I think Ron Artest actually tried to take a month off from the NBA to promote some piece of crap Hip Hop garbage he is peddling. This might explain why he went "ape shit" when someone tossed a beer on him; he can't tolerate being "dissed" by fans whose presence enables him to recieve millions of dollars for being able to stuff a ball into a hoop. The worst came when some stocky fan came on the court and squared off against Artest, Artest backed up, but then the fan was blindsided by another player who also went "ape shit."

Indiana Pacers forward Ron Artest is grabbed by fans after he went into the seats during a a brawl with the Detroit Pistons with just 45.9 seconds left in the game Friday, Nov. 19, 2004, in Auburn Hills, Mich. The game was called by the officials.

http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20041120/capt.dtp10411200430.pacers_pistons_dtp104.jpg

Yahoo news (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/photo?slug=dtp10411200430.pacers_pistons_dtp104&prov=ap)

I think the NBA's punishment to Artest of a full season ban was a little harsh since it was O'Neill who actually was equally as savage in his attack in blindsiding a fan. This will give a sales boost to Artest's rap garbage that the masses of idiots listen to.

Season long ban sounds fine to me. Besides, Artest was going on about how he wasn't really sure that his difficult life as a multi-million dollar earning basketball player wasn't for him and that he planned on going into the music industry. He'll have plenty of time to pursue his dreams now. :222