boycott

Gilbert Arenas is finally speaking again. He sounds like the same ol' Agent Zero. "I'm an assassin. I get buckets," the Washington Wizards guard said after Friday's practice.

"I know I haven't played in a long time, but the shot is still there, so when I come off that bench, there is going to be some trouble." Arenas, usually a master of self-promotion, began a media boycott when he returned from a 66-game absence on April 2.

Amid escalating violence in and around Tibet, the message from around the world was clear: "Let the games begin." European nations and Olympic committees said Monday they opposed a boycott of the Beijing Games over China's handling of the unrest in Tibet.

And most everyone else who spoke out, from Russia to the United States to Australia, echoed that approach.