The transformation of Ron Artest has been a lengthy one. Probably, no one would have guessed that the guy who started the biggest riot in sports with fans would have come so full circle as he has done.
Earlier in his career, while playing for the Indiana Pacers as the visitor against the Detroit Pistons, he was the first of a group of players at the end of a game to physically challenge fans and go into the stands seeking them out.

We've got a good friend who's a big sports fan, but mostly of the traditional American variety: primarily basketball and football, both college and pro.

MARIO BALOTELLI!!!

We asked him if he'd ever thought about watching some soccer, and he said what it would take would be a compelling player for him to follow.

Stunning development by the LA Galaxy who have signed a ten year TV contract with Time Warner for $55m. What is stunning about this deal is that the number of games to be televised each year is undetermined, as that will depend upon ESPN and NBC's selection of games. To reword that sentence.

According to a story that broke in the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday evening, the Galaxy are set to announce a 10 year, $55 million deal with two new Time Warner Regional Sports networks to televise Galaxy games. The new networks (one in Spanish and the other in English) are fighting for content in the crowded LA Sports market and this deal guarantees live programming from March to October.

Mall of America Field (Metrodome) Eastview 2-0 Minneapolis South The second Boys 2A semifinal of the day looked to be a good one on paper. The Eastview Lightning (20-0-1) and who were the #1 seed in the tournament took on the #4 seeded Minneapolis Southwest Lakers (15-4-1). The match stated out brightly for Eastview.

Kobe Bryant, an avid soccer fan, takes a PK during half time of Manchester United vs. Barcelona game on Saturday in Washington DC.

We'll know three of the four Sectional teams vying for a single spot in the State Final 4 by the end of the evening. The fourth slot will be determined tomorrow when Glendale and Nixa play. Note that there may be a time change on that game to try and avoid weather issues.

District 10 Final: at Camdenton, 5:00 pm
#1 Camdenton Lakers -
#3 Waynesville Tigers
Rance Burger of the Lake Sun News offers a nice preview of the Lakers who return to the District Title game for the first time in 11 years.

The Missouri Soccer Coaches poll for the Class 3 Central Region, including Districts 9 and 10, has been released. The Lakers now carry the burden of being the favorite going into the District playoffs. Rock Bridge has been seeded #1 in District 9 but we are still waiting for the District 10 seeding.

We all know Derrick Rose is going to win the 2011 NBA MvP for his regular season play. However, which players are playing the best in the 2011 NBA Playoffs? While there's no such thing as a postseason NBA MVP, here's our look at the top five best players so far in this year's NBA playoffs.

1.

(I originally wrote this post over two weeks ago. But for whatever reason I sat on it, and then sat on it some more. It may be a little dated the NCAA Championship game was the worst ever but Arsenal's continuing incompetence which gave United the title without even playing brought this back to life.

During the premiere episode of Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom's new reality show on Sunday night, there was plenty of drama. One of the hot topics on "Khloe and Lamar" was Lamar's relationship with his estranged father, Joe.

During the episode, Joe showed up at Khloe's book signing and surprised her, and she tried to arrange a reunion between father and son.

During the premiere episode of Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom's new reality show on Sunday night, there was plenty of drama. One of the hot topics on "Khloe and Lamar" was Lamar's relationship with his estranged father, Joe.

During the episode, Joe showed up at Khloe's book signing and surprised her, and she tried to arrange a reunion between father and son.

Republic Tigers 1
Waynesville Tigers 2

West Plains Zizzers 0
Nixa Eagles 10
The Eagles opened the defense of their District title with a decisive win over the Zizzers. Goals were scored by Rachel Murphy, assist Lauren Moats; Own Goal; Moats assist Tatum Mangum; Paige Townsend from Moats; Murphy assist by Halie Owen; Kelsey Haist, assist by Kelsey Bartell.

Mike Trudell of Lakers Basketblog writes of Grant Wahl's recent article in Sports Illustrated about Jose Mourinho, and the comparisons between Mourinho and Lakers' coach Phil Jackson.

Grant Wahl recently profiled Mourinho ("What's So Special about José Mourinho) for the magazine, where we learned of the connection to Jackson.

The San Antonio Spurs smashed the Miami Heat by 30 points on Friday night. On Sunday night, the Spurs were the ones getting smashed. After leading by as many as 32 points, the Lakers snapped San Antonio's 22-game home winning streak with a 99-83 victory.

The final score doesn't tell the story of how much the Lakers killed the Spurs.

Kobe Bryant fue el jugador mas valioso del juego de estrellas de este domingo, pero antes ya habia tomado en serio su papel de estrella y es el primer deportista en imprimir sus manos en el Grauman´s Chinese Theatre de Los Ángeles, cuando vayas para la ciudad de Los Angeles el teatro Chino es una visita obligada, ahora las manos y tenis de este basquetbolista estará entre luminarias del septimo arte,una noticia verdaderamente sorprendente.

Kobe Bryant was playing in front of his home fans in Los Angeles. The Lakers superstar apparently decided to put on a show during the 2011 NBA All-Star Game, finishing with 37 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and three steals. With Kobe Bryant leading the way, the West beat the East by a final score of 148-143.

The Boston Celtics lost Game 7 last year in Los Angeles as the Lakers won their second straight NBA championship. On Sunday, the Celtics got their revenge. After outscoring the Lakers 59-42 in the second half, the Celtics posted a 109-96 victory despite Kobe Bryant pouring in 41 points in 38 minutes.

The Sacramento Kings are one of the worst teams in the NBA if not the worst. However, that didn't stop them from going into Los Angeles and beating the two-time defending champions on Friday night. With a handful of young players leading the way, the Kings defeated the Lakers by a final score of 100-95.

Why does everyone hate the Galaxy?
Okay, wrong question. Right now they're the Kings, and they want to be the Lakers. This not being basketball territory, I won't bore you with the many ways the Lakers represent Nearly Everything Wrong With Sports (the Clippers representing the remainder), but the Lakers are as detestable as they are successful.