Allen Moll is an avid NBA and College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen is a regular columnist for thehoopdoctors.com, Bleacherreport.com, UpperDeckblog.com, and his own site, Hoops Haven.
While Ron Artest is one of the best defensive players in the past decade, he has been every bit as entertaining. This season is no exception with Ron-Ron making headlines as soon as he joined the Lakers last Summer. Here is a compilation of his highlights or lowlights, depending on how you look at it, for the ’09-’10 season so far. It’s amazing that we can already come up with 10 stories, considering that we aren’t even halfway through the season.
Ron Artest Top 10 List
1) By now everyone probably has heard that Ron Artest admitted in an early December interview with The Sporting News, that he used to drink Hennessey during halftime of games while with the Chicago Bulls from ’99-’02. He admitted to walking to a local liquor store during halftime to get some cognac and drinking the entire bottle. He also would keep a rather large supply of other alcoholic beverages in his locker at the arena. This one takes the cake.
2) In that same interview with SN Ron made another startling revelation, Ron also let everyone know that he takes no responsibility in the now infamous “Malice at the Palace” melee in which his altercation with Detroit’s Ben Wallace instigated a full on brawl between the Pistons and Pacers that spilled into the stands. In a direct quote, Artest says that, “It wasn’t my fault…….I don’t see anything I could have done different. The only thing I could have done was have God pause time so I could have said, ‘Oh, look, you’re about to run in some stands, so stop.'” Talk about a WTF moment!
3) He revealed that he still has animosity towards Ben Wallace, who is once again back with the Pistons. Although he said he would not instigate another confrontation during an NBA game between the Lakers, Artest’s current team, and the Pistons, he would definitely like to set up a pay-per-view boxing match against his nemesis. Now I would pay to see that!
4) Ron has dabbled in the music business by releasing a number of rap songs in addition to a full length album titled, “My World” that was released in ’06. His most recent title is called “Fever” which he released in November of ’09. Check out the video:
5) Artest made a memorable appearance on the Jimmy Kimmel Show…………………decked in nothing but his undies with Kimmel’s name carved into the back of his head! He claims he came on the show extremely underdressed because he was running late. It was an inside joke making reference of a recent incident where he was again running late for a team bus and jumped on wearing only his undergarments.
6) He claimed to have been the first one to introduce Kobe Bryant to the NBA’s most famous newlywed couple, Lamar Odom and Khloe Kardasian. While this isn’t exactly breaking news, the kicker of the story is that Kobe was in the middle of a post-game shower in the Lakers locker room. Oh yeah, and he also claims to have introducted newly weds Lamar and Khloe.
7) Around Thanksgiving, Artest was investigated in a welfare fraud case involving his sister, Latoya Holmes-Ivey, who apparently was receiving welfare and rent assistance even though her famous and very wealthy brother was helping her out with substantial monetary support. In the end his sister was ruled at fault for not reporting her brother’s financial support and Ron was cleared of any wrong doing.
8 ) Ron-Ron even wrote an personal letter to Tiger Woods, who is currently involved in a mystifying scandal involving more than a dozen mistresses while he was is married. Ron wrote a heartfelt letter on his website, reminding Woods that only Jesus is perfect, that he has made similar mistakes involving infidelity, and to stay loyal to his wife and kids.
9) Artest revealed that he is already involved with producers in the making of the Ron Artest Story, which will be a full length feature film chronicaling the eccentric basketball star’s life. In the original news release, he boasts of including the infamous brawl between the Piston/Pacers to “spice the movie up a bit.” Ron does own a production company named Tru Warrior Enterprises and has a silent partner which is helping make the docu-drama which could be out on DVD by Summer of 2010. Who will be playing Ron-Ron? Well of course………..it is Ron Artest.
10) Then in a recent story on Christmas Eve, it was reported that the Lakers star had tripped over a box and fell down a flight of stairs. He needed stitches to stop the bleeding, suffered a concussion, and also some memory loss. Artest’s wife claimed that after finding Artest “asleep” on the floor, she had to remind Ron who and where he was, that he played for the Lakers and had a game on Christmas Day. Some recent reports have questioned the validity and the chain of events in the alleged incident. Could alcohol of other substances been involved?
Which story is your favorite?
Not to worry if you can’t choose just one, the season has a long way to go and Ron will surely add to the list.
