Kobe vs. Artest in practice

Here's a shocker — I'm excited for the new NBA season to start.Rasheed Wallace(notes) in Boston, Ron Artest(notes) in L.A., Vince Carter(notes) in Orlando, Shaq in Cleveland, Richard Jefferson(notes) in San Antonio, Ben Gordon(notes) and CV31 in Detroit, Hedo in Toronto, Trevor Ariza(notes) in Houston ... the upgraded rosters and intriguing storylines should make for another, dare I say, amazing year.But with that said, there is one thing I'm going to miss about this upcoming season now that they're wearing the same purple and gold uniforms — those epic one-on-one battles between Kobe Bryant(notes) and Ron Artest. Honestly, was that not basketball at it's best? Two ultra-competitive guys playing hard, throwing bows and talking trash about cookies and sailing. I loved that Lakers-Rockets playoff series. Which is why I pray Kevin Ding and the other L.A. beat writers keep us in the Lakers' practice loop with as many Kobe vs. Artest tales as possible:...