NBA mess

[Jedi Master Carr]

So what does everybody think about the title match at the Palace last night. Drunk fans vs pacers and Pistons? To me is another black eye for the NBA. First off who hired the keystone cops at the Palace. Second why does Artest have to be every crazy incident in the NBA. Not sure what will happen but the NBA sure didn't want this right now.

[Devon Russels]

I say that Ben Wallace over-reacted.

But the whole situation was kinda weird to see for the first time. Now that I look at it over and over again I find it funny how the fans got what they deserved for doing that stupid stuff that they did.

It wasn't the only fight that day in the NBA either. Brad Miller hit Posey in the head yesterday and Bobby Jackson tripped somebody.

[jjwr]

Its very sad, it wasn't just the Fans fault and it wasn't just the Players fault, both sides share fault.

Under no cirumstances should a player ever react to the Fans like that, in that respect it was Artests fault.

Fans need to be reigned, whether its a bigger buffer between the players and the fans or more security, something must be done.

Out of the whole thing though the worst one I was was the O'Neal sucker punch on that guy getting up. Lucky he slipped or he would have crushed the guys face.

[Jedi Master Carr]

That was the fan that came on to the court though. I think in that case they should be fair game. Honestly where was the security I saw none when I saw the highlights.

[Devon Russels]

Everyone that is involved, but not associated directly with the NBA, say that some more blame should be placed on the security because their actions were clearly not taking control of the situation. They should have been around when Artest was headin' up the steps, but all they did was watch.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

If this was hockey... then the fans got what they deserved. Never anger a hockey player! :)

But seriously, I agree with the comments about the arena security. If that was going on in the Rose Garden here in Portland, the red jackets would have swarmed over the fans that were acting up and had them thrown out WAY before things could have escalated to what they did.

[Figrin D'an]

I think if David Stern wants to maintain any shred of credibility about the NBA's policies on player punishment, he needs to hand down minimum of half-season suspensions for the key players involved. The fans involved deserve jail time and major fines, too, but that will be for the court system to determine.

[Devon Russels]

Artest, from my understanding, is going to be getting 30 games

Jermaine O'neal and Stephen Jackson are getting 20.

and Ben Wallace is gettin' something like 5.

So, I think the whole thing is going to hurt Indiana's chances of getting even to the playoffs, even though I have some faith in Fred Jones from what I saw last night. Seems like he might stand up, but they really need some more people to play.

They only have 7 people playing.

[Master Yoghurt]

Yeah, I saw the clip. Thats some of the worst I have seen in otherwise well behaviored American sports (exception being hockey of course). I thought such things only happens in European style football.

IMO, its Ben Wallace starting the whole thing. Talk about overracting.

[Charley]

Heyyy this is reason 1000 why I abhor and despise the NBA. At least the other pro sports are at times occasionally redeeming in some minute fashion.

[CMJ]

I really dug the NBA when I was younger. I drifted away from it several years ago, and now only have a passing interest in it.

The fight was seriously one of the worst I've ever seen in any sport. Actually, I don't think I've seen anything even close lately.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Yeah the only thing in the U.S that comes close is Ty Cobb beating that crippled up in the stands. And heck he was only suspended like 5 games or something (I think his whole team said they wouldnt' play if they suspended him longer). Of course overseas this thing is common. In Brazil, this happens a lot with soccer their are pure riots same with England and other countries.

[Figrin D'an]

Looks like Ron Artest is getting his original wish of some time off. Different news outlets are reporting that the NBA has suspended Artest for the rest of the season.

Here's the punishment breakdown:

Pacers
Ron Artest - Remainder of season
Stephen Jackson - 30 games
Jermaine O'Neil - 25 games
Anthony Johnson - 5 games
Reggie Miller - 1 game, plus $35,000 fine


Pistons
Ben Wallace - 6 games
Eldon Campbell - 1 game, plus $35,000 fine
Chauncey Billups - 1 game, plus $35,000 fine
Derrick Coleman - 1 game, plus $35,000 fine

[Devon Russels]

Originally posted by Figrin D'an
Looks like Ron Artest is getting his original wish of some time off. Different news outlets are reporting that the NBA has suspended Artest for the rest of the season.

Here's the punishment breakdown:

Pacers
Ron Artest - Remainder of season
Stephen Jackson - 30 games
Jermaine O'Neil - 25 games
Anthony Johnson - 5 games
Reggie Miller - 1 game, plus $35,000 fine


Pistons
Ben Wallace - 6 games
Eldon Campbell - 1 game, plus $35,000 fine
Chauncey Billups - 1 game, plus $35,000 fine
Derrick Coleman - 1 game, plus $35,000 fine

Only half of the players, from the tapes, did anything wrong. Jermaine O'Neal, Stephen Jackson, Ron Artest and Ben Wlalace were the only ones doing anything wrong. The others were preoccupied with breaking everything up. The only person I would see possibly getting one outside of that grouping would be Jamal Tinsley who came out to throw a dustpan, which I found funny, but thought otherwise.

