstrated his artistry was timeless, single-handedly increased revenues enough to stave off the NBA's luxury tax and revived interest in the Wizards, Michael Jordan now has to revive the Wizards themselves as they fight their way up and down the West Coast.

Only you, Gilbert Arenas. Irrepressible to the end -- which Arenas triggered prematurely with a pregame skit Tuesday in which he pretended to shoot teammates -- the Washington Wizards star was suspended indefinitely Wednesday by NBA Commissioner David Stern. League sources said Stern is prepared to suspend Arenas for the rest of the season, but will let the legal process play out before making a final decision. Stern intended to let the process play out before doing anything, but that went up in smoke after Tuesday's pre-game introductions in Philadelphia, where Arenas' teammates circled him and he put his thumbs up, index fingers out and pretended to shoot them.

WASHINGTON -- Even without Gilbert Arenas and another injured starter, the Washington Wizards never imagined they would be as bad as the franchise ever has been. So after opening 1-10 to match the worst start in team history, the Wizards fired Coach Eddie Jordan on Monday and gave director of player development Ed Tapscott his first NBA head coaching job.

Now it's Agent Zero, superstar. Agent Zero started out as Gilbert Arenas' private joke, the number he chose for the number of minutes he was supposed to play as an unheralded last-minute recruit at Arizona. Try as he might to recreate that time, it's over. Now everyone knows the joke, which serves as the theme of Arenas' new Adidas commercials. After a lifetime of flying loop-the-loops under the radar, the Washington Wizards guard suddenly has all the fame and recognition he dreamed of ...

*--* Pts Player, Team Opponent Date 60 Gilbert Arenas, Washington Lakers Dec. 17 (OT) 58 Kobe Bryant, Lakers Charlotte Dec. 29 (3OT) 57 Michael Redd, Milwaukee Utah Nov. 11 54 Ray Allen, Seattle Utah Jan. 12 54 Gilbert Arenas, Washington Phoenix Dec. 22 53 Kobe Bryant, Lakers Houston Dec. 15 52 Kobe Bryant, Lakers Utah Nov. 30 51 Gilbert Arenas, Washington Utah Jan. 15 51 Richard Hamilton, Detroit New York Dec. 27 (3OT) *--*

There may be no I in team, but there are two in insecurity, which is just the way Gilbert Arenas likes it. No. 0 in your program, No. 1 in the hearts of people who saw him start his trip from obscurity at Grant High in Van Nuys, he just finished No. 4 in the NBA in scoring, trailing only Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Allen Iverson, ahead of Dwyane Wade.

Caron Butler and Chucky Atkins, Lakers for one disjointed season before being shipped out in the Kwame Brown trade, were introduced Thursday as members of the Washington Wizards. Butler, 25, was one of the Lakers' most consistent players toward the end of last season, averaging 21.9 points over the last 15 games, but the Lakers parted with him to take a chance on Brown.

Imagine that, an NBA team showing Michael Jordan the door. Even he was shocked. The Washington Wizards abruptly dumped basketball's most popular figure Wednesday, ending a relationship that produced much fanfare but little success over 3 1/2 seasons. Disappointed with the team's poor record and embarrassed by infighting on and off the court, owner Abe Pollin informed Jordan about his decision in a 30-minute meeting at the team's arena.

Found: a cure for that nagging itch that Michael Jordan says brought him back to the NBA. There must be times, as in Saturday night's first half, when he can't do anything right, and his young teammates seem even more clueless than usual, when Jordan must ask himself, "What am I doing here?" For the moment, it's OK.

With the goal of adding a post player, the Lakers are trying to acquire troubled Kwame Brown from the Washington Wizards in a trade for Caron Butler and a player to be determined -- point guard Chucky Atkins, forward Devean George or aging center Vlade Divac, depending on the Wizards' preference. The Lakers might also include the 2006 first-round pick they acquired from the Miami Heat in the Shaquille O'Neal trade last July.

Imagine that, an NBA team showing Michael Jordan the door. Even he was shocked. The Washington Wizards abruptly dumped basketball's most popular figure Wednesday, ending a relationship that produced much fanfare but little success over 3 1/2 seasons. Disappointed with the team's poor record and embarrassed by infighting on and off the court, owner Abe Pollin informed Jordan about his decision in a 30-minute meeting at the team's arena.