As we move into the new year, I wanted to take this time to wish everyone a happy new year from Bullets Forever. 2006 was a year of a ton of growth for me, and I hope it was a worthwhile year for you all too.
Before we move into 2007, let's take one look back at the Wizards 2006 year, timeline style.
January 6: The Wizards drop to 12-18 after a 112-93 loss to the New York Knicks. It is the furthest under .500 the team has been since 2004.
January 23: The Wizards release Chucky Atkins, and decide to go primairly with a 7 man rotation for the rest of the season.
February 10: Despite averaging over 29 points a game, Gilbert Arenas is not selected to the Eastern Conference all-star team, having been passed over in favor of former Wizard Richard Hamilton. Arenas is later added to the team after Jermaine O'Neal's injury, but the snub adds more motivation for the rest of the season. On the same day, Arenas scores 32 points to lead the Wizards to a 10 point victory over the Cavaliers in a playoff preview.
February 25: In a win over the Knicks, Gilbert Arenas scores 46 points in only 30 minutes, setting a record for the most points scored in 30 minutes or less.
March 10: Wizznutzz drops a famous takedown of Scoop Jackson that is linked all over the internet.
April 5: A win over the Boston Celtics puts the Wizards in prime playoff positioning, but Caron Butler hurts his thumb and is forced out of the lineup. The Wizards proceed to lose 5 in a row before winning their last 3 with Butler back.
May 3: After splitting the first four games against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Wizards fight back from 7 down with 1:18 left in regulation to force overtime. They have a 1 point lead with 3 seconds left, but LeBron James goes baseline and converts the game-winning layup with 0.4 seconds left.
May 5: Down 3 points in the closing seconds of regulation, Gilbert Arenas hits a 40 footer to force overtime. But with the Wizards up 1 with 15 seconds left in overtime, Arenas shockingly misses both free throws. Cleveland gets the ball back, and after the Wizards double LeBron, the ball is swung to Damon Jones in the corner, and Jones hits the three in his first minutes played in the series. The Wizards season ends after Butler misses a game-winning three at the buzzer.
May 28: Arenas and former Wizard Awvee Storey are arrested in Miami Beach for disobeying police. Arenas reporedly told the police officer, "You can't arrest me. I'm a basketball player. I play for the Washington Wizards and I'm not going to leave my teammate."
June 28: The Wizards pick Oleisky "Big Oily" Pecherov and some Russian guy that won't play for the Wizards anytime soon.
July 17: The Wizards use the full mid-level exception on Darius Songaila. Wizards nation mumbles in agreement. If only he stayed healthy.
July 25: Eddie Jordan signs a contract extension, thereby ensuring three more years of Wizards fans grumbling about Eddie's rotation.
August 5: Somehow, the Wizards end up signing DeShawn Stevenson for the minimum wage. Two days later, Jared Jeffries accepts a 5 year, 30 million dollar contract to join the New York Knicks. Wizards fans seem to appreciate the tradeoff.
August 14: Arenas, citing a groin injury, pulls himself out of contention for the World Championship Team. Later, he claims the team never used him correctly, and vows to score 100 points on the Suns and Blazers, coached by US assistants Mike D'Antoni and Nate McMillan.
September 21: The first post on the old blog.
October 2: On the first day of Wizards training camp, Gilbert Arenas announces that he's installed a high-altitude tent in his house to help him train. He sees nothing wierd about this piece of news.
October 4: Dan Steinberg of the DC Sports Bog tells Gilbert Arenas about Wizznutzz's coined nickname Agent Zero, and Arenas likes it. This starts a process where Arenas is now commonly known as Agent Zero in the mainstream. On the same day, Darius Songaila misses his first practice with a back injury. Who knew this same injury would keep him out for three months.
October 19: Arenas writes his first post in his blog.
October 20: The Wizards unveil their brand new gold alternate jerseys, upsetting members of the fashion police. Somehow, their record is 4-1 with them this season.
November 1: The Wizards lose their opener 97-94 in a rematch against the Cavaliers. Arenas shoots 2 for 14 in the loss.
November 6: Centers Brendan Haywood and Etan Thomas get into a fistfight after practice, prompting many bloggers to laugh about the nature of the fight.
December 2: With a 112-94 loss to the Bulls, the Wizards drop to 6-10 on the season. The loss is their 8th in a row on the road to start the season.
December 10: Bullets Forever's very first post.
December 18: Arenas drops 60 points in a 147-141 road win over the Lakers. In response, Kobe Bryant shoots back at Arenas, saying that he lacks a conscious.
December 29: With a 112-111 victory over the Orlando Magic, the Wizards are in sole possession of first place in their division for the first time since the 1978-79 season. Earlier, Arenas won his second straight Player of the Week honors after scoring 54 points in an overtime win over the Phoenix Suns, snapping their 15 game winning streak.
Here's to a great 2007, both for you all and for the Wizards!