Reggie Miller didn't even play and had a broken hand, he didn't do anything wrong. All I saw Chauncey Billups, Eldon Campbell and Derrick Coleman doing were breaking up things. Even Reggie Miller, the one famous for fights on the team beside Ron Artest, was trying to break things up.

[Figrin D'an]

Originally posted by Devon Russels
Reggie Miller didn't even play and had a broken hand, he didn't do anything wrong. All I saw Chauncey Billups, Eldon Campbell and Derrick Coleman doing were breaking up things. Even Reggie Miller, the one famous for fights on the team beside Ron Artest, was trying to break things up.


The reason they were punished as well is because they left the bench and came onto the court when the initial brawl over the Artest foul on Wallace started. The NBA automatically nails anyone who leaves the bench in those situations with 1-game suspension and a fine.

[Devon Russels]

Originally posted by Figrin D'an
The reason they were punished as well is because they left the bench and came onto the court when the initial brawl over the Artest foul on Wallace started. The NBA automatically nails anyone who leaves the bench in those situations with 1-game suspension and a fine.

I would've sworn Chauncey Billups was playing from the highlights. But Im not sure...

[Jedieb]

We always knew Artest was a nutcase, now we know he's a punk as well. We've seen players react to hard fouls the way Wallace did before. That wasn't anything new. He got hit in the head, he got pissed, turned to see that it was Artest that got him, and shoved him. Just for that he would have got a T, thrown out of the game, and possibly a 1 or 2 game suspension. What happened after the shove is what made this such a horrible situation.

But I can't get over Artest. He nails Big Ben in the head from behind, Wallace nearly shoves him off the court, and he completely punked out. He wanted nothing to do with an angry Ben Wallace. So to try and save some face he puts on a little show on the scorer's table. But my, he certainly turned into a tough guy when he had some ice and a drink thrown on him, didn't he? He backs down from a bigger and stronger Wallace, but he turns into (insert your own action hero butt kicker) when a comparatively tiny fan throws something at him. And after the fiasco in the stands he also took some swings at some chunky Pistons fan who was stupid enough to run up to him and challenge him. Yep, mighty tough. Enjoy your year off nutcase. Time to jump into the studio and work some magic.

[Cyrel Annat]

For me, the NBA lost any and all interest with the initial retirement of Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan. Even Jordan coming back with the Fizzards didn't do it for me. There's nothing to draw anyone to it. No one to really follow. Shaq's a whiner, Kobe's a criminal, perhaps LeBron but he's a kid. You have players that would rather work on their crap albums then do their job that they get paid an exorbant amount of money to play.

Perhaps this is just another way to get a little attention thrown the NBA's direction. Bad publicity is still publicity, after all.

[JMK]

What a disgusting incident. I thought for sure when I got home was watching sportscenter on saturday morning that I was watching the replay of some event from years and years ago, well before my time. But no, there was Artest, flailing away on dorky and chunky fans. Way to go Ronnie. Now you've got all season to go pimp your rap cd, and since you beat down 2 Detroit fans, you've got all the street cred you'll ever need to to be taken seriously by other rappers. Well done.

And props to the NBA for really dropping the ball as far as security goes. I get the whole 'letting fans be close to the athletes' thing, but this just goes to show that moronic fans mixed with gangstas just don't mix.

The suspensions levied are all well worth it, it just stinks that this probably makes Artest happy. This is probably what he wanted.

[Karthon Vanar]

I was watching the incident with some disbelief.

I suppose living in England myself we have more security to stop anything like this from ever happening. Honestly I haven't seen a physical crowd on player incident in a long time, in any sport here. There's racism and such in the headlines now and after games there can sometimes be trouble, usually pre-arranged by thugs with nothing better to do.

Inside the event itself however, a single player punching a spectator would probably earn him a season ban and a hefty fine or quite likely a sacking, depending on the sport / team.

The fact my friends and I were quite shocked at the spectacle, which made our sporting news, probably highlights the point more than I can.

[Jedieb]

Even Jordan coming back with the Fizzards didn't do it for me.
:lol

Having fans so close to the game is one of the NBA's strengths. I really can't fault the security at the game. How could they have expected this to happen? As bad as what Artest and Jackson did, there's no excuse for what the idiot fans did to them. In a perfect world, these morons would be banned from attending games, lose their season tickets without any refunds, and get ARRESTED. But we know what's coming next, LEGAL LOTTO! Some of these pinheads are going to start filing civil suits to try and get some of Artest's rap money. Jagoffs.

[Jedieb]

One thing that has kind of shocked me about this whole mess. Am I the only one who's noticed that Rasheed Wallace was right in the middle of this and he was..., well, SANE?! Talk about a guy with a bad rep. Sheed kept his cool and wasn't even suspended I think. Talk about your minor miracles.

