Luke Ridnour Joins NBA Mask Club

One of these days, the Sonics are going to refuse to play the Kings in preseason. Last year, Robert Swift ripped his ACL against Sacramento in late October. Last night, point guard Luke Ridnour took a Ron Artest 'bow to the face. His nose is broken and he'll be wearing a mask for a month.

Ridnour's buddies Nick Collison and Johan Petro both wore masks for a stretch last year, so maybe the fair-haired point guard can borrow one. It might be an adjustment -- LeBron James never seemed very comfortable in his; it's not a setback without perks, however. When Andrei Kirilenko donned his faceguard, he noticed an uptick in sympathy for the zebras, which lead to all sorts of finger-pointing at eternal masked man Richard Hamilton of the Pistons.

Luke had better hope he doesn't lose too much, though; Earl Watson and Delonte West are gunning for P.J. Carlesimo's heart, and P.J. Carlesimo probably isn't into kinky masquerade stuff since he just got his first lady friend at age 49. Basketball aside, Luke better hope he looks as mack as these players who've been masked before him.