Sports Guy North

Ron Artest Tribute Band

Artest made his home debut the other day, and helped lead his team to a 98-91 victory over the Nuggets. Artest hustled up and down the court, played with the audience and had a huge smile all game long. This is not the Artest of old. This is a man happy to have a new start, and excited to be playing where he is. That is so much more than what I expected to come from this situation. The Kings are still 4 games out of the playoffs, but if I were any of the playoff teams in the west, I would already be worried about them. As I said, Artest with a chip on his shoulder was going to be tough. A happy Artest who is enjoying his situation? That's unprecedented. No one can control a team like Ron, and if he's doing it for the positive now, the results will be tremendous. Will this unexpected trend last? Who knows. But if it does, the Kings are my surprise pick to come out of the West this year.

As an Artest holder in my fantasy league, this surprise turn around is very welcome to me. To pay tribute I spent today with a few Ron Artest songs kicking around my ipod. I must say, he really isn't as horrible a rapper as people say. But maybe the fact that I don't normally like rap music, yet I like his stuff, does go to show that he isn't a good rapper. Either way, there was one song on there that seemed to have some interesting, basketball-related lyrics. It was titled "Make a Wish", but when I looked for the lyrics on the internet, there weren't any that came up. So, in honour of Ron's turnaround, I present to you my take at the Artest lyrics. He is a master of the mic, though, so some of the words might have escaped me. In any event, here they are:


Ron Artest - Make a Wish Lyrics

way back, when I was too short to touch the rim, I used to look at the people in the buildings I was living in
I had a project, to rise up like the sun, took my basketball wishes and said f*** to a gun
a killer cross over, and when the sun's falling down, the biggest star I ever seen, 1000 wishes came around
I haven't changed since then, wishes still torment me, I'm a sinner and a winner, lord forgive me
I wish me and my family could live together, for sunny weather when it rains, for rain when it gets better
I wish Q to prevail, no one to fail, for that uncle Wally could have made bail, get out of jail,
I wish my kids love me forever, although I know its not always all good, I wish people would stop telling me to get out of the hood
I wish for no poverty, more food, for parents stop neglecting, for kids to stop getting hectic
for those young ones in the cribs to start looking at books instead of me as an idle,
wish for bars and hooks to some out in the summer with a banger, I wish I knew my guardian angel, can you arrange that?

make a wish, kid, in this game of life
make a wish, son, if you living in trifle
make a wish, son, before the sun goes down
biggest star you ever see, where's your wish to come around?
make a wish,queen, in the blink of an eye
make a wish, word, could be just another lie
make a wish, life, don't you wait for them stars
what you are is what you say.

I wish for world peace and all, no war, I wish cali and Daniel artest will make it in ball I
I wish Dominic will stay a straight A, and for me, to get back to St. Johns and get my degree
good to see nate, on his next album release date, cuz we from the same place, same block same plate
same gates, I wish to zero the death rates, I wish for health, not just cars and real estate
I wish for the impossible like my team to get a championship, I wish authority no hold us down, no punishment
I wish Tyson reclaims the title, I wish my mind to open wider, my soul to feel tighter
I wish I come to Greece more often, for more beats, though, not a rapper, just a player, not a gangsta, you know how it is
I wish people don't think wrong about me, I am what I am, don't you doubt me, got me?
I wish to guard Tracy McGrady, you know t mac, stop shaq, give him a little bit of pac man
I just wish for more hope, so I can always wish, so make a wish, son, hey Q, make a wish

make a wish, kid, in this game of life
make a wish, son, if you living in trifle
make a wish, son, before the sun goes down
biggest star you ever see, where's your wish to come around?
make a wish,queen, in the blink of an eye
make a wish, word, could be just another lie
make a wish, life, don't you wait for them stars
what you are is what you say, what you say is what you are.


Please, anyone out there who knows the real lyrics, feel free to let me know. This was just my stab at them. And I do have a few notes on them:

1. I love the use of the noun "son" when talking to someone. When I first heard this song about a year ago, it excited me to hear that it might make a come back. Me and the JF immediately threw it in our normal repertoire of speech. Unfortunately, the lyrics above didn't quite make the hit that I had anticipated, and "son" isn't as common place as it should be. I sure do get funny looks sometimes when I use it. Try it out, see how it works for you, son.

2. He wishes for the impossible like for his team to win the Championship. I would say it was fan-outrage in Indy at this lyric that turned the city and team against him, if I thought that more than 12 people had heard this song. Basically he was saying that it is impossible for Indy to win the Championship. Hard to imagine since they've been a dominant team in the East for a few years. Now that Ron has left town, though, I'm inclined to agree with his masterful lyrics.

3. He wishes he could guard T-Mac? As far as I remember, all he has to do to be able to guard Tracy is throw a zone defense at him. Remember November of 2003 when TMac told the world that he didn't know what to do with a zone defense, then he put up 4 points against Minnesota while the Magic went on a horrible slide after winning their first game of the year? I had TMac on my fantasy team that year. We will never speak of that disastrous month in here again.

4. Ron was making wishes last year, but since then he has become a little more grounded. This year he has turned his sights to setting unattainable goals, instead of just wishing for them. Ron Artest's new years resolution this year? "Teach math classes in elementary schools throughout the country. And, of course, I want to sell 10 million records." Well, at least once he does that kids everywhere will be forced to throw son into their vocabulary. Now that's a goal I can live with!