<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">They still see what they want to see, still believe what they want to believe. And so the Indiana Pacers' brain trust sits in various spots around Conseco Fieldhouse on Monday, watching Ron Artest and knowing, absolutely knowing, that Artest can finally be trusted to stay out of trouble. They are seeing something I don't see. (And it's not for a lack of effort on my part. I've strained so hard to see Artest through their eyes, I've given myself a hernia.) But I fear the Pacers are fooling themselves once again. They are clinging, incredibly enough, to the notion that Artest will return next season a changed man and will help lead them to an NBA title. "What have you learned about yourself during this long time away from the game?" I asked Artest as he spoke Monday to the local media for the first time in months. He looked me in the eyes and smiled. "I always knew I'm a ghetto-type guy; I'm from the 'hood. I'll be ghetto the rest of my life," he said. "At the same time, there's a lot of kids who look up to you. For that, I'll change." So let me understand. Artest is going to manage his temper better because he wants to be a better role model for kids? Sorry. I'm a suburbs-type guy. So maybe I don't get it. But it seems to me there are a lot more important reasons Artest must get his act together as the Pacers grant him yet another last chance -- his eighth, if my count is accurate:</div> Source
Why is everyone so angry at Artest? He didn't even start that brawl, he got objets thrown at his face, and was provoked by Ben Wallace, but KEPT his cool, before he was hit in the fact with a cup of soda or beer. Artest is good for the NBA, the NBA needs more emotion, and defensive super stars like Artest, and less guys like Dwayne Wade who's afraid to guard Rip Halmiton. I hope Artest has another career year, and shut everyone up.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting j0se:</div><div class="quote_post">Why is everyone so angry at Artest? He didn't even start that brawl, he got objets thrown at his face, and was provoked by Ben Wallace, but KEPT his cool, before he was hit in the fact with a cup of soda or beer. Artest is good for the NBA, the NBA needs more emotion, and defensive super stars like Artest, and less guys like Dwayne Wade who's afraid to guard Rip Halmiton. I hope Artest has another career year, and shut everyone up.</div> When did Wade say he was afraid to guard rip??
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting j0se:</div><div class="quote_post">Why is everyone so angry at Artest? He didn't even start that brawl, he got objets thrown at his face, and was provoked by Ben Wallace, but KEPT his cool, before he was hit in the fact with a cup of soda or beer. Artest is good for the NBA, the NBA needs more emotion, and defensive super stars like Artest, and less guys like Dwayne Wade who's afraid to guard Rip Halmiton. I hope Artest has another career year, and shut everyone up.</div> Its not only him punching a fan its him getting all those stupid technicals and being immature. The NBA needs less guys like Dwayne Wade?! thats ridicilous Dwayne Wade is a superstar basketball player and isnt afraid of covering anyone, ive never heard of him saying hes afraid of covering rip
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting j0se:</div><div class="quote_post">Why is everyone so angry at Artest? He didn't even start that brawl, he got objets thrown at his face, and was provoked by Ben Wallace, but KEPT his cool, before he was hit in the fact with a cup of soda or beer. Artest is good for the NBA, the NBA needs more emotion, and defensive super stars like Artest, and less guys like Dwayne Wade who's afraid to guard Rip Halmiton. I hope Artest has another career year, and shut everyone up.</div> Since when was Wade afraid to guard anyone? Artest has a terrible attitude, complains aout everything, and his word isn't even worth a penny right now. Dwayne Wade is a superstar and I don't know what your point is regarding that statement. Dwayne didn't guard Rip because SVG put Eddie on him, not because he was scared. Artest may not have started it, but he took the brawl to another level.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting j0se:</div><div class="quote_post">Why is everyone so angry at Artest? He didn't even start that brawl</div>
I have nothing but good things to say about Ron Artest. He's admitted to his mistakes and made a promise to do better this year, and show Indiana his appriciation. He's gonna make a comeback.
He'll get a chance to play this season but you have to remember, Artest isn't going to comeback being Mr. Nice guy. Well at least if I were Pacer fans I wouldn't want to see Artest be Mr. Nice guy. Artest is a dirty player, you won't see him stop trash talking to guys, or showing emotions on the court, good or bad. The only thing I can assure Artest doesn't do is climb on to the stands again, but yes on the court I'll predict Artest gets suspended once or twice which is the kind of player he is. He has a bad boy, defensive image and he isn't going to let that slip away.
what do you mean hes a dirty player..i dont recall a single nba player say that of him unlike bruce bowen he has never had a problem with other players even the foul that errupted in to the nov 19 brawl was not a dirty play it was simply a foul to stop the basket. if it was some other player wallace would not have done anything. rem that was the game that artest had played very well and had the pistons frustrated.you cant blame artest for it and ben got away with a 6 game suspention. tell me do you think that if the same thing happened to another player, do you think that he would have recieved the same suspention. hey trenchteam props to ya man you know wat u talkin about.
