Artest

Lakers forward Ron Artest created more controversy for himself after he said in an article published Wednesday that he drank alcohol during games while playing for the Chicago Bulls early in his career. Artest told the Sporting News that he used to drink Hennessey cognac at halftime of games in part because the Bulls were losing so often. "I [kept it] in my locker," he said. Artest played 2 1/2 seasons for Chicago after being drafted as a 19-year-old from St. John's in 1999. The story prompted the NBA to investigate Artest's comments.

The Lakers (45-37) start their first-round playoff matchup against the San Antonio Spurs (58-24) on Sunday, and that's causing a rift between brothers. Metta World Peace has a close relationship with his brother, Daniel Artest, but the two are divided by loyalties. Artest, a 6-foot-5 power forward who has played in a number of leagues including the American Basketball Assn., is a die-hard Spurs fan. "My brother's not a friend right now," said World Peace after the Lakers defeated the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night, clinched the playoff berth against the Spurs.

It was just like the old days, when the Lakers were winning championships and reporters crowded around players to soak in the latest update on Shaq vs. Kobe. But in this season's first chapter of a Ron Artest controversy, there was no mud-slinging. No hint or allegation that the media was at fault. No finger-pointing at other players. Artest basically confirmed that he drank too much alcohol earlier in his NBA career, backing up his statements in a Sporting News story Wednesday that he sometimes consumed Hennessy cognac during halftime while playing for the Chicago Bulls.

BIRMINGHAM, Mich. - When Ron Artest first came to town I ignored him, wanting nothing to do with a wacko. "A lot of people do that," Artest says. I thought he was just a thug. "I tell people who call me a thug you're calling the right person a thug," he says. "I was raised to be a thug. " Others insist he's a sweetheart, although Ron Artest and sweetheart don't really seem to go together. But here we are in a Detroit suburb, the wacko thug more sensitive, insightful and sweet than advertised.

He took the ball and ran with it on the court, and stole it when he had to do so. Five times, in fact. For an encore, Lakers forward Ron Artest took the first question in his postgame news conference and ran with the words in the aftermath of the Lakers' 83-79 win against the Celtics. And kept running and kept running. "So I'm blessed, and I totally forgot the question you asked," Artest said after his lengthy response. Vintage Ron Ron. In between, he blamed himself for losing Game 2 of the NBA Finals.

The Houston Rockets were the Western Conference's best team in terms of opponents' field-goal percentage and rebound differential, and they finished atop the league in points allowed per shot. In short, finding any breathing room against the Rockets last season was a colossal pain in the [you know where]. Adding Ron Artest will only make Houston stronger defending its net. Just as the Lakers can field a great deal of different lineup combinations, so too will Houston have plenty of ways to align stalwart defenders like Artest and Shane Battier, supported by bruisers like Luis Scola, Carl Landry, and Chuck Hayes.

Luke Walton knows his time on the court might decrease now that the Lakers have Ron Artest . Walton is aware that Artest likes to play heavy minutes. Still, Walton said he hopes he can continue to get quality minutes this season as the backup small forward behind Artest. "I want to play," Walton said after practice Saturday. "There's no way to tell right now until the season gets going. But I'm going to work my tail off to try and earn as many minutes as I can get."

Staff writer Mike Bresnahan ties up some loose ends after an unpredictable start for the Lakers in free agency. Q&A of the day Question: "I couldn't wait to see what you thought of this nightmare. I was really hoping it was just a bad dream since I fell asleep to SportsCenter . . . unfortunately it's not. "I'm really upset. I'm sure you caught Ron Artest's interview [on ESPN] where he said we need to be 'hoodalized'? Yup, that's just what we need?!? I just don't get it . . .

His stats tell one story. He tells another. The two are conflicting, confounding even when Ron Artest explains his woes on offense. He's shooting only 25% (four for 16) from the field, 22.2% (two for nine) from three-point range. He's even missing from the free-throw line, making only 33.3% (three for nine) of his tries. Those numbers say Artest's shot has betrayed him. He says otherwise. "I feel like I shot the ball well," Artest, who is averaging 6.5 points after two games with the Lakers, said after practice Saturday.

Andrew Bynum is no longer late to the party, but Ron Artest is still trying to find his way. The big fiesta doesn't begin for another 10 days for the Lakers, though Bynum and Artest are having different experiences in exhibition play. Bynum, never known for being first down the court, is trying to stay ahead of the ball, moving with better speed. So far it has been so good to him, the Lakers' center averaging 22.3 points and shooting 59.5% in three exhibition games, looking more like the pre-injury Bynum than the post-injury Bynum who averaged only 6.3 points on 45.7% shooting in the playoffs.

