Trying To Be Funny.

Did you hear the one about the basketball player who wanted to try stand-up comedy? It's not a joke, at least not to the Lakers' Ron Artest, who will deal with another kind of rim shot when he hosts a comedy show called ''Ron Artest: The Ultimate Comedy Tour'' at Carolines on Broadway in New York on Friday. Artest, who has filed court papers to change his name to Metta World Peace, will headline a lineup that includes the comedians Brooklyn Mike Troy, Smokey, Cipha Sounds and Mark Viera. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]