Arenas story

Here is my recent story in The New York Times about Gilbert Arenas' trip to Manila in the first week of July. The madness the ensues when an NBA All-Star descends on the Philippines has to be seen to be believed. It felt like I was trailing the Pope around Manila. Arenas was so impressed by the reception Filipino fans gave him that he wrote a blog entry titled "Everybody should visit Manila." He ended the post with these words of wisdom: "Just remember people, if you want to feel like a king and feel like a star, you know where to go: Manila. So, Pauly Shore, after you finish reading this, you head to Manila to jumpstart your career, baby. You’ll be back in the business, baby. You’ll be doing Jury Duty 2 in no time."

From reading his blog or watching him interact with fans, it's pretty easy to understand why Arenas has a reputation for being one of the NBA's funniest, most candid and likeable personalities.

Now that the story is published, I'll post some behind the scenes anecdotes and photos from Arenas' visit in the next few days. Stay tuned.