Free Republic

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Indiana Pacers forward Ron Artest said Wednesday that he asked coach Rick Carlisle for time off because of a busy schedule that included promoting a soon-to-be released rap album, which led to his two-game benching. Artest held a short news conference before Wednesday night's 102-68 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, and in his usual ambiguous manner, tried to explain why he was benched. Artest said that he asked Carlisle for as much as a month off to heal his aching body and recover from a particularly busy schedule. "My body has been aching, I was going...

INDIANAPOLIS - Stephen Jackson of the Indiana Pacers was slugged in the mouth, struck by a car and fired a gun in the air in self-defense outside a strip club early Friday, police said. Jackson was limping but refused medical treatment at the scene, police spokesman Sgt. Matthew Mount said. Jackson conferred with a team trainer and sought treatment at a hospital. Officers found a small amount of marijuana in the passenger side door of Pacer point guard Jamaal Tinsley's car, police said. Officers could not determine the car's driver or to whom the marijuana belonged, so no arrests were...