How come there’s always some jackass that has to ruin things for everyone?  Things like bringing your own bottle of vodka on flights to Vegas so you can pass it around the back of the plane, or knocking boots in public (Hypotheticals. I swear…).  Well NBA players–and I imagine other sport leagues might follow suit–can thank Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton for getting their in-flight poker privileges taken away.

Following the Arenas/Crittenton scuffle, the Washington Wizards and New Jersey Nets are the first teams to ban gambling on team flights.  However, the Denver Nuggets crew isn’t taking this ban lightly.

“I definitely don’t think that’s something teams should do,” said [Chauncey] Billups, one of the NBA’s most respected players. “I think that when it’s done in the right way, that’s great camaraderie. Everybody likes to gamble whether it’s any kind of card game. Whatever it is, I think that it’s who you gamble with. I think that it’s the stakes that you gamble for.

“For our team, we gamble for small money. Just to waste time. Twenty dollars. If we gambled for $2,000, $2,500, $3,000, now that messes with your camaraderie. Now, when someone wants to get paid … it’s like ‘I don’t want to be around this guy.’ I think it’s about what you gamble for and who you’re with … We’re not gambling to pay bills. We’re just gambling to have fun.”–Fanhouse.com

Also speaking up against the ban are Melo, Arron Affalo, and Chris Andersen’s hair.  One might argue that if it’s “just to waste time”, why do they need to play for money at all regardless of the amount?  But everyone knows that everything is better when money is involved.  Kinda like working, or doing chores…or blowjobs–you know, all the big stuff.  The players are right, though.  Everyone shouldn’t be punished because of the actions of two idiot thugs.  If it were a recurring problem, fine;  but the guilty parties really should be the only ones held accountable here with maybe a “let this be a lesson to you” warning to the rest of the league.

Washington Wizard Gilbert Arenas may have just cost himself a good chunk of $111Mil.  Arenas, who has been inconsistently active since 2007 while recovering from knee surgeries, committed a major gaffe by waving his piece at Javaris Crittenton over a $25G gambling debt – ALLEGEDLY.

Regardless of the details, though, Arenas could be in a world of trouble — with the District and Federal governments, with the league and with the Wizards — with the possibility, remote for now but still there, that the team could ultimately seek to void the remainder of his $111 million contract, signed in 2008.–NBA.com, via HoopsHype.com

If Washington were to kick Arenas to the curb–which they say they haven’t decided to do yet–it would make them a player in the free agent class for 2010.  And a big OOPS! for Arenas, who previously plead no contest to a 2003 misdemeanor charge in Cali for concealed weapon and driving sans license.  Apparently that sort of thing is mega-frowned upon in DC and could majorly impact any potential rulings.

When the guy plays, he makes an impact.  But man, how the hell hard is it to I don’t know…NOT carry around guns and just generally stay out of trouble?  Too hard for Arenas, it appears.  Dumping a player that the team has to constantly make excuses and apologies for may not be such a bad idea, especially when they’re trying to implement a new scheme under Flip Saunders.