Subject: Ron Artest

• When Blood Comes to Town

  April 6, 2007

• Rockets-Kings: Steve Novak and The Shot

  February 14, 2008

• Rockets Acquire Forward Artest in Deal

  July 30, 2008

• Five Spot: Ron Artest Is Not Too Busy to Be a Meh Rapper

  October 3, 2008

• Whole Offense, Hole Defense: The Houston Rockets Preview

  October 29, 2008

• The Houston Rockets: Goodness Greatness

  November 6, 2008

• Houston Rockets: This Needs To Be Yao's Team

  Coming off a 2-3 road trip, plus wins over OKC and the Hornets, the Rockets make me feel the same way I did a few weeks back. Good, not great. They convincingly won the games they should have, home or away (Clippers, Thunder, Suns), and lost the games they should have (Lakers and a pretty decent Trail Blazers team). So the Spurs loss was disappointing, but it was the last game of a five-game road trip and they did come on strong the next night against one of the best of the West. What

  November 19, 2008

• Top Ten Houston Sports Moments of 2008

  10. I never really followed the Houston Comets, who folded several weeks ago. By the time they came on the scene I was getting pretty sick of professional basketball. So I never became invested in the team, and I can't feel any real loss behind their demise. Still, unlike the Rockets and Astros and Texans, they did win a world championship within the past decade. 9. The Houston Astros were one of the worst teams in professional baseball for most of the first half of the season. But they

  December 20, 2008

• The Rockets Get Some Times Love, The Only Love They Apparently Can

  The Houston Rockets are quickly becoming an afterthought in town as Spring Training opens and their tedious soap-opera mediocrity gets pushed to the sidelines. (All of which will change in a blink, of course, if they put together a streak.)But they're getting noticed elsewhere.The New York Times' Sunday magazine's cover boy this weekend was Shane Battier, the "No-Stats All-Star."Michael Lewis, the author of Moneyball -- the book showing how a revolution in stat-keeping changed how baseball GMs s

  February 16, 2009

• The Rockets Get Some Times Love, The Only Love They Apparently Can

  The Houston Rockets are quickly becoming an afterthought in town as Spring Training opens and their tedious soap-opera mediocrity gets pushed to the sidelines. (All of which will change in a blink, of course, if they put together a streak.)But they're getting noticed elsewhere.The New York Times' Sunday magazine's cover boy this weekend was Shane Battier, the "No-Stats All-Star."Michael Lewis, the author of Moneyball -- the book showing how a revolution in stat-keeping changed how baseball GMs s

  February 16, 2009

• Tracy McGrady Out For the Season; Yes, It's the Knee Again

  Photo by mtkopone For those who haven't heard the news yet, last night, Tracy McGrady told ESPN screamer/reporter Stephen A. Smith that he will be missing the rest of the season because he is having microfracture surgery on his troublesome left knee. The Rockets are refusing to comment on the story. The Rockets should be used to no T-Mac by now, however, as he missed most of January because of this knee. This is the same knee on which he had arthroscopic surgery after last season, and he's

  February 18, 2009

• Rockets Fast Break: Adelman Stresses Consistency at Point

  To Rockets coach Rick Adelman, consistency trumps contrast. When fans initially heard the Rafer Alston trade Thursday afternoon, much of the immediate reaction was negative. In addition to questioning the team going forward without an experienced starting point guard, many wondered why the team would trade away Alston's size for Kyle Lowry, another 6-foot jitterbug of comparable height and style of play to Brooks. According to Adelman, that's exactly the idea.

  February 21, 2009

• Rockets-Bobcats: Yao-Artest Form Improved Dynamic Duo

  At some point during the will he, won't he saga of Tracy McGrady's ongoing knee problems, the heart and identity of the Rockets shifted from a Yao Ming and McGrady-led team to one led by Yao and Ron Artest. So far, the Rockets seem all the better for it. Artest scored 26 points on five three-pointers while Yao added 19 points and seven rebounds, leading to a 99-78 win over Charlotte on Sunday evening at Toyota Center. It's the Rockets' (35-21) fourth consecutive victory, three of which have co

  February 23, 2009

• Rockets-Pistons: Can Yao Be the Closer?

  Photo by Wootang01 Remember the notion from earlier this week that the Rockets' late-game offense might be better off without Yao Ming? That didn't last long. With the Rockets trailing by four late and in the midst of yet another fourth-quarter funk, Yao snapped the Rockets out of it in a major way. Houston's star big man scored 15 points in the final five minutes of regulation and in the two overtime periods, leading the Rockets to a 106-101 double-overtime victory over the Pistons on Wednesd

  March 19, 2009

• Ladies & Gentlemen, Your Ron Artest!!

