As you all know, the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics earlier this week for their second NBA championship in as many years.  There are several sub-plots here:  Kobe supposedly one-upping Shaq with five rings versus Shaq's four, the Lakers-Celtics' renewed rivalry, etc.  But the most interesting sub-plot may be the resurrection of Ron Artest.  People forget that once upon a time, Artest was the best basketball player on the planet on arguably the best team, the Indiana Pacers.  In 2004 the Pacers were on pace (no pun intended) to finally get over the hump and win the NBA title, led by Artest who was having an MVP season.  However, a little fight broke out with the Detroit Pistons which derailed all that and seemingly, Artest's career.  I have always been an Artest fan even when he was at St John's.  Artest could not only score the basketball, but he brought glamour to the finer parts of the game such as defense, rebounding, passing and hustle plays.  I love to see guys who play the the game the right way get rewarded and Thursday night, watching Artest's post game interview, all seemed right with the world.

Always one to keep it real, Artest gave a shout out to his hood in Queensbridge where it all began.  For more on where it all began, keep reading for MC Shan and Marley's Marl's ode to "The Bridge".  Shan and Marl take me way back to that 1972 Chevy Malibu with the 350hp I used to drive . . . the whole neighborhood could hear me and my cousin Thomas before they saw us because we had the music blasting from the Pioneer speakers . . .