Metta World Peace’s ejection sparks strong criticism (Web links)

Game stories

--The Times’ Mike Bresnahan highlights all the varying story lines surrounding the Lakers’ 114-106 double overtime win Sunday over the Oklahoma City Thunder, including Metta World Peace’s ejection for elbowing Oklahoma City guard James Harden.

--The Orange County Register’s Kevin Ding explains how the Lakers overcame an 18-point deficit.

--The Oklahoman’s Darnell Mayberry documents Oklahoma City’s unraveling.

--The Daily News’ Elliott Teaford details how some surprise reserves helped the Lakers’ second-half rally.

Notebooks

--The Times’ Bresnahan credits Jordan Hill’s surprise contributions with 14 points and a career-high 15 rebounds.

--The Oklahoman’s Mayberry explains why Kevin Durant believes LeBron James should win league MVP.

--The Daily News’ Teaford also focuses on Hill’s efforts.

Sidebars

--I highlight how Devin Ebanks provided a good effort in the Lakers’ win over Oklahoma City.

--The Orange County Register’s Janis Carr talks with Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak, who didn’t say much about World Peace’s ejection other than saying he needs to see the replay.

--The Times’ Ben Bolch collects the Thunder’s reaction to its unraveling and losing Harden after World Peace elbowed him.

--A panel of ESPN.com writers and Oklahoman writers debate how serious World Peace’s suspension should be.

--The Oklahoman’s Darnell Mayberry reports Harden has to go through an intense rigorous evaluation before returning to the court.

--ESPN Los Angeles’ Dave McMenamin highlights World Peace’s apology.

Columns

--The Times’ T.J. Simers argues World Peace should be suspended for the rest of the playoffs. Simers doesn’t believe the Lakers are championship material. And he gives me a nice shoutout for informing him about World Peace’s tweets.

--ESPN.com’s J.A. Adande argues World Peace should sit out as long as Harden is out because of a concussion.

--CBS Sports’ Ken Berger believes World Peace deserves a multi-game suspension.

--ESPN.com’s Jemele Hill believes World Peace deserves at least a 10-game suspension.

--The Orange County Register’s Jeff Miller argues World Peace still has a dark side and that he doesn’t deserve a second chance.

--The Daily News’ Jill Painter talks with Mitch Kupchak, who declined to share details of his conversations with World Peace.

--ESPN Los Angeles’ Ramona Shelburne praises Kobe Bryant’s leadership.

--Fox Sports’ Billy Witz, oddly enough, talked to World Peace before the game about last year’s suspension for clotheslining Dallas guard J.J. Barea in the 2011 NBA playoffs. World Peace vowed there wasn’t a lesson he needed to learn from that.

Blogs

--Ball Don’t Lie’s Eric Freeman believes it’s hard to know what World Peace’s intentions were.

--ESPN Los Angeles’ Brian Kamenetzky breaks down the Lakers’ win over Oklahoma City.

--The Oklahoman’s Mayberry provides five quick thoughts on the Lakers-Thunder game. The consensus he reached among media members, players and executives about World Peace’s ejection projects at least to a five-game suspension.

--The Oklahoman’s Barry Tramel believes World Peace hasn’t changed his behavior enough.

Radio Interview: I talk with Yahoo! Sports’ Radio about World Peace’s ejection.

Tweet of the Day: “Hope James Hardin is ok... I remember when I hit by Marc Gasol the same way.. I was spitting up blood and a headache during the game...I just watched the replay again..... Oooo.. My celebration of the dunk really was too much... Didn’t even see James ..... Omg... Looks bad -- Metta WorldPeace (Lakers forward Metta World Peace)

Rick Friedman Reader Comment of the Day: “Sorry Metta.. you may not have seen him, but you obviously made initial contact before you decided to bring your elbow all the way back to unleash your elbow into the head of a player. There are a million other ways to handle yourself going down court and you decided to unleash an elbow. “ -- paul sa