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December 16, 2005
Artest trade demand
In an exclusive interview published Sunday, December 11, by the The Indianapolis Star, Indiana Pacers forward Ron Artest makes a first public trade request.
Quotes from the interview: "I still think my past haunts me here," Artest said. "I think somewhere else I'm starting fresh. I'm coming in with baggage, but people already know about it and how I'm going to be. Either they're going to be for me or they're not going to trade for me. Here I think my past haunts me.
"I think they will be a better team without me."
Artest to Pacers: Trade me [IndyStar.com]
I personally have no doubt the Pacers will be better of without Artest. His past will haunt him elsewhere to though.
And who really wants his bag of tricks? The Sacramento Kings and Kings president Geoff Petrie have been rumored in the past to have had talks with the Pacers about a Ron Artest - Peja Stojakovic trade. According to Ailene Voisin from the Sacramento Bee, the Kings certainly don't need him:
"after this latest display of absurd behavior, where he griped about his scoring opportunities, ripped his coach and completely alienated the Indiana Pacers organization - including his own Brawl Brothers - the guy has become pure poison."
Kings don't need this guy Artest [sacbee.com]
There are tons of other news paper articles with speculation and rumors on the impending Artest trade and where he might end up. According to the Toronto Sun, Artest along with second-round pick Erazem Lorbek could be heading to Toronto for Morris Peterson, another roster player (potentially Matt Bonner) and a first-round pick.
Artest could be T.O. bound [Toronto Sun]
The league fined Artest $10,000 for his public trade request.
Posted by pedersen at 12:37 PM in Indiana Pacers | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 12, 2005
Pat Riley replaces Stan Van Gundy as Heat coach
I guess everyone had predicted this would happen eventually if things didn't go extremely well for the Miami Heat this season. Well here it is; Miami Heat with a 11-10 win-loss record decided to let Stan Van Gundy go and move Pat Riley to the sidelines.
Riley replaces Van Gundy as Heat coach [Yahoo Sports / AP]
Posted by pedersen at 04:52 PM in Miami Heat | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 09, 2005
Officer Shaq
Miami Heat center Shaquille O'Neal was sworn in as a Miami Beach police reserve officer on Thursday morning. Shaq purposely avoided a media blitz in consideration of his fellow officers being sworn in on the sam e day. According to a Herald article: "He will work in the special victims detective unit, where he can focus on crimes against children."
Shaq joins crime-fighting team [The Miami Herald]
Posted by pedersen at 04:08 PM in Miami Heat | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 06, 2005
Quentin Richardson's brother reportedly shot and killed
A horrible news bit reports that New York Knicks guard Quentin Richardson left the team Monday because of a family emergency. According to reports his 31-year old brother Lee Richardson was shot and killed in Chicago on Monday. Quentin's younger brother Bernard was shot and killed by robbers when Quentin was 12 years old.
I pass my condolences to the Richardson family.
Knicks' Richardson leaves team amid reports brother was shot, killed [Yahoo Sports / AP]
12/07 Update:
Three in police custody in shooting death of brother of Knicks' guard [Yahoo Sports / AP]
Posted by pedersen at 09:58 PM in New York Knicks | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Carmelo Anthony fined for tossing ball into stands
Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony was fined $5000 by the NBA on Tuesday for throwing a basketball into the crowd during Saturdays game against the Miami Heat. The ball hit a preteen girl in the head. Fortunately, the girl was not injured.
Anthony fined $5,000 for tossing ball into stands [ESPN.com / AP]
Posted by pedersen at 09:40 PM in Denver Nuggets | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Rashard Lewis charged with DUI
Seattle Sonics forward Rashard Lewis was charged Monday with driving under the influence of alcohol on October 1, 2005 just before 3 a.m. Lewis told the police he had only had one drink that night. His blood alcohol level was 0.132 with the state legal limit being 0.08. Lewis was driving 84 mph when pulled over by a State Patrol trooper on I-90 where the speed limit was 60 mph. According to the Seattle Times story the gross misdemeanor should bring a minimum of one day in jail, up to $5000 fine and a mandatory 90-day license suspension.
Lewis is charged with October DUI [The Seattle Times]
Posted by pedersen at 09:25 PM in Seattle SuperSonics | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 03, 2005
Atlanta Hawks make Worst Team list (again)
The Atlanta Hawks make the "Worst 82-game NBA Records In History (Through 17 Games)"-list again:
Worst Teams Ever [ESPN.com]
And Marc Stein at ESPN.com has a story and interview bits on Joe Johnson's first return to Phoenix and the Suns this weekend (since opting for the bigger $70 million contract with the Hawks this off season).
Joe Johnson faces valley, Suns [ESPN.com]
And a promise (or more like a wish) from Johnson: "Even though things haven't been looking good for us, I think we have a bright future." Well, he does have five years to work on this dream, but he may be the only person believing it at the moment.
Posted by pedersen at 10:53 AM in Atlanta Hawks | Comments (0) | TrackBack