You have crazy, & then you have Ron Artest

[Drbio]

Artest claims he was just trying to rid Peirce of his demons.



Be Free Halleluyah!

[Ummmmm Ok]

The rumor I heard was that Artests cousin said he wanted Pierce's Headband.

[sturm und drang]

Like clockwork, man, like clockwork...


'Nothing happened,' but another suspension possible

CLEVELAND (AP) -- As only he can, Ron Artest turned an otherwise boring blowout into another blowup.

Al Harrington scored 24 points, and Artest was up to his usual antics -- pushing players, drawing a technical and enraging the crowd -- while leading the Indiana Pacers to a 103-82 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night.


In the fourth quarter, Artest, who has been suspended 12 games this season for a variety of bad behavior, made an obscene gesture with both hands to the crowd after being hit by a thrown coin.


"I got hit by a quarter, but I don't care," said Artest, who isn't concerned about another possible suspension. "Nothing happened. I was just playing to the crowd."


The NBA may feel differently after reviewing videotape of Artest's latest outburst. He's been suspended 11 games by the league and one game by the Pacers.


Jonathan Bender added 21 points for Indiana, which snapped an 11-game road losing streak. The Pacers hadn't won on the road since beating New Orleans on Feb. 12.


"It's been a long time," Harrington said. "Hopefully, we can get on a roll now."


The Pacers didn't miss a beat without Jermaine O'Neal, their leading scorer and rebounder, who sat out with a sprained right ankle. Both Harrington and Bender stepped it up and gave Indiana its 10th straight win over the Cavs at Gund Arena.


But Artest kept things lively during the fourth quarter of the rout.


With Indiana leading 89-74, he shoved Ricky Davis out of bounds and was assessed a technical foul by referee Tim Donaghy for arguing with 7:27 left.


Artest continued to protest, and when teammate Austin Croshere stepped in to stop him, Artest pushed him and then knocked away Indiana coach Isiah Thomas' arm.


"The referee called a technical on Ron, and Ron wanted to know why," Thomas said. "Ron is like any other player or any other person. When they get upset, they don't want anybody close to them or touching them. I understand it, because I was the same way."


Artest said he and Davis were simply renewing their personal rivalry.


"Every time I play against Ricky, he thinks he's better than me," Artest said.


On Indiana's next possession, Cavs forward Jumaine Jones was hit with a technical and ejected. As Jones was leaving the floor, Artest was struck by the coin, and he extended both middle fingers and waved them at the crowd.


During a timeout, Cavs coach Keith Smart told referee Derrick Stafford: "Artest is out of hand."


As the teams returned to the floor, public address announcer Jeff Shreve asked the crowd to refrain from throwing objects -- to the delight of Artest, who sat on the scorer's table patting Shreve on the back as he talked into the microphone.


A few minutes later, during a stoppage in play, Artest ran by and yelled to Shreve, "Thanks for the public announcement."


Cavs forward Darius Miles knows the Pacers rely on Artest's energy and ability to push the emotional envelope.


"He's their Dennis Rodman," Miles said. "He's their John Salley. He's Bill Laimbeer, Rick Mahorn and all those big guys all in one. I don't see anything wrong with it."