  Here is the Rockets' Ron Artest, responding to....somethingAll we know is that "there was nothing hood about my tone" when he said it, and he did not "speak corporate." Oh, and 12-year-olds maye selling dope instead of thinking about getting to the NBA, but he's not going to disrespect them.Or something like that. Anyway, it's video of Ron Artest in bed, talking.

  May 29, 2009

• Rockets-Pistons: Can Yao Be the Closer?

  Photo by Wootang01 Remember the notion from earlier this week that the Rockets' late-game offense might be better off without Yao Ming? That didn't last long. With the Rockets trailing by four late and in the midst of yet another fourth-quarter funk, Yao snapped the Rockets out of it in a major way. Houston's star big man scored 15 points in the final five minutes of regulation and in the two overtime periods, leading the Rockets to a 106-101 double-overtime victory over the Pistons on Wednesd

  March 19, 2009

• Rockets-Cavaliers: Yao's Revenge

  Photo by Wootang01 LeBron James has a lengthy history of poster-quality slam dunks. But on Thursday night, Yao Ming emphatically turned the tables on the Cleveland superstar. Yao overwhelmed James on two game-defining plays, sparking the Rockets to a 93-74 home victory over a Cleveland (44-12) team that entered Thursday with the NBA's second-best record. It was by far the most impressive of Rockets' (37-21) six consecutive wins, all of which have come without Tracy McGrady. "It's awesome to s

  February 27, 2009

• Rockets-Bobcats: Yao-Artest Form Improved Dynamic Duo

  At some point during the will he, won't he saga of Tracy McGrady's ongoing knee problems, the heart and identity of the Rockets shifted from a Yao Ming and McGrady-led team to one led by Yao and Ron Artest. So far, the Rockets seem all the better for it. Artest scored 26 points on five three-pointers while Yao added 19 points and seven rebounds, leading to a 99-78 win over Charlotte on Sunday evening at Toyota Center. It's the Rockets' (35-21) fourth consecutive victory, three of which have co

  February 23, 2009

• Rockets Fast Break: Adelman Stresses Consistency at Point

  To Rockets coach Rick Adelman, consistency trumps contrast. When fans initially heard the Rafer Alston trade Thursday afternoon, much of the immediate reaction was negative. In addition to questioning the team going forward without an experienced starting point guard, many wondered why the team would trade away Alston's size for Kyle Lowry, another 6-foot jitterbug of comparable height and style of play to Brooks. According to Adelman, that's exactly the idea.

  February 21, 2009

• Tracy McGrady Out For the Season; Yes, It's the Knee Again

  Photo by mtkopone For those who haven't heard the news yet, last night, Tracy McGrady told ESPN screamer/reporter Stephen A. Smith that he will be missing the rest of the season because he is having microfracture surgery on his troublesome left knee. The Rockets are refusing to comment on the story. The Rockets should be used to no T-Mac by now, however, as he missed most of January because of this knee. This is the same knee on which he had arthroscopic surgery after last season, and he's

  February 18, 2009

• The Rockets Get Some Times Love, The Only Love They Apparently Can

  The Houston Rockets are quickly becoming an afterthought in town as Spring Training opens and their tedious soap-opera mediocrity gets pushed to the sidelines. (All of which will change in a blink, of course, if they put together a streak.)But they're getting noticed elsewhere.The New York Times' Sunday magazine's cover boy this weekend was Shane Battier, the "No-Stats All-Star."Michael Lewis, the author of Moneyball -- the book showing how a revolution in stat-keeping changed how baseball GMs s

  February 16, 2009

• Top Ten Houston Sports Moments of 2008

  10. I never really followed the Houston Comets, who folded several weeks ago. By the time they came on the scene I was getting pretty sick of professional basketball. So I never became invested in the team, and I can't feel any real loss behind their demise. Still, unlike the Rockets and Astros and Texans, they did win a world championship within the past decade. 9. The Houston Astros were one of the worst teams in professional baseball for most of the first half of the season. But they

