I was reading some sports stories, and saw a bit about “Metta World Peace” elbowing someone in the face.  I was wondering “WTF?  Who is that?”  It was Ron Artest.  He changed his name, because his old name had such a lousy reputation.

He was suspended for 7 games, the last regular season game and the first 6 playoff games.

That leads to an obvious loophole.  The Lakers can take 6 games to win their first-round series, guaranteeing he will be back from his suspension for the next series.  The Lakers should be huge favorites in their first-round match, but the second-round match will be close.  The second-round series is against the same team that got elbowed (Oklahoma).

A more accurate suspension would be “5 regular-season games, carried over to next season, plus the first round of the playoffs, plus the first two games of the next series.”  Then, the Lakers would not be tempted to draw out their first-round playoff series to use up the suspension.

Baseball treats suspensions differently.  If a player is suspended at the end of the regular season, the suspension carries over to the next season, even if the team makes the playoffs.

Baseball has another weird rule.  Players can appeal a suspension, then drop their appeal at a time convenient for the team.  For example, if a starting pitcher is suspended for 5 games, he can appeal, ptich his next start, then drop his appeal and serve the suspension at his convenience.  If the team has an off day during the suspension, they don’t even have to call someone up from the minors to fill in.

Another interesting bit is that “Metta World Peace” is now an advocate for mental health issues.  However, it’s the usual “Treat mental illness with symptom-suppressing drugs.”  I’ve had a favorable reaction to Seroquel, but severe negative reactions to the other drugs I was forced to take.  Even if “Seroquel is the right drug for FSK!” is true, why did it take several hospitalizations and more than 10 different psychiatrists, before I found one that tried Seroquel?  The mental health industry pretends to be scientific, but it really isn’t.

The suspension of “Metta World Peace” has an obvious loophole.  The Lakers can drag out their first-round series to six games, so that he’s available for the second round.  The loophole may be intentional, so that a star player is available for the 2nd round matchup, against the same team and player he elbowed.