[darth_mcbain]

If you haven't seen it - the video can be found here...

http://www.clickondetroit.com/sports/3935695/detail.html

I personally fault the fans a lot more than the players, although the players are not completely without fault. A lot of these fans think that once they pay for their seat and get a few beers in them, they are completely unaccountable. Would you chuck beer at someone just walking down the street?!? What makes you think that it's ok to do so at a basketball game???

And I agree with you, EB, I don't think there was any way that security could have been held accountable for this incident, given the close proximity of the fans to the action.

[Devon Russels]

On all cylinders was this a problem. And I still have yet to see why people are call'n ol' Ron a nutcase or a punk. He was probably going to go at it with Ben Wallace, but like almost every basketball fight recently, it was broken up in a 1, 2, 3 count. Did anyone else see how many people were on the court trying to make sure nothing happened after Ben pushed him.

Everyone knows Ron would've gotten at Ben and it would've been a full brawl. Ben wasn't even hit that hard by the foul, he just got mad because they were losing at home, badly to the Pacers, who ever considered there equal in the east, but clearly now they aren't. They are better with a full team and even with their half-baked squad they can stand up to most in the east.

Jackson input was really just to save his teammate. I would do the same thing, seeing as Artest was surrounded by about 15 angry fans. He was being hit, punched, kneed, gutted by almost every single one.

Even the Assistant Coach got into it and punched a few people up. I think it was just a break down of fans, security and already heated players who were mad about the whole Ben Wallace situation, only topped by the energy you get from basketball and rivalary. An incident, but was all the more enjoying to watch. Even though I know now that you won't be seeing Pacers ANYWHERE near the 1 seed at the end of the season. Maybe the 8th spot....because, remember, it is the Eastern Confrence we are talking about here.

[Dan the Man]

Ahahahaha anybody watch Artest's interview on the Today Show

"Aww gee guys, I'm really sorry. I mean, I really would like to come back this season guys."

:lol

[Master Yoghurt]

There was also a big riot in college football this weekend, Clemson Tigers vs University of South Carolina. About 100 people were involved in the mass brawl, and it took 10 minutes before security, trainers and the police could get the situation under control.

Here is a sample of some of the fighting:

<img src=http://cache.aftenposten.no/multimedia/archive/00239/S_CAROLINA_CLEMSON__239962h.jpg>

[Figrin D'an]

The worst part about the Clemson/South Carolina brawls (yes, there were two of them that took place) was that Lou Holtz, one of the best and classiest coaches around, had is last game ruined by a group of players being stupid.

Both Clemson and South Carolina are bowl eligible, but both have stated they will decline any bowl invite they might receive, given what took place this past weekend.

[JMK]

Yeah poor Lou Holtz. What an undeserving way to go out.

And props to that terrfic sportsman in that picture that Yog posted. I wonder if he's the kicker of that team because he sure looks like he's done that before.

[Jedieb]

Everyone knows Ron would've gotten at Ben and it would've been a full brawl. Ben wasn't even hit that hard by the foul, he just got mad because they were losing at home, badly to the Pacers, who ever considered there equal in the east, but clearly now they aren't. They are better with a full team and even with their half-baked squad they can stand up to most in the east.

Artest didn't want any part of Ben Wallace. Even if the 'Fro hadn't have been towering over him and calling him out he would have kept backpedaling and laid out on the scorer's table putting on a show. People are calling Artest a "nutcase" because of his history. This isn't the first time Artest has done something stupid. TV mointors that were begging to get laid out, leading the league in fines and technicals last year, wearing 91 to honor Rodman, and just last week asking for time off to promote a bad R&B CD. He earned the label and the jokes. It was still one regular season game in Nov. Nothing happened before the brawl to prove that the Pacers were the team to beat in the East or that they had surpassed the Pistons. The Pistons are still the defending champs, something the Pacers haven't been able to lay claim to since their ABA days. The East may still be the Least, but it's got the trophy. And while whatever team comes out of the East may still be an underdog in the Finals, they will more than likely know how to play defense and thus still be able to take down a team like the Lakers or the Mavs. And no one in the West is hoping they get to see an angry Shaq in the Finals.

I can't believe the Union is trying to appeal these suspensions. There's talk that during the next CBA they may try to limit Stern's ability to suspend players. They're kidding themselves. They got it handed to them during the last CBA and Stern will crush them like bugs.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I think Oneal might get his suspension reduced. The only fan he hit was the moron coming in on the court (that guy had it coming, IMO) I doubt Artest will get a reduction. The Union I think has to do it, in their opinion. I don't think they should appeal Artest's supension, IMO though. About the Clemson-SC mess well that one was different. It was just a player on player one that is not new it happens a lot in sports. There was a really ugly one in college footbal a while back can't remember the teams.

[JMK]

Apparently the problem with getting O'Neal's suspension reduced is the fact that he was apparently detained by a security officer before jumping into the stands. According to the report I heard on ESPN radio, the officer told him to not go in the stands, which he did anyway. If that's true, then not only will his suspension not be reduced, but he may face criminal charges.