  December 20, 2008

• Rockets-Hornets: Point Guards Finally Get Defensive

  Photo by Aaron Sprecher(Note: This is written by Ben DuBose. We're working on that byline  glitch, honest.) At least for one night, the Rockets answered their only remaining defensive questions in a resounding way. Since dealing incumbent point guard Rafer Alston at the February trade deadline, skeptics have wondered if the Rockets could defend at the point with diminutive 6-footers Aaron Brooks and Kyle Lowry. On Monday night at Toyota Center, New Orleans (49-32) offered quite a challenge

  April 14, 2009

• Rockets Left To Wonder What Could Have Been

  Photo by Keith Allison(Note: This was written by Ben DuBose.)The next time someone tells you that early-season games in sports like basketball and baseball don't matter, refer them to the case of the 2008-09 Houston Rockets.The No. 5-seeded Rockets were one game from having a dream path to the Western Conference Finals, at a minimum. They were one game from a No. 2 seed, home-court advantage in the first and second rounds, a Southwest Division title, and most importantly, avoiding any possibilit

  April 16, 2009

• Inside the Glide

  Hometown hoops hero Clyde Drexler airs it out in his new autobiography

  November 25, 2004

• Rockets Playoff Preview: Yao, Rockets May Have Finally Landed Favorable First-Round Matchup

  At least for now, the Rockets' stunning collapse might not be all bad.The negatives to the Rockets blowing a 14-point, second-half lead at Dallas on Wednesday night, coupled with New Orleans' meltdown in San Antonio, are of course falling from the No. 2 seed, losing home court advantage in the first and second rounds of the playoffs and likely having to meet the Lakers in the second round (if they get there).The lone positive could be drawing Portland as a first-round opponent, who they'll face

  April 17, 2009

• Rockets-Portland Game 4: Hayes Takes One For The Team

  In a gritty comeback effort that epitomized a team win, it seemed only fitting that the game-winner came from a Rocket whose only contribution to the box score was a personal foul.With the Rockets clinging to a two-point lead with under 15 seconds left, Chuck Hayes read Brandon Roy's drive to the bucket, slid in and drew a charge, extinguishing the Blazers' best chance to tie the series and giving the Rockets a thrilling 89-88 win in Game 4 at Toyota Center. The Rockets now own a commanding 3-1

  April 27, 2009

• Do You Believe In Miracles? Rockets Advance

  May 17, 1997.Aaron Brooks and Von Wafer were in sixth grade. The Oilers were only a year removed from their Houston existence. The Texans were still more than five years from their birth. The Astros had yet to make the playoffs in the Biggio-Bagwell era. Then-President Bill Clinton was still eight months from being outed for his affair with Monica Lewinsky. Oh, and that's also the last day the Rockets had won a postseason series.But it all changed Thursday night, as a long chapter of mediocrity

  May 1, 2009

• Second Round Preview: Lakers Defense May Pose Biggest Threat To Rockets

  The Rockets finally got the first-round monkey off their backs  last week, so what did the NBA give them as a reward? Only a second-round date with the prohibitive title favorite Lakers, beginning tonight at 9:30 in Los Angeles. It's a terrifying matchup by nearly every quantifiable method. The Rockets lost all four games to the Lakers in the regular season. Ron Artest made headlines with his constant trash talk with Kobe Bryant, but the talking was the only true competition. Bryant t

  May 4, 2009

• Five Ways To Fake Your Way Through A Rockets Conversation

  Photo by Keith Allison It's been a long time since the Rockets were of any interest to most of Houston, but now that they've actually advanced past the first round of the playoffs, the bandwagon is getting full.A Houstonian will now be expected to be able to talk confidently about the team in order to keep up with the rest of the people in the bar, at Pilates, at the PTO meeting or at a party.You should, of course, be keeping up with matters by reading Ben DuBose's reports here on Hair Balls. Bu

  May 7, 2009

• Game 3 Preview: Rockets Need More From Wafer, On And Off Court

  Photo by Jeff BalkeThe Rowdies get rowdy for the playoffsVon Wafer was a hero in the first round, scoring 21 points in 27 minutes in Game 2 and sparking the Rockets with an emotional return in the series-clinching Game 6 just two days after suffering a bulging disc in his lower back. He was supposed to be a hero in the second round, too. It was the ultimate underdog story -- Wafer against the team that drafted him and gave up on him. That's how it played out in the regular season, when Wafer t

  May 8, 2009

• Game 3: Early Missed Opportunities Haunt Rockets

  The box score to Game 3 shows the second period as the only frame in which the Rockets weren't outscored on Friday night at Toyota Center. But in reality, it proved pivotal in Houston's 108-94 loss, which allowed Los Angeles to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. The normally dynamic Lakers missed eight consecutive shots over a three-plus minute stretch. For the half, Rockets outshot the Lakers from the field, 49 percent to 46 percent, and from behind the arc, 57 percent to 40 perce

