Well, it's finally happened. My time as sports editor of The Cavalier Daily has come to a close, and I'm slowly being put out to pasture as a columnist. It's actually something I've always wanted to do since I joined the staff of the paper -- and my ambitions have come back to bite me. Here it is, time for my first regular column to grace the Sports page, and I can't think of a damn thing to write about.
That's why I'm glad that the world of sports has provided me once again with inspiration for my work. I've written columns before, and the best of them have always relied on things that were slightly off-kilter. Things such as football players switching numbers because they "looked faster" or high-profile sporting events ending in ludicrous -- or, as Mike Tyson so eloquently put it, "ludacrisp" -- results. And now that it has come down to the wire for my first column, I am pleased to present to you the latest participant in what has become an ongoing series of "news of the weird." Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Ron Artest.
For those of you who don't know, Artest is a guard for the Indiana Pacers. He's not what you would call an extremely high-profile player with his head-scratching cover shot on ESPN Magazine this month. I guess when players like Reggie Miller and Jermaine O'Neal overshadow you, you have to act a little screwy to get attention. Case in point: despite drawing a fat NBA paycheck, Artest took a job at a Chicago-area Circuit City for the camaraderie and the employee discounts. That pales, however, by comparison to the strange deeds perpetrated by Artest against the Miami Heat on Monday night.
Artest initiated the evening's weirdness in the first quarter of the Pacers' 102-95 road win. Miami coach Pat Riley and forward Caron Butler received technical fouls for arguing that Artest had fouled Butler. Artest joined the argument before being angrily shooed away by Riley.
Later in the game, Artest was called for a flagrant foul on Butler, only to follow it up by taunting the Miami bench with a flexed arm after making a shot while being fouled minutes later. Artest brushed Riley and started a shouting match, which ended with Riley pushing Artest away.
Artest was hit with a technical foul for the display, and after making his foul shot while Miami's Eddie Jones missed his, Artest ran downcourt while making an obscene gesture.
This isn't the first display of asinine behavior by the talented but temperamental Artest. Earlier this month, he received a three-game suspension without pay and a $35,000 fine for throwing a television monitor and smashing a camera following a loss to the New York Knicks.
I'm not condemning Artest for his outburst. NBA players do stupid things every day -- witness the exploits of Latrell Sprewell and Rasheed Wallace. However, for a player attempting to move into the league's spotlight, idiotic macho displays like Artest's can be extremely damaging.
The sad thing is, Artest deserves to be much more famous than he is, and for other reasons. He's possibly the best player on the best team in the East. Even during the Miami game, where he was otherwise preoccupied by Riley and Butler, he still dropped 18 points on the Heat. He's a solid scorer, a great athlete and a player who actually takes pride in his defense in an era of arm-wavers. And while his behavior may be detrimental to his reputation, it does show his competitive spirit.
Artest's latest outburst -- though it did spark his team to victory -- was ill timed considering his career path. Artest should look to the past for cautionary tales of players who couldn't keep their emotions in check, and need look no further than the aforementioned Sprewell and Wallace, both of whom have been vilified in the court of public opinion despite their considerable court skills. Artest's path to on-court stardom should continue unabated, but his behavior during games could keep him from becoming the star that he can be. And given my penchant for writing about the transgressors or all-around weirdos in the sporting world, Ron Artest should consider himself a success if he can only stay out of my column for the rest of the semester.
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