Welcome Back, Artest! Glad To Have Ya!

That Ron Artest is back for a whole season is destined to be one of the sublime joys of the upcoming NBA season; that he vows to be as crazy as ever makes us want to get an NBA League Pass, stat. From an interview with Dave D'Alessandro in today's :

"I'm going to still be playing hard, out of control, just wild, like an animal. I'll need to be caged in. I'll let the referees handle it."

Ha. What could possibly go wrong? Artest goes on to explain that he's actually excited for all the questions he'll be asked about last year's "incident," because it will allow him to promote his rap label, True Warrior. We're reminded of last year's Eastern Conference semifinals, when, after the Pistons beat the Artest-less Pacers, Artest waited until the Pistons bus was leaving and then took off his shirt, beat his chest and walked away, barefoot. We swear, someday he's going to eat a referee.

Artest To Play Like "An Animal" [Newark Star-Ledger] Artest Still Crazy [Deadspin]