http://www.sacbee.com/kings/story/452853.html
Unsure Artest will go ahead with appeal
By Sam Amick - samick@sacbee.com
Last Updated 6:07 am PDT Thursday, October 25, 2007
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C8
LOS ANGELES – Ron Artest is going along with the appeal for his seven-game suspension to start the season, but the Kings small forward isn't the one driving the action.
Artest said his agent, Mark Stevens, and "a couple other people" whom he didn't want to name urged him to appeal. Those people are likely representatives from the National Basketball Players Association.
Artest – who was suspended for his May no-contest plea to domestic violence – will be in his hometown, New York, Nov. 1 for an arbitration hearing while his teammates are in San Antonio. Stevens said he is hoping the suspension is reduced to three or four games.
"I wasn't going to appeal, but they asked me to appeal," Artest said. "I wasn't going to do it. I was just going to leave it alone, because you can't beat (Commissioner) David Stern. I just didn't think I had a chance, but it's an important season, so I'm just thinking about my team. I want to get back as soon as possible. I probably don't even have a chance. I don't know."
Stevens said he wanted to test the ruling as a matter of principle.
"We're trying to go through the due process of appeals," Stevens said by phone. "It's in the arbitrator's hands ... . If you don't exercise your due process, you can't expect someone else to."
Theus' homecoming – Reggie Theus had to go.
Yes, that kind of "go."
The only problem? He didn't know where exactly to do it.
The Kings' coach had to ask around to find a bathroom in the visiting locker room at Staples Center on Wednesday night, making it the only part of this region he couldn't navigate to perfection.
Aside from the familiarity that comes with this being his hometown, Theus used to roam the home locker room conducting interviews as a Los Angeles Lakers analyst for Fox Sports Net before taking a Louisville assistant coaching job in 2003.
His homecoming was one of relief, as his Southern California home was far from the fires that consumed so much of the area and left the Los Angeles area smoky and with highs nearing 100 degrees. He also visited with his family, as his wife, Elaine, and their three kids live here.
"We deal with fires a lot around here, but nothing of this magnitude," Theus said. "The air quality for the last several days is ridiculous, and the heat index is like it's summer around here. I'm by the ocean, so I get a breeze. But people in the valley are struggling."
The one-time legend out of Inglewood High School couldn't even guess how many friends and family he had in attendance.
"It's great being here," he said. "I haven't thought about it a whole lot, though. I have to have a certain amount of cool about it."
About the writer: Call The Bee's Sam Amick, (916) 326-5582.
Unsure Artest will go ahead with appeal
By Sam Amick - samick@sacbee.com
Last Updated 6:07 am PDT Thursday, October 25, 2007
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C8
LOS ANGELES – Ron Artest is going along with the appeal for his seven-game suspension to start the season, but the Kings small forward isn't the one driving the action.
Artest said his agent, Mark Stevens, and "a couple other people" whom he didn't want to name urged him to appeal. Those people are likely representatives from the National Basketball Players Association.
Artest – who was suspended for his May no-contest plea to domestic violence – will be in his hometown, New York, Nov. 1 for an arbitration hearing while his teammates are in San Antonio. Stevens said he is hoping the suspension is reduced to three or four games.
"I wasn't going to appeal, but they asked me to appeal," Artest said. "I wasn't going to do it. I was just going to leave it alone, because you can't beat (Commissioner) David Stern. I just didn't think I had a chance, but it's an important season, so I'm just thinking about my team. I want to get back as soon as possible. I probably don't even have a chance. I don't know."
Stevens said he wanted to test the ruling as a matter of principle.
"We're trying to go through the due process of appeals," Stevens said by phone. "It's in the arbitrator's hands ... . If you don't exercise your due process, you can't expect someone else to."
Theus' homecoming – Reggie Theus had to go.
Yes, that kind of "go."
The only problem? He didn't know where exactly to do it.
The Kings' coach had to ask around to find a bathroom in the visiting locker room at Staples Center on Wednesday night, making it the only part of this region he couldn't navigate to perfection.
Aside from the familiarity that comes with this being his hometown, Theus used to roam the home locker room conducting interviews as a Los Angeles Lakers analyst for Fox Sports Net before taking a Louisville assistant coaching job in 2003.
His homecoming was one of relief, as his Southern California home was far from the fires that consumed so much of the area and left the Los Angeles area smoky and with highs nearing 100 degrees. He also visited with his family, as his wife, Elaine, and their three kids live here.
"We deal with fires a lot around here, but nothing of this magnitude," Theus said. "The air quality for the last several days is ridiculous, and the heat index is like it's summer around here. I'm by the ocean, so I get a breeze. But people in the valley are struggling."
The one-time legend out of Inglewood High School couldn't even guess how many friends and family he had in attendance.
"It's great being here," he said. "I haven't thought about it a whole lot, though. I have to have a certain amount of cool about it."
About the writer: Call The Bee's Sam Amick, (916) 326-5582.
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