duncan228
05-07-2009, 11:36 PM
The Chanifesto: TNT knows drama; Artest, pain (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Chanifesto_TNT_knows_drama_Artest_pain.html)
Lorne Chan - Express-News
I thought drama in the NBA playoffs might have peaked with the Bulls-Celtics first-round series.
Then Ron Artest explained how he once saw someone get stabbed with a table leg through the heart.
It was almost 1 a.m. by the time TNT aired Artest’s postgame interview after the Lakers’ 111-98 victory Wednesday, but anyone who was still awake got some amazing insight into the man many Rockets fans have nicknamed “Crazy Pills.”
Artest was asked about the physical nature of the Rockets-Lakers series, and responded with a story only he could do justice.
“I remember one time it was, um, one of my friends, you know, he was playing basketball and they was winning the game,” Artest said.
“They were so competitive, they threw a, um, they broke a piece of leg from a table and they threw it and it went right through his heart and he died.
“Right on the court. So, like, I’m accustomed to playing basketball really rough, you know what I mean?”
The blog Mouthpiece Sports even found the story about the stabbing, and it took place in 1991 in Niagara Falls. Artest would have been 12 years old at the time.
From now on, believe anything Ron Artest says.
There was brilliance to the way Artest calmly told the story, with his shirt off and the Rockets logo shaved in his hair, speaking like it was just another thing that happened while he was growing up.
In that 30 seconds, Artest somehow explained why he’s a Rockets fan favorite.
Artest severely damaged player-fan interaction in 2004, when he went into the stands during a Pacers-Pistons game.
He was seen as a sideshow, and releasing a rap album, “My World,” in 2006 that sold 343 copies in its first week didn’t help that cause.
Now, only Yao Ming gets more cheers at the Toyota Center.
Houston’s had its share of crazy athletes, with Vernon Maxwell running into the stands during a Rockets game and Carl Everett having his best seasons in the Astrodome.
Since arriving in Houston in the offseason, Artest has fit that mold with a bizarre confidence. He keeps fans guessing and often scores points as he did Wednesday with a trait plenty of athletes are lacking — honesty.
In a single season, Artest changed the culture into a team marked by his trademark intensity. Gutsy players such as Chuck Hayes and Carl Landry have been keys to getting the Rockets out of the first round for the first time since 1996.
In one season, Artest turned the Rockets into his family.
And you have to love family. No matter how crazy it gets.
Crazy Rockets subplots not about a table leg through the heart:
• In the event that the Rockets can eliminate the Lakers and go on to win the NBA championship, Tracy McGrady would get a ring.
• Rockets fans are incensed that Ron Artest was ejected from Wednesday's game after Kobe Bryant elbowed him and Artest went over to Bryant and started talking. Even Bryant didn't think Artest warranted an ejection.
So which referee gave Artest an unnecessary boot? Spurs favorite Joey Crawford.
• Cheesy bets city mayors make during the playoffs are common, but Houston mayor Bill White found a new way to make his proposal.
White posted his bet on the Facebook profile of Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa:
“As Mayor of Houston, I'll owe you breakfast tamales from Villa Arcos, Frenchy's fried chicken for lunch, and a dinner from Yao's restaurant if the Lakers prevail. What is the Mayor of LA willing to put on the line?”
Villaraigosa declined the offer. He didn't even have the decency to poke back.
• The opening act to Wednesday's Rockets-Lakers game was Orlando's Rafer Alston slapping Boston's Eddie House upside the head.
Alston clearly isn't far enough removed from his Rockets days — he spent 31/2 seasons there before he was traded to the Magic in February.
It's a marvel to think that the Rockets even traded away some of their crazy.
• Rockets forward Carl Landry had a playoff-career high 21 points Tuesday. Also a playoff high for anyone six weeks removed from getting shot in the leg during an attempted carjacking.
Lorne Chan - Express-News
I thought drama in the NBA playoffs might have peaked with the Bulls-Celtics first-round series.
Then Ron Artest explained how he once saw someone get stabbed with a table leg through the heart.
It was almost 1 a.m. by the time TNT aired Artest’s postgame interview after the Lakers’ 111-98 victory Wednesday, but anyone who was still awake got some amazing insight into the man many Rockets fans have nicknamed “Crazy Pills.”
Artest was asked about the physical nature of the Rockets-Lakers series, and responded with a story only he could do justice.
“I remember one time it was, um, one of my friends, you know, he was playing basketball and they was winning the game,” Artest said.
“They were so competitive, they threw a, um, they broke a piece of leg from a table and they threw it and it went right through his heart and he died.
“Right on the court. So, like, I’m accustomed to playing basketball really rough, you know what I mean?”
The blog Mouthpiece Sports even found the story about the stabbing, and it took place in 1991 in Niagara Falls. Artest would have been 12 years old at the time.
From now on, believe anything Ron Artest says.
There was brilliance to the way Artest calmly told the story, with his shirt off and the Rockets logo shaved in his hair, speaking like it was just another thing that happened while he was growing up.
In that 30 seconds, Artest somehow explained why he’s a Rockets fan favorite.
Artest severely damaged player-fan interaction in 2004, when he went into the stands during a Pacers-Pistons game.
He was seen as a sideshow, and releasing a rap album, “My World,” in 2006 that sold 343 copies in its first week didn’t help that cause.
Now, only Yao Ming gets more cheers at the Toyota Center.
Houston’s had its share of crazy athletes, with Vernon Maxwell running into the stands during a Rockets game and Carl Everett having his best seasons in the Astrodome.
Since arriving in Houston in the offseason, Artest has fit that mold with a bizarre confidence. He keeps fans guessing and often scores points as he did Wednesday with a trait plenty of athletes are lacking — honesty.
In a single season, Artest changed the culture into a team marked by his trademark intensity. Gutsy players such as Chuck Hayes and Carl Landry have been keys to getting the Rockets out of the first round for the first time since 1996.
In one season, Artest turned the Rockets into his family.
And you have to love family. No matter how crazy it gets.
Crazy Rockets subplots not about a table leg through the heart:
• In the event that the Rockets can eliminate the Lakers and go on to win the NBA championship, Tracy McGrady would get a ring.
• Rockets fans are incensed that Ron Artest was ejected from Wednesday's game after Kobe Bryant elbowed him and Artest went over to Bryant and started talking. Even Bryant didn't think Artest warranted an ejection.
So which referee gave Artest an unnecessary boot? Spurs favorite Joey Crawford.
• Cheesy bets city mayors make during the playoffs are common, but Houston mayor Bill White found a new way to make his proposal.
White posted his bet on the Facebook profile of Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa:
“As Mayor of Houston, I'll owe you breakfast tamales from Villa Arcos, Frenchy's fried chicken for lunch, and a dinner from Yao's restaurant if the Lakers prevail. What is the Mayor of LA willing to put on the line?”
Villaraigosa declined the offer. He didn't even have the decency to poke back.
• The opening act to Wednesday's Rockets-Lakers game was Orlando's Rafer Alston slapping Boston's Eddie House upside the head.
Alston clearly isn't far enough removed from his Rockets days — he spent 31/2 seasons there before he was traded to the Magic in February.
It's a marvel to think that the Rockets even traded away some of their crazy.
• Rockets forward Carl Landry had a playoff-career high 21 points Tuesday. Also a playoff high for anyone six weeks removed from getting shot in the leg during an attempted carjacking.