Artest isn't a dirty player, he just is a very emotional player and can't control his anger. I think he will snap again at some point. Wade said he was afraid to defend Rip "the stick" Hamilton? I would understand why SVG would choose to put Wade on Prince, b/c Rip is like a marathon runner(not really, but he runs a couple of miles everyday) and tires out most his opponents by doing hundreds of circles around the court to score like 14 points.
Artest is one of the best defenders in the NBA. He is an all-star and a great player. Everyone learns from their mistakes, which is why mistakes happen first of all. I think Artest will be a new guy next year, like he will still get the technical fouls and stuff because thats how he is and no one can change that. I would loove to have artest in the Toronto Raptors!
Artest is a remarkable talent, one of the best in the league. He has come from tremendous adversity, risen to standards far above even the most wild expectations. He will one day lead a team to a championship. He has an unmatched competitive fire. However, he has a lot to learn, but who doesn't? The man needs to learn to control himself. And he did not keep his cool in that situation in Detroit. Anyone who has watched him knows his bullcrap innocent act that he puts on. Like when he pulled down Paul Pierce's shorts in a regular season game two seasons ago, Pierce hiked 'em up, caught the in-bound pass and splashed a three in his face. Then Artest complained that Pierce pushed off. The man has that stoic look on his face that says he's trying to stay out of things. But again, anyone who has watched him knows that he is calculating when he does that. Just like Rodman back in the day when he would trip Jalen Rose or wrestle Karl Malone and pretend he didn't do anything and if he stays cool and doesn't react, then he must be the good guy. But if you watch him closely, you know he is just waiting for his next chance to antagonize his man and send him over the edge. That being said, that technique is used in every competition in every nation around the world, and has been for all time. I personally think it is dirty, but could see where a person or player would consider it commonplace and shrug it off. His techniques have assimilated into our conscious basketball thought piecemeal, and now we all kind of excuse him for his silly tricks, or at least we did, until he pulled off that brawl. But let's not forget that we're only even talking about this because of such tremendously negative media coverage that it has become impossible to ignore. Were it not for us having seen it two hundred times again and again on ESPN, we wouldn't even be discussing this. We would be saying, "well Artest is finally back, now maybe the Pacers can win a championship." Instead of, "Artest is back that rotten slimeball, I can't believe what he pulled, he should be banned for life." And yes, I know no one is out-rightly saying that, but that's what a casual fan thinks. They think that a player perpetrating an act of violence on a fan is totally out of place, and must never be tolerated. But for those of us who have been in the arena when it happens, or been playing and wanted to do it ourselves, you know it isn't that far-fetched. It's happened many times before, but because we don't have videos of it, we don't hear about it. Baseball has a long and tainted track record of fan abuse. Hockey is a no-brainer (Tie Domi anyone?), and football at least keeps its fans far enough from the field for it not to be an issue (nevermind college football back in the 40's and 50's, it was like bloodsport). And how about soccer riots? None of this is out of the ordinary, and Artest should be absolved and allowed to go at it again, just like all the others. I think he should have received a little more attention on the part of the Detroit Police Force, but that's neither here nor there. Artest is talented and passionate, and will not ever be totally forgiven for what he's done, and there are dozens of other players all over sports just like him, and that to me, is a tragedy. That fans should be excused for all manner of vulgarity and foolishness, nevermind violence, and players should be held to a loftier standard. We're all human beings, we all err, and we all deserve second chances. And forget about the moral argument, if you truly believe that this man has done so wrong that his actions, as perpetrated by dozens of others before him, truly are to make him an example, it is only because of an overwhelming current of people telling other people what to think, not people putting themselves in his situation, and not people thinking logically and beyond the scope of an outraged media. The situation is pitiful, and I think Artest deserves whatever he gets coming back into the league. Be it scorn for being violent, or be it reverence for being passionate. Either way, he has earned whatever you think of him, but do not damn him for acting hotly in a situation where no less than a saint would have acted in his place.
