"Even odds, Trevor Ariza gets ejected from a game before Ron Artest does"

If I had given you this bet before the season started would you take it? Of course you would.

But just last night, Trevor Ariza was booted from the Rocket-Raptors game for throwing an elbow at DeMar Derozan. It was following a steal by DeRozan, and Ariza threw a chicken wing at the back of his head. He missed, but the refs caught it and ejected Ariza. Ariza was obviously frustrated, as he was 0-9 with one point at the time.

Now, this is not to pile on Ariza. I really, really like him as a player, and from what I read of him as a person.

This is more a defense of Ron Artest, and all the dimwits who see him as a troublemaker.

If Ron had done this last night, do you know how many "I told you so" type of posts and comments and columns we would have seen? About 2,142 of them, give or take a hundred.

So if you were one of those worried about Ron Artest based on his past, maybe you should comment down here and apologize for not realizing that Ariza would be the first to cause trouble. I know that the season is yet to be over, but Trevor has taken first blood, and he might even get a suspension.