David Leggat: Bye Pig, hi Obber as winds of change arrive

Ron Artest has been among the more colourful figures in American sport. Seven years ago he was given one of the longest NBA bans for hopping in to the stands to take on a pile of Detroit fans during a game, getting a holiday for the remainder of that season.

Recently he testified before the US Congress in support of mental health legislation, a cause for which he raised about US$600,000 ($740,000) by raffling the 2010 championship ring he won with the Los Angeles Lakers, so good for him.

He can play, and he's different. Yesterday he filed a petition to change his name. He wants Ronald William Artest jnr to become Metta World Peace. As you do.

You find the odd football nut who names his kids after all 11 players of his favourite team. If you happen to meet a 16-year-old girl named Jonah, chances are she was born shortly after her parents decided to name the child, in advance of the actual birth, after the rugby hero of the day.

Names are curious things. Former West Indian batsman Larry Gomes' last name had rhymed with roams for years. Then one day shortly before the end of his career, he made it known he wanted to be referred to as Gomes rhyming with Go-mez.

One Buddhist translation of "Metta" is "sending out thoughts of love towards others". Artest is not the first to take such a step, the most famous being Lew Alcindor who preferred the sound of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Fancy being a fly on the wall when the Lakers executives meet to figure out how Metta World Peace will work on the back of his singlet next season?

Which by a circuitous route brings us to Scott Styris and Iain O'Brien, neither of whom are Buddhists nor have recently changed names.

But to teammates and fans, Styris became known as "Pig", as in pigheaded. O'Brien was "Obber". As one New Zealand cricketer departs, another veteran is hoping to return.

Styris, a top-class all-rounder with a crusty, combative streak, has ended his international days but will still play T20 cricket for Northern Districts, and hopes he has some legs left in the Indian Premier League.

How will he be remembered?

Teammates will probably talk of the century on debut in Grenada which helped secure a rare overseas series victory; or the 170 against South Africa at Eden Park in 2004 which pulled New Zealand out of 12 for two up to 595 and a terrific nine-wicket win. Fans' most vivid recent recollection will be the grill-to-nose square-off with fiery Australian quick Mitchell Johnson in Napier last year, and which set up a thrilling ODI win.

Last season, a group of supporters wore pink and cheered for Styris. When you get your own special fan club you're doing something right.

O'Brien is keen to play for Wellington next summer, 18 months after walking away from New Zealand at the peak of his fast-medium powers for a new life in England.

A three-year deal with Middlesex was just the ticket, but it's all gone wrong.

The England and Wales Cricket Board ruled that he can't play as a local, leading to communications with Wellington Cricket.

Which then leads to an obvious thought: what if O'Brien, now 34, was able to regain the form that made him then-skipper Dan Vettori's go-to bowler in his final season in the national team?

How does the thought of O'Brien marking out his runup against South Africa next February sound, other than a real stretch?

Martin is keen to carry on and had a decent last season. But O'Brien, who has also had injury concerns, is up against it.

He's an unusual guy, writes entertaining blogs and, rather like Artest, is just different. Nothing wrong in that, either.

So one New Zealand dressing room door swings in, another possibly opens out.