Say Goodbye To Ron Artest, Say Hello To Metta Worl-... Oh Wait, He's Still Ron Artest

Today was to have been the day. Ron Artest was scheduled to interrupt our lockout tedium by officially ditching the name his mama gave him and moving forward in life as Metta World Peace. In the event, though, the L.A. Superior Court judge presiding over the matter did some Grade A cock-blocking.

Yo, dawg, I heard u like block quotes....

Reporters were told Friday morning at Stanley Mosk Courthouse that Artest, who was petitioning to legally change his name to Metta World Peace, will not be able to do so right away.

A court official said, "Ron has to clear outstanding traffic warrants" before a name change can take effect.

Ah yes, unpaid traffic tickets. The driving force in L.A. civic life.

Something similar happened this past week with the Sunset Junction music festival. Sunset Junction has been around for 31 years and was supposed to take place this weekend, but the city denied the necessary permits because the organizers still hadn't paid monies owed to the city from last year's event. Basically the city is, if not almost broke, in dire need of funds, so if you owe even a dime to the municipal coffers, don't expect to get anything from public officials until you've paid up.

So cut the check and pay those tickets, Ron. And preferably do it sometime in the next five months so your new jersey's ready before the season starts.

Follow Dex on Twitter @dexterfishmore.