If anybody knows Artest, then they'd know he is not a dirty player. He has anger problems that are from genetics, plus he's from the hood where he had to fight to survive in some cases. He is a emotional player and puts his heart into the game... he loves the game of basketball shown when he played a week straight with scrubs from Greece when he was recording a single in Greece. I really like Artest, and I think people are just getting the wrong image of him because of all the bad media. Since when did Artest instigate the brawl? I never knew laying down on the scorer's table starts brawls, or gets drunk peopel to throw beer at you. I know this has been said thousands of times, but seriously. With anger problems like Artest's and you know he has a chip on his shoulder, and takes no bullsh*t... why would you do taht unless you were completely tanked. And what would you do if you were Artest? Sit and wave at the guy, smile and say "I love beer, thanks for splashing me." The Pacers are making the right choice, because Artest is the man to lead them to that championship. He's gritty, can score, can lock you down, can be the enforcer they lacked this year.... the missing piece to the puzzle...
Ben Wallace hit Ron Artest why arent people talking about how he cant controll his anger? I think Ron Artest has cleaned up his act but for some reason many people like to live in the past and talk about things he's done in previous seasons. If someone had punched me or thrown beer at me i probably would spazz out too.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting BobbyEscobar:</div><div class="quote_post">Ben Wallace hit Ron Artest why arent people talking about how he cant controll his anger? I think Ron Artest has cleaned up his act but for some reason many people like to live in the past and talk about things he's done in previous seasons. If someone had punched me or thrown beer at me i probably would spazz out too.</div> exactly. i think ben shouldve been suspended longer than he was. i mean, he did basically start the brawl. artest did a great job keeping cool. i was expecting him to erupt after being shoved in the face. but he kept cool, then some idiot decided to throw beer at him. well, let me ask you. what would you do if someone you didnt know, or even see before decide to throw beer at you? i would most likely erupt just like ron. although i do think it was wrong to jump in the stands and start beating up random fans who you thought threw beer at you, think about what you would do if you were in the situation. actually, i want david stern to think about what he would do in the situation. first, david would be shoved in the face after making a layup, then he would be hit by beer some random fan threw. i bet you stern wouldve exploded as well. i just didnt like the punishment stern gave artest. the least he couldve done was to have artest back in the playoffs.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting phiLA:</div><div class="quote_post">exactly. i think ben shouldve been suspended longer than he was. </div> Ben Wallace diidn't run into the stands and start hitting random people. Artest didn't even hit the guy who threw the beer at him.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting phiLA:</div><div class="quote_post">exactly. i think ben shouldve been suspended longer than he was. i mean, he did basically start the brawl. artest did a great job keeping cool. i was expecting him to erupt after being shoved in the face. but he kept cool, then some idiot decided to throw beer at him. well, let me ask you. what would you do if someone you didnt know, or even see before decide to throw beer at you? i would most likely erupt just like ron. although i do think it was wrong to jump in the stands and start beating up random fans who you thought threw beer at you, think about what you would do if you were in the situation. actually, i want david stern to think about what he would do in the situation. first, david would be shoved in the face after making a layup, then he would be hit by beer some random fan threw. i bet you stern wouldve exploded as well. i just didnt like the punishment stern gave artest. the least he couldve done was to have artest back in the playoffs.</div> Ben did not start the brawl, the fan who threw a cup at Artest is the one who started it.
Whats the point of talkin about the past. Its not like Artest can change it but lets see if he acts more mature next season and wont get into fights etc. i think a lot of times Artest is a little bit misunderstood. He has a hard time controlin his anger but its not like he does it on purpose
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Artest has a terrible attitude</div> Since when was passion a bad attitude? He lets his emotions control him. Its not the right way to behave but you've got to love his passion. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Dwayne Wade is a superstar </div> No, Dwayne Wade is a rookie and lucky if we call him a star. He's been in the NBA 2 years and hasn't won anything. Kobe is a superstar, Shaq is a superstar, Artest is a star. Wade is a rookie. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Artest is a dirty player, you won't see him stop trash talking to guys, or showing emotions on the court, good or bad.</div> The NBA needs more players like him. I would prefer to watch someone trying all types of tricks to get victory then somebody making sure they obide by the rulebook. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">what do you mean hes a dirty player..i dont recall a single nba player say that of him unlike bruce bowen</div> As I said, theres nothing wrong with Bowen. The NBA needs more players like him. Why doesn't anyone say anything about Reggie Miller? He was the same. Fact is, that players like him are enjoyable to watch. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Ben did not start the brawl, the fan who threw a cup at Artest is the one who started it.</div> Ben did start the incident but the fan should have known his role. Artest wasn't out there to get cups thrown at him. True, he shouldn't have gone out there but well what would you expect if you chucked a cup at Ron Artest? Flowers?