  May 9, 2009

• No Matter Game 7 Outcome, These Rockets Have Heart Of Champions

  Photo: Jeff BalkeScrapper Chuck HayesThirty-seven million of the Rockets' approximately $70 million payroll sits on the bench in luxury suits instead of basketball uniforms. With Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady sidelined, the Rockets counter the Lakers' top scoring option -- only one of the best players ever, Kobe Bryant -- with the erratic Ron Artest and Aaron Brooks. When the Lakers walk supremely-talented seven-footers Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum to mid-court, the Rockets match up with Chuck Hayes

  May 15, 2009

• Despite Loss, These Aren't Same Old Rockets

  Photo by Katharine ShilcuttThe ending was all too familiar, but the ride was so, so different. Sure, history will show another Rockets season concluded without a title, this time on an 89-70 second-round, Game 7 loss to the Lakers on Sunday afternoon at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. And like so many seasons before, the 2008-09 campaign really ended when an X-ray displayed a fracture in a bone on Yao Ming's left foot.  "In games like this, it would have been nice to have a low

  May 18, 2009

• Oh, The Lakers Will Learn All About Ron Artest

  On the way to his fourth championship, Kobe Bryant was guarded by Mickael Pietrus, Hedo Turkoglu, Courtney Lee, Dahntay Jones, Carmelo Anthony, Shane Battier, and all of the Jazz players whose names Jerry Sloan could remember. None of them had the combination of speed, size, and advanced weaponry needed to stop the league's best scorer. Based on these confrontations, there is no reason to believe that anybody would ever have figured out how to stop Kobe. As soon as Dwight Howard shanked those tw

  July 7, 2009

• Ron Artest Misses Michael Jackson Too, Y'all

  Recently departed Rocket Ron Artest has never had any trouble making headlines on or off the basketball court, so it's easy to forget that occasionally he also fancies himself a musician. Now the ever-misunderstood Artest has put his feelings about Michael Jackson in song with "Michael Michael." Before admitting, "I cry for Mike," Artest calls Jackson (who he never met) his neighbor, except he doesn't say "neighbor." Most puzzling is the line "I know you in heaven/ I hope to see you next year."

  July 7, 2009

• Ron Artest Wastes No Time Getting Crazy In LA: He Releases A Michael Jackson Tribute Video

  You're taking a shower after a hard day at work, fuming over things that went wrong, when suddenly, you hear someone approaching.You turn around and see a large shadow, and realize it's not a friend, family member or even co-worker. Ron Artest has broken in, is evidently staring at you, and says he wants to help you.What do you do? Apparently, Kobe Bryant has had this dilemma. From KCAL's John Ireland:  Kobe said that after the Lakers lost game six of the '08 NBA Finals in Boston by 39 po

  July 8, 2009

• Game Time: Time To Take Over

  ​I will get the pleasantries out of the way ....My name is Sean Pendergast, and I am a sports talk show host at 1560 The Game.I realize that sentence has the sound and feel of a self-introduction at an AA meeting (and carries with it more similarities than you'd think), but I figure simplicity is best as I begin contributing to the blogosphere here on the Houston Press website.  My entries will, for the most part, be sports-related (not always, though) and pertinent to Houston (not always

  October 23, 2009

• Game Time: Woke Up This Morning, Got Myself LeBron

  ​Those of you who listen to my show know that I am fond of placing the "occasional" friendly wager. While handicapping the day-to-day and week-to-week ebb and flow of a football, basketball, or (if you're really sick) baseball season can be enjoyable and, at times, lucrative (especially when betting against the bottom ten QB's in the NFL has turned into an ATM), where I have had the most success the last few years has been placing futures wagers on the over/under for total wins in a season. An

  October 27, 2009

• In Make-Or-Break Year, Rockets' Landry Looks To Fill Low-Post Void

  Photo by Jeff Balke​There's a popular belief in NBA circles that the third year is when a player makes the transition to stardom, if he's going to make it. Among point guards, that worked for Chris Paul and Deron Williams, and much has been said about Aaron Brooks making a similar - though smaller - leap. Through five games, Brooks seems on the right track, averaging 20 points and eight assists while directing the Rockets to a surprising 3-2 record. But slightly under the radar is Carl La

  November 5, 2009