Bullets Forever, a Washington Wizards community

Yawn..... how entirely predictable. The Ron Artest saga which has dragged on since 1994 (possibly) as to whether he will come to the UK during the lockout, has hit a very obvious bump: Insurance. It's a point which has been mentioned in relation to players playing overseas during their NBA contracts for some time but for Ron Artest's agent, it appears to be a new idea and something he's only just heard about: "Ron fully intends to play for the Jets. Once all the information trickled in and we had a good pow-wow and it was very apparent there was a $21-million risk to agreeing to a deal like this, that’s when we started to slow things down a little bit." Good to know he's on top of the situation and knows about little details like 'Insurance'. Also, what's 'Pow-wow'? Is it another name for Ron 'Metta World Peace' Artest? I believe Ron will still come to the BBL but the major question in my mind now is - Will he do it while I still care?

Would you have expected anything else? Ron Artest states via a telephone interview that he is definitely playing for the Cheshire Jets In the UK's British Basketball League and the UK has riots across the country. Now, he can't be blamed entirely for those riots, especially as the troubles happened before he confirmed he was to take his talents to Cheshire but where Ron Artest is involved, anything could happen. I'm still not entirely convinced Artest is coming to the UK even though he has said he definitely will, I expect him to pull out and for all of the hype to be just that - hype. Maybe it's the negative Brit inside me or whether it's just that I am sceptical of a man who is as much of a wild card as he is, I just don't believe the move to the BBL. And with reports stating that the potential deal could land him a role in a UK soap in order to boost his $2500 a month salary, things turn just that little bit more surreal. (For the record, my money is on Artest being on Hollyoaks - a soap filmed near Cheshire). My thoughts will continue to be split on whether Artest in the BBL is a good thing or not. I guess only time will tell. Or make things more confusing.

Yup, the rumour of Ron Metta Artest Willy Wonka David Blaine Ronald McDonald World Peace joining the top British league is still going strong. Ever since Artest mentioned on Twitter that England was a country he would be interested in playing in, the UK has been talking about it on a regular basis. Today has seen the Cheshire Jets director, Pete Hawkins, state that a verbal agreement has recently been reached over the basics of the contract which means they are the current favourites in the race to secure his signature. As with everything Ron Artest-related though, the details of a potential move are all very sketchy. Mention of him completing a movie in the UK towards the end of 2011 could increase the likelihood of him sticking around and potentially joining a team but equally likely is that just as Ron is about to board his flight to England, he becomes distracted by a passing butterfly and follows it into the roaring engine. This is the kind of uncertainty that surrounds the current Laker forward. All that I CAN be certain of, is that if he spends any time in the BBL, the league will receive a tremendous short term boost. To which I will raise my glass of Pimms.