Ron Artest Michael – Michael Ron Artest – Michael Jackson – Ron Artest 37 – Michael – 37 Thriller – Thriller 37 Artest JackSon – He can Sing – King of Pop – Michael Jackson – Mj – Rapper – Ron – Ron Artest

There has been no shortage of tributes to Michael Jackson in the past two weeks, from mixtape tracks to concert nods. But perhaps the strangest tributes came from the world of sports.

Yesterday, basketball forward (and rapper/music mogul) Ron Artest signed a new contract with the Los Angeles Lakers (perhaps he can be the new Method Man). He’ll join the defending champions for five years at $33 million, but the biggest headline-grabber was that Artest said he would wear jersey number 37 as a tribute to Michael Jackson.

Ron Artest has decided to wear No. 37 with the Lakers in honor of Michael Jackson.

Artest,  worn five different numbers in his NBA career, wore No. 96 with the Rockets last season.

The forward chose No. 37 to honor Jackson’s “Thriller” album, which topped the national sales chart for 37 weeks after its release in 1982.

But the best tribute yet came professional MLS soccer player Kei Kamara, who celebrated scoring a goal by donning one sparkly glove and doing a Jackson dance. The Jackson mojo seemed to work best for Kamara — his Houston Dynamo defeated the Kansas City Wizards 1-0.