Ron Artest

Ron Artest considered doing something goofy and decided against it.

No boxer shorts. No fake beards. No nonsense.

He played it straight on "Larry King Live," unlike his other appearances on nighttime talk shows. He did the right thing, it turned out.

The Lakers forward said his website attracted 1.7 million page views during his time on Larry King's show Wednesday to promote the fact he was raffling off his championship ring to benefit mental health.

In fact, Artest had too many visitors to the website, ronartest.com. It crashed temporarily.

"What he did for me was unbelievable," Artest said Friday. "The fans too, but what he did was unbelievable. He just boosted it up."

Artest said $120,000 was raised the day he went on King's show. He plans on raising enough money before the raffle's deadline (Dec. 25) to pay partial salaries of mental-health specialists in big cities throughout the U.S., including Detroit, Cleveland and Los Angeles.

"Hopefully, I can get to where I want to get, about $2 million," he said. "It's about trying to get ahold of every city we can touch, in schools and in community centers."

The appearance wasn't without its share of comedy after King announced publicly that Artest's site had crashed because of the extra attention.

"We have destroyed your site," King said.

Artest replied quickly.

"Nobody destroys Ron Artest," he said.

Raffle tickets are $2 each, with a minimum of five purchased. In addition to the ring, the winner receives two tickets to a Lakers game, a two-night stay at a luxury Beverly Hills hotel, round-trip airfare from any airport in the world ($2,000 maximum), a $1,000 spending allowance and a $13,007 payment directly to the IRS to offset the tax liability from winning the raffle.

Technical time

Players have definitely adjusted their attitudes in reaction to the NBA's decision to call more technical fouls when players complain on the court.

"When we watch tape, the players are all laughing at the genuflections that the other players are doing when they get a look from a referee like 'I'm going to 'T' you up,'" Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said. "They start bowing and genuflecting right away. It's had its effect."

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Babe Ruth

Baseball Player “Babe Ruth”:George Herman Ruth, Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948), known as “Babe” Ruth was nicknamed “Bambino” and the “Sultan of Swat”, was an American Major League Baseball player from 1914-1935. Ruth originally broke into the big leagues with the Boston Red Sox as a starting pitcher, but after he was traded to the New York Yankees in 1919, he appealed to the full-time right fielder, and subsequently became one of the most prolific hitters league. Ruth was a mainstay in the Yankees lineup that won seven pennants and four World Series titles during his stay in the team. After a short stint with the Boston Braves in 1935, Ruth retired. In 1936, Ruth became one of the first five players elected to Baseball Hall of Fame.

Ruth has since become regarded as one of the greatest sports heroes in American culture. He was named the greatest baseball player in history in various surveys and rankings, and his home run hitting prowess and charismatic personality have made him larger than life figure in the “Roaring Twenties”. from the field, he was known for his philanthropic activities, but also was noted for his often reckless lifestyle. Ruth is credited with changing baseball themselves. The popularity of the game exploded in 1920, largely due to his influence. Ruth opened a “live-ball era” as his big swing led to an escalation of home run that not only excited fans, but helped baseball evolve from low-scoring, speed-dominated game to a high-scoring power.

In 1998, sports news site Ruth’s number one in the list of “100 greatest baseball players.” In 1999, baseball fans named Ruth to the Major League Baseball All-Century team. In 1969 he was named Greatest baseball player in history to vote devoted to 100 anniversary of professional baseball. In 1993, Associated Press reported that Muhammad Ali has been associated with Babe Ruth as the most famous athletes from more than 800 dead or alive athletes in America. A study conducted by Sports Marketing Nye Lavalle Group, found that more than 97% of Americans over 12 years, identified as Ali and Ruth. According to ESPN, he was the first true American sports celebrity superstar whose fame surpassed baseball. In 1999, a survey ESPN, he finished as the third greatest U.S. athlete century, with Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali .

Ruth was the first player to hit 60 home runs in one season (1927), setting the season record that stood until broken Roger Maris in 1961. Whole Life Route of 714 home runs at his retirement in 1935 was a record until the first surpassed Hank Aaron in 1974. Unlike many power hitters, Ruth also hit average: his .342 lifetime batting is tenth highest in baseball history, and in one season (1923) he hit .393, a record Yankee His .690 career caps as a percentage and 1.164 . Careers on-base plus tubes (ROC), remain in the major league record . Ruth dominated the era in which he played. He led the league in home runs during a season twelve times, traffic jams in the percentage and OPS thirteen times each, runs scored eight times, and runs batted in (RBIS) six times. Each of those totals represents a modern record (as well as the all-time record, except RBIS).

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