Anything but peaceful Metta World Peace (formerly Ron Artest) has had his share of suspensions — 10 in the last 10 seasons alone — and altercations during his 13 NBA seasons. A look at some of his notable incidents: •April 22, 2012: World Peace decks Oklahoma City's James Harden with an out-of-control left elbow; Harden suffers a concussion. Two days later the NBA suspends World Peace for seven games. •May 4, 2011: Artest smacks diminutive Dallas guard Jose Barea across the face in the closing seconds of the Lakers' 93-81 Game 2 loss in the Western Conference semifinals.

Some people call him by the name he was given at birth. Others use the one he gave himself in a filing in Los Angeles County Superior Court. There also is a handful of people who stumble, not sure what to say. Welcome to the new world of the former Ron Artest. The Lakers forward was officially allowed to change his name to Metta World Peace after paying an unspecified number of outstanding parking tickets, as per a judge's order, in September. Since then, Lakers practices and games are a grab bag of names for the guy wearing No. 15. Ron. Metta.

Three months after he changed his name and went sashaying across a ballroom floor on national television, Metta World Peace has stepped back into a familiar role. Dancing with strange thoughts. Take his view on all the trade rumors involving the Lakers: "I've been more focused on the Herman Cain presidential campaign this year," he said. "I want some Godfather's Pizza. " Then there's his opinion on teammate Lamar Odom being traded to the Dallas Mavericks: "Honestly, I don't even know what happened.

The most ballyhooed name change of the year became official Friday morning when a Los Angeles County Superior Court commissioner approved the former Ron Artest's request to become Metta World Peace. Amid labor discord that threatens to delay, if not wipe out, the NBA season, there is World Peace. Photos: Famous name-changers He is 6 feet 7, wears No. 15 for the Lakers and once participated in the infamous "Palace brawl. " Anyone now making his acquaintance will be meeting Metta World Peace.

Ron Artest's well-publicized plan to change his name ran into the legal equivalent of a red light Friday. His petition to legally change his name from Ronald William Artest Jr. to Metta World Peace was delayed by a Los Angeles court commissioner because of some outstanding traffic warrants. The Lakers forward wasn't in court Friday. But Artest gets another opportunity to swap names at a Sept. 16 court date — provided he takes care of his tickets. Artest's publicist, Courtney Barnes, said his client has "two moving violations … they will be paid so that his name can be changed.

Consider it a pickup game for the NBA's unemployed. On weekends this summer at the Col. Leon H. Washington Park gym in South Los Angeles, the Drew Summer League offered pros a competitive outlet during the NBA's work stoppage. The gym feels cramped and is hardly glamorous. Yet, the electric energy that surrounds each dunk, three-point shot and controversial call suggests otherwise. Washington Wizards guard Nick Young scored 60 points for his Drew League team, the Young Grangers, two weekends ago. Young, a former Reseda Cleveland High and USC standout, is a restricted free agent.

The Ron Artest vs. Rick Carlisle saga grew more bizarre Monday, with Artest missing the shoot-around, meeting with team officials and then coming up with a mysterious injury. Artest surprised the Indiana Pacers by saying he would sit out Monday's game against Memphis because of a sore back before backtracking and coming off the bench to score 18 points on seven-of-10 shooting in 35 minutes. It all came after Artest was benched for the second half of a loss to New Jersey on Saturday for what Carlisle called "conduct detrimental to winning."

Sacramento Kings forward Ron Artest faces four misdemeanor charges stemming from a domestic dispute with his wife on March 5. Artest, 27, is expected to be arraigned today on charges of battery and corporal injury to a spouse, false imprisonment and dissuading a witness from reporting a crime. Each carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison. * Seattle guard Ray Allen said he is considering season-ending surgery for bone spurs in his left ankle....

I'd like to announce that I'm legally changing my name to Ron Artest, on account of he's changing his name to Metta World Peace, which — small world — was actually my birth name. If this name change goes through — I go before the judge on a variety of matters next week — I hope to pick up a percentage of Artest's jersey sales, though I realize I've never seen anyone actually wear an Artest jersey, other than Artest himself. Even then, it was somewhat reluctantly. Obviously, he's found a way to remedy that.

Amid these increasingly difficult times of conflict and strife, I set out Friday night in search of world peace. On a stage at the Hollywood Improv, I found him. "I changed my name because I got tired of Ron Artest, he's a [expletive]," said Metta World Peace. "And when fans get mad at me, they can't say, 'I hate World Peace.' " Wanting to give World Peace a chance, I met the Lakers forward in his first public appearance since he petitioned to legally change his name earlier this summer.