Contagious laughing

As a websurfer, I felt it was my duty to show you all this picture from last night's game. During a timeout, a fat man's dance team took to the floor at the Palace. 'Sheed didn't bother with Flip Saunders's Xs and Os. He caught the performance instead.

Ohhh, 'Sheed. You never cease to make me laugh.

For more laughs from this guy, check out need4sheed.com, and click on the "Videos" section. My personal favorites are the Jingle Bells Christmas carol, the one where he messes with Reggie Miller, and the Sheed pre-game. But they're all worth a gander.

State of the Pistons Address (February 12)

There's no more getting acclimated for Chris Webber. He is now, genuinely, a Piston. And everyone else on the court is better off because of it.

Have you been watching these guys lately? Seven wins in a row, and some of the best passing the Palace has seen in the last four years. During this streak, they're averaging more than 22 feeds a game, with just under 10 turnovers. As Larry David would say: pretty, pretty, pretty good.

Since 2004, they've had those great games where it seems like everything's clicking, and at the end of the night, there are 30 assists in the stat column. When they've played their best, that number has been habitual. Now, with one more world-class passer in the lineup, expect the boys in red and blue to reach the 30-mark even more consistently -- for the rest of the season.

C-Webb is giving Detroit the same kind of lift 'Sheed provided when Joe D picked him up in February of the '04 season. With his natural offensive talent, he draws a lot more attention than his predecessors Nazr and Ben. What is more, he passes the ball better than I realized he did when he was with the talented Kings from earlier this decade. (In that regard, he's even more like 'Sheed, a guy Pistons fans couldn't appreciate fully, or at all, until he was one of our own and we got to watch him every night.)

Having C-Webb catch the ball in the high post makes every Piston on the floor all the more deadly because he can knock down that jumper, he can feed 'Sheed on the high-low look, he can find Tay or Rip curling or backcutting, or he can simply pitch back to Chaunce for a trey-bomb.

These past seven games have been a treat, but I think we're really going to see them start clicking even more and solidifying themselves as the favorite to win the East. Wednesday should be a good gauge, as the Spurs come to town. Close out on Horry, 'Sheed. Close out on Horry.

Ron Artest's leash, or lack thereof

Ron Artest wears many hats.

NBA basketball player. Rapper. Volatile and mentally-deranged human being. And now, dog-neglecter.

Yes, it's apparent that Ron-Ron has been letting his pups run rampant on his property since, well, pretty much since he moved out to Cali.

His neighbors aren't happy. They've had to feed and water the pooches several times. The pound isn't happy. He owes them some puppy chow. No word yet on David Stern's reaction.

Despite Artest's claim that he loves his dogs and thinks they should be able to live as freely as possible, I think he's fit for a bit of scarlet letter punishment here. But instead of wearing a sign around his neck in public, I think he should have his barber carve a message in his hair.

After all, he's been known to advertise via his dome. The logo for his rap label, "Tru Warier," has graced his mop on a few occasions during NBA games. Time for a new message, Ron: "I neglect my dogs."

The recipe

I haven't heard one person on TV this week pick Chicago to beat Peyton Manning in the Super Bowl. So I like Daaa Bears -- 21-17 ...

... Big win for the Pistons last night over the Nets, 113-89. Maybe they can get a little momentum going now that C-Webb is feeling more comfortable. More on that in a few days. Two interesting point totals from the Nets game, though: Rasheed Wallace -- 0. Mikki Moore -- 20. When Big Mikki endured the teal years at the end of the Pistons' bench, I always loved when he would get into games. He was a high-energy guy, kind of like Jason Maxiell, and always lookin' to throw down with authority. Now you're telling me he's the leading scorer on a team with three All-Stars? How did we ever let him go? ...

... Rip and Chauncey are All-Stars again, and they both deserve it. Tay is an All-Star caliber player, too, I just think he'll have trouble being acknowledged as one officially because he doesn't score enough -- at least not with Rip and Chauncey in the backcourt. Actually, I kind of hope he never makes the All-Star team, just so that he and Rip and Chauncey can live on the hardwood together forever ...

... So Barbaro bit the dust. About frickin' time. I apologize for offending any animal lovers out there -- or any close personal friends of Barbaro's, for that matter -- but this horse grabbed more headlines than Secretariat, Seattle Slew and Mr. Ed combined. And for what? He won the Kentucky Derby, then he broke his leg. How many phenomenal young athletes have accomplished something big in their young careers, then drifted into oblivion? The same should have happened to Barbaro. After all, he's a mammal, just like us. (My buddies and I did, however, give him an R.I.P. toast at the bar the other night. In the process, I realized that I never wished for him to die, only to leave the headlines. Here's hoping he's coming down the heavenly stretch in the sky with the rest of the field in his dust.) ...

... Groundhog Day is tomorrow. Now I forget -- is it if he sees his shadow, we still have six more weeks of winter? Aww, who cares? TBS will undoubtedly be showing the movie "Groundhog Day" -- Bill Murray's second greatest role behind "Caddyshack" if you ask me -- so that's all I need to know ...

... Only 28 days until the Tigers' spring training opener versus the Phillies. I like the Tigs, 29-2. Who's ready?