By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

Gilbert Arenas can’t talk enough for the NBA’s liking. I’m betting that Stephen Jackson is talking way too much.

Arenas was fined $25,000 Tuesday by the league in response to avoiding two weeks of interview requests. (And when he did finally speak Wednesday, it wasn’t to say much.)

After a second consecutive day of musings and ruminations without much heed to ramifications, can Jackson’s second league fine of the season be that far off?

Twenty-four hours after renouncing his captaincy, Jackson took the opportunity Wednesday to expand the circle of blame for his L.A. meltdown, lumping the teammates who didn’t ride to his rescue in with coach Don Nelson.

(We’re not even going to delve into the ridiculous notion floated by Jackson, that he’s as good as Kobe Bryant.)

“Nobody reacted but me so the team didn’t have a reaction,” Jackson said of his five-fouls-in-10-minutes Friday. “It was only me standing up for myself. I don’t think anybody else stood up for me. But if the shoe was on the other foot, I would have stood up for somebody on my team. And they didn’t do the same for me.”

Not sticking up for teammates is a capital crime in Jackson’s code of ethics. Having his teammate’s back is the reason Jackson cites to explain why he went into the stands at the Palace of Auburn Hills on Nov. 19, 2004; Ron Artest was under attack from the crowd, and when he went into the stands, Jackson was duty-bound to follow.

That’s why, when asked at Media Day, Jackson said he has no regrets about the move that cost him a 30-game suspension and $1.7 milion. If you press him, he’ll acknowledge the NBA’s viewpoint in the matter, but he still feels like he did the right thing that night in Michigan.

You can say that it’s an idiotic, myopic, unprofessional and ultimately self-destructive world view, but you must give Jackson this much: He is unswerving in his convictions.

Now, there are two questions: Will Jackson’s teammates just shrug off his commentary. Or will they hold a grudge? And how much longer will the team and the league put up with daily broadsides from Jackson (coming Thursday: “Why didn’t equipment manager Eric Housen have my back?” Jackson laments) before they choose to lighten his wallet some more?

WEB MEDIA
Yahoo! Sports (Adrian Wojnarowski): “Privately, the Warriors have said they’ve just been offered ‘garbage’ for Jackson and four years and $35 million left on his contract.” Expecting anything else would be ludicrous.

Yahoo! Sports (Marc J. Spears): An instant nominee for the most self-delusional quote of 2009, here’s Artest on his former partnership with Jackson, abruptly ruptured by the Palace brawl: “We probably would have had about two or three championships. But someone else got ‘em and you move on.”

NBA FanHouse (Matt Steinmetz): Jackson on Kobe: “I’m not a fan of Kobe. I’m not somebody who looks up to him. I’m a grown man myself. So when I go out there and play the game, I play the game. I feel like I’m just as good as him. I might not get the publicity or notoriety he gets, but I feel like I can play with anybody in the NBA any given night.”

PRINT MEDIA
San Jose Mercury News (Tim Kawakami): I hate to ruin the ending, but when it’s this good . . . “Oh, there’s one man out there with a history of taking on Jackson-like deals. But unfortunately for the Warriors, Isiah Thomas isn’t allowed to make trades at Florida International.
“If FIU needs a new athletic director, the Warriors’ team president might be an ideal candidate. Rowell and Isiah would be an incomparable tandem.”
Yeee-ouch.

Santa Rosa Press Democrat (Lowell Cohn): Lowell reminds us that, in real life, sometimes there is no white hat.

Contra Costa Times (Marcus Thompson II): Warriors’ Potemkin village gets blown over by Jackson’s words.

Oakland Tribune (Monte Poole): Oakland fans take aim at the Warriors and Raiders. I guess you can’t lump the A’s in with this group, if only because you have to have fans to start with in order to lose them. (BA-dum-bum. I’ll be here all ze veek.)

San Francisco Chronicle (Rusty Simmons): The walking wounded list of those absent from practice Wednesday: Anthony Randolph (bruised lower back), Ronny Turiaf (sore left knee), Devean George (sore left knee), Acie Law IV (sprained left ankle), Mikki Moore (sick), Kelenna Azubuike (sprained left ankle), Brandan Wright (left shoulder surgery).

BLOGOSPHERE
Inside The Warriors/Contra Costa Times (Marcus Thompson II): So, now you’re telling me Monta Ellis isn’t even in shape? And the hits just keep on coming. . .

VIDEO
Warriors.com: Interviews from Wednesday with Don Nelson and Anthony Randolph

NBA.com: Stephen Curry’s latest video diary