Five years ago tonight, Ron Artest  went Ron-Ron and was involved in the “Malice at the Palace.”

Looking back at the incident, which resulted in a 73-game suspension for the Pacers forward, little has changed with the NBA since then.

The key players involved in the incident – - Artest, Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O’Neal all were able to recover from the fight that night and have gone on to new teams.

And John Green, the fan who sparked the incident, is now on speaking terms with Artest.

He was on ESPN’s 1st and 10 this morning discussing the phone call he got during the summer at his home from Artest.

Time heals most things in life and I respect Artest even more for looking up this guy and calling him up to squash whatever hard feelings both sides might have.

But that doesn’t mean I still don’t think Artest is two secs away from going Ron-Ron at any given moment.

Handle with care, Lakers.

He’s a delicate flower.

Well lookey here…

Manny Pacquiao has got the attention of Floyd Mayweather.

The undefeated boxer released a statement, essentially calling out Pacquiao after his victory over Miguel Cotto on Saturday.

“Manny Pacquiao is the fighter and every time someone asks him if he wants to fight me, he says it is up to my promoter … ,” Mayweather said in a statement. “I have yet to hear him actually say, ‘Yes, I want to fight Mayweather.’ We are the fighters and if one fighter is talking about fighting another fighter, then they should just come out and say it. Manny Pacquiao doesn’t say anything directly about fighting me because he might just know it’s not a fight he can win. Tell Manny Pacquiao to be his own man and stop letting everyone, including his loudmouth trainer, talk for him. If Manny Pacquiao wants to fight me, all he has to do is step up to the plate and say it himself.”

This coming from the guy who wouldn’t speak about Pacquiao by name leading up to his comeback fight against Juan Manuel Marquez.

Manny has never backed down from a fight and I don’t see him backing down now.

Boxing fans will have to sit and play the waiting game while the two fighters work play the back-and-forth games while their management teams work out the details.

Let’s see how Pacquiao responds…

Well, that didn’t last long.

After playing just three games with the Memphis Grizzlies, Allen Iverson is on his way out of town.

The two sides have agreed to a mutual end of his one-year contract and the point guard will be placed on waivers.

And of course who is the one team that is showing an interest in Iverson…

The New York Knicks.

As if the Knicks are bad enough as it is, adding a selfish player like Iverson to their roster will do nothing except damage that organization even more.

Can we just ship him off to Europe somewhere? Let some other organization deal with him.

You won’t be able to convince me at this point that he’s worth the baggage that he brings considering his skills have diminished over the last couple of seasons.

For those of you hoping for a Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacqiuao fight in 2010, don’t get your hopes up.

He’s more likely to wrestle John Cena at Wrestlemania 26 than step in the fight with Pacquiao next year.

Yes, it would make the most sense after Pacquiao’s dominating victory over Miguel Cotto on Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

But even Mayweather has to know that a fight with the world’s pound-for-pound best fighter isn’t a smart career move for him at the moment.

While he looked impressive during his fight with Juan Manuel Marquez, he’s coming back after a nearly two year layoff and could use another fight or two under his belt before even thinking about Pac Man.

And there are some who aren’t convinced that Mayweather did indeed come back to the sport because he missed boxing or if he needed a quick payday in order to pay off the IRS.

What’s next for both fighters will likely depend on the outcome of the Shane Mosley/Andre Berto January 30th fight that was announced hours before Pacquiao-Cotto.

In case you forgot, Mosley was the one who got in the ring following the Mayweather fight and essentially challenged him to a fight.

Assuming the younger Berto doesn’t upset Mosley, we could be looking at Mayweather-Mosley while Pacquiao searches for his next victim … err … opponent to step in the ring with him.

This Saturday in Las Vegas, Miguel Cotto will defend his WBO welterweight championship against Manny Pacquiao on HBO PPV.

If you haven’t seen a Pacquiao fight, you’re in for a treat as he’s easily the most exciting boxer in the sport.

Cotto will have his hands full to say the least as he attempts to defeat Pacquiao, who has destroyed his last two opponents in Oscar de la Hoya and Ricky Hatton.

Both fighters answered a few questions for BET.com leading up to their Saturday fight.

Miguel Cotto:

On changing training locations from Puerto Rico to Tampa has affected his preparation for the fight:

It’s a good place for me to train and it keeps me focus on the task at hand. There are no distractions and all I do is train and rest here as I prepare for my fights. The weather here is very much like Puerto Rico and that’s nice too.

On critics who said that he cuts too easily or doesn’t have a chin to take Manny’s punches:

I guess we will all find out one way or the another on Saturday, November 14 when we fight.

