39T H E E X A M I N ER T U E SDAY, SEP T E M BER 2 9, 2009
SPORTS
Wiz open camp with
sights set on playoffs
By Craig Stouffer
Examiner Staff Writer
The "Hibachi" and the "Agent
Zero" trench coat have been put
away. Fully healthy after nearly two
full seasons on the shelf, and backed
up by a team that is as deep as it's
been this decade and boasts a new
head coach, Gilbert Arenas is done
with gimmicks.
"I'm 27 now," said Arenas. "I'm
not the entertainer anymore. I
wouldn't be here today if there
wasn't a big fine coming because I
don't feel like speaking anymore. I
just want to go out there and play."
Whether the All-Star guard main-
tains his portended media silence
and the serious tone he adopted
for most, not all, of his session with
reporters at Washington Wizards
media day on Monday remains to be
seen. But the idea of a collective chip
on the Wizards' shoulders resonated
throughout the team, which opens
training camp Tuesday at Virginia
Commonwealth University in Rich-
mond. All the players are healthy
except for forward/center JaVale
McGee, who was getting wisdom
teeth removed Monday, making his
status uncertain.
"I'm going hard," said forward
Antawn Jamison, who is also fully
recovered from minor ankle surgery
during the offseason. "I ain't going
to try to hurt 'em, but I'm ready to
go."
Brendan Haywood, who returns
to starting center after a wrist
injury sidelined him last season,
said failure this year for Washing-
ton would be missing the playoffs or
losing in the first round of the post-
season. Expectations are clearly
much higher.
"I think we're going to win a lot
of games," said
guard DeShawn
Stevenson. "I
think it'll bring
the excitement
back, the fun, the
laughing. Last
year, everybody
was depressed:
the media, the
players, every-
thing, the clubs. Everything. We
going to bring all the excitement
back that D.C. has."
Head coach Flip Saunders trav-
eled all over the country during the
offseason to get to know his new
players in person.
"I never had a coach reach out
to me in the summer," said forward
Caron Butler. "For
him to come out
in the summer,
all the way out to
Chicago, to talk
about the game
of basketball and
what he expected
from this team,
and what our
expectations was
-- winning a title -- you see what
they're trying to bring back here."
As for Arenas?
"As long as he's out there per-
forming on the court, that's the only
thing I worry about," said Jamison.
"You don't want Gilbert to get away
from being himself. It's always good
to have him joking around and hav-
ing a good time."
cstouffer@washingtonexaminer.com
Arenas changes his tone
Stevenson
Butler
NBA � WIZARDS
GETTY IMAGES
Wizards All-Star guard Gilbert Arenas is ready to stop talking and start playing.
NFL ROUNDUP
QB Henne expected to
make first career start
DAVIE, FLA. � Chad Pennington may
not be available to give his winless
team a much-needed lift.
The Miami Dolphins quarterback
dislocated his right shoulder and
may seek a second opinion to deter-
mine how long he'll be sidelined, a
person familiar with his status said
Monday.
The person insisted on anonymity
because the Dolphins have said little
about the injury. Teammates braced
for a new quarterback, with backup
Chad Henne expected to make his
first NFL start in Sunday's home
game against Buffalo.
Other media outlets reported Pen-
nington had a torn capsule and was
likely to miss the rest of the season.
"We don't have a comment,
because the evaluation process is
still ongoing," team spokesman Har-
vey Greene said.
Pennington hurt his shoulder
Sunday in a 23-13 loss at San Diego,
and he underwent tests Monday to
determine the extent of the damage.
An operation on the shoulder would
be Pennington's third since 2005.
The quarterback shakeup comes
with the Dolphins already reeling.
They're 0-3 after Pennington led an
improbable run to the AFC East title
last season.
Henne, a second-round draft
choice in 2008, has been considered
Pennington's heir apparent for more
than a year.
"We're going to have to go out
there with Henne, who is a lot less
experienced," tight end Anthony
Fasano said. "There is definitely
going to be a learning curve for
Henne. He can learn as much as he
wants in a classroom, but until he's
out on the field, in-game experience
he's not going to learn.
Bills hope to get T.O.
more involved in offense
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. � Bills coach Dick
Jauron says he has confidence in
quarterbackTrent
Edwards and Buf-
falo's struggling
offense after T.O.
was a no-show on
the stat sheet for
the first time in 14
seasons.
Even Jauron
would like to see
a few more passes
thrown in Terrell Owens' direction.
"We'll take more shots," Jauron
said Monday, a day after Owens
had a 185-game reception streak
snapped in a 27-7 loss to New
Orleans. "We definitely have to get
him more involved in the game no
matter what the defense does."
49ers' Gore to undergo
MRI on injured right ankle
SANTA CLARA, CALIF. � San Francisco
49ers running back Frank Gore will
undergo an MRI
late Monday after-
noon to determine
the extent of dam-
age to his injured
right ankle.
Gore re-injured
the ankle on his
only carry during
Sunday's 27-24
loss to the Min-
nesota Vikings. He left the game
after a four-yard gain and did not
return.
Gore was taken to the locker
room on a cart but X-rays revealed
no broken bones. � AP
Pennington may seek second opinion on shoulder
Gore
Owens
GETTY IMAGES
Miami quarterback Chad Pennington dislocated his right shoulder on Sunday.
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