It Makes a Difference to the Sheep

Indiana Pacers superstar, Ron Artest, is tired. So tired, in fact, that he asked his coach and team if he could take a few games off to recuperate.

Indiana Pacers forward Ron Artest said Wednesday that he asked head coach Rick Carlisle for as much as a month off to heal his aching body and recover from a hectic schedule.
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"My body has been aching, I was going to take some time off and I said it the wrong way," Artest said during a short news conference before the Pacers' 102-68 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. "Everything that happened wasn't too negative. I kind of surprised the team by wanting to take some games off, just to get back together, maybe stay home for a little bit, rest a little bit and come back."

He certainly surprised Carlisle, who said Tuesday that the situation, "compromised the integrity of the team. It's a private team matter, and I'm going to leave it at that."

"I don't know what that means," Artest said. "They probably expected a little more; expected me to play every game. Everybody's different. It's early in the season, so I feel like I could take some time off early and be ready for the long stretch."

Poor guy. He will only make nearly $6 million this year and even more over the course of the next four years.

Call me an old-fashioned purist, but for $6 million a year, you'd better believe that I would expect Mr. Artest to play every game, and to arrange his busy off-court schedule so as to be in the physical and mental condition necessary to play every game.

Unbelievable!