On if he’s worried about fighting at the catch weight of 145 pounds:

No. I have come in at 146 pounds for my last two fights and I don’t believe I will have a problem with 145. We are right on target to make that weight on November 13.

Manny Pacquiao:

On if he has any regrets in training in the Philippines:

I have no regrets about training in the Philippines.  It was inspiring to be among so many heroic people.  I gained so much strength from their bravery and can-do attitude.

On his current relationship with trainer Freddie Roach:

Nothing has changed between Freddie and me.  We are as close as we have ever been.

On which NBA star is his inspiration on the basketball court:

Michael Jordan…. a six-time world champion, like me!

Um, I don’t think Oprah would approve of Mike Tyson’s behavior Wednesday night in Los Angeles.

The former boxer was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport after punching a photographer in the face, knocking him to the floor.

The paparazzi is an ongoing problem for celebrities but not many have the power and force behind a punch like Tyson does.

He was traveling with his 10-month old daughter and a rep of Tyson claims he was acting in self-defense.

While I wasn’t at LAX, I’m pretty sure the photographer didn’t lay hands on Iron Mike … but he’s the type of guy that I would keep my distance from.

Don’t let those tears on Oprah fool you. He’s still crazy.

Tyson was booked for misdemeanor battery and released on $20,000 bail.

Gives new meaning to Mike Tyson Punch Out.

Michael Vick to … Buffalo?

That’s what ex-NFL coach and NBC announcer Tony Dungy told fans on Sunday, saying the Buffalo Bills had an interest in the Eagles backup quarterback.

Because if Terrell Owens wasn’t enough of a headcase on that team, they want to add more of a potential liability in Vick.

Not everyone on the Bills feels the move would be the right one for the organization.

Wide receiver Lee Evans thinks it might be for the best if Vick didn’t come to the team.

“Probably not,” Evans said on if Vick in Buffalo would work. “I love him as a player and everything that he’s done for the league, but I don’t think it’ll be anything we’ll aggressively go after.”

At 3-5 and last place in the AFC East, the season is just about done for the Bills. Starter Trent Edwards hasn’t been impressive but he’s likely to perform better than Vick, who hasn’t seen serious playing time at the quarterback position in over two years.

In six games this season, Vick is 2-for-6 for six yards.

‘Nuff said.

The beginning of the Allen Iverson era in Memphis is slowly coming to an end.

Iverson returned home to Atlanta on Saturday, skipping the Grizzlies game against the Los Angeles Clippers to deal with “personal business.”

Head coach Lionel Hollins said Iverson’s departure from the team was “indefinite.”

“There’s no question that when he comes back we have to work some things out,” Memphis owner Michael Heisley said. “He’s got a lot of work to do, but we’ve all got to get on the same page. He understands what the conditions are. And we need to be less hyper about this along with Allen.”

For all you folks who felt I needed to retire for my previous post, now do you believe me when I said Iverson needs to leave the league?

Even if he gets out of his contract with Memphis, who would want to sign this guy?

Stay classy, A.I. and enjoy sitting at home in Atlanta.

Good news from Jacksonville as a jury has convicted Tyrone Hartsfield of first-degree murder for the shooting of Jaguars offensive lineman Richard Collier.

Collier was paralyzed and lost his left leg after he was shot six times in a car outside a Jacksonville apartment building.

Hartsfield, 33, faces up to life in prison.

He was not happy with the trial and felt the location in the hometown of the Jaguars football team worked to his disadvantage.

Clearly, he hasn’t been watching the Jaguars this season. Their performance probably to his advantage.

The two men had an incident in April 2008, which resulted in Collier knocking out Hartsfield in a fight. Prosecutors felt that he had approached Collier to seek revenge.

It’s a tragedy that his career was ended at the hands of senseless violence, but luckily Collier is doing well and was present in the court room for the verdict.

Oh, Allen.

What are we and the Memphis Grizzlies going to do with you?

You had to know before you signed that one-year contract with the Grizz that you weren’t going to start over O.J. Mayo and Mike Conley.

So tell me why you’re already throwing a fit about not starting?

“I had no problems with the hamstring. I had a problem with my butt sitting on that bench for so long,” Iverson told the Memphis Commercial-Appeal. “I’m not a sixth man. Look at my resume and that’ll show I’m not a sixth man. I don’t think it has anything to do with me being selfish. It’s just who I am. I don’t want to change what gave me all the success that I’ve had since I’ve been in this league. I’m not a sixth man. And that’s that.”

You were a sixth man last year and you will continue to be a sixth man unless a team wants a selfish, aging point guard.

Grow up or just retire, A.I.