NBA or WWE you decide...

[Brandon Martus]

Yes, the fan(s) who threw stuff at the players were 100% out of line, and disgusting. The players, however, shouldn’t have went into the crowd. There are security and ushers, especially down courtside, who would’ve taken care of the situation. They would’ve done so without causing, more or less, a riot to erupt.

It was a plastic cup and cold liquid – if they can’t shrug that off and let security take care of the rude fan, they’ve got serious anger problems they should be dealing with.

I don’t think you can blame one group of people in this thing. The fans were wrong to throw stuff, and the players were just as wrong to go up in the stands and ‘defend’ themselves.


Disgusting.

[meaubry]

Everyone losses when situations like this occur. Why would you commit a blatant foul with less than a minute to play while you team is winning by double digits? I watched the entire game, it was a very emotional game to begin with because it was between the 2 teams that had played a very physical series during last years playoffs. The league sends a rookie ref as part of the crew and there were multiple technical fouls and a ton of whining for calls by both teams. You could see that the situation was not a typically friendly game between 2 cross town rivals on Friday night. There hasn't been a good ending to any situation where the opposing teams players (in any sport) goes into the stands. Too bad some folks didn't see this one coming, I thought it was an accident just waiting to happen.

[Elgin Clock]

I didn't see any of the game, but it sounds like bad news for the NBA's image.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp..._pistons_brawl

By the way, this is one of the reasons that venues only use plastic bottles for beer and other drinks or just use plastic "party cups" now.

Just imagine if that was a glass bottle...

Plastics make it possible.

[Koko Ed]

Originally Posted by Elgin Clock

I didn't see any of the game, but it sounds like bad news for the NBA's image.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp..._pistons_brawl

By the way, this is one of the reasons that venues only use plastic bottles for beer and other drinks or just use plastic "party cups" now.

Just imagine if that was a glass bottle...

Plastics make it possible.

Back in the 70's during a Cowboys/Vikings game when Preston Pearson of the Dallas Cowboys caught a hail mary in Minnasota by commiting a blatant offensive pass interference (it's in the NFL films achive and you can see him shoving the defender in the back and knocking him to the ground before the catch) an angry fan threw a bottle at a ref hitting him squarely in the head and knocking him out.
And don't forget that Cleveland/Jacksonville fiasco a few years ago...

[Wetzel]

Artest should just be gone from the league. He keeps getting in trouble for foolish fouls, punished, and doing it again after he gets back. I guess the politics will just give him another 10 game suspension.

That punch as he was leaving was wild, and he should get charged with assault for that.

Wetzel

[Adam Y.]

Originally Posted by Wetzel

Artest should just be gone from the league. He keeps getting in trouble for foolish fouls, punished, and doing it again after he gets back. I guess the politics will just give him another 10 game suspension.

That punch as he was leaving was wild, and he should get charged with assault for that.

Wetzel

Yeah but if he does get the 10 game suspension his team is screwed. I heard on the news that his team barely had enough players to start with.

This isn't the splash zone at a Sea World shumu show...I doubt any ticket or announcer, even at a WWE wrestling event, would say "fans, if you're seated within the first 10 rows you could become part of the action." The action? An athletic player barrels through the crowd with fists swinging hoping to land a punch to the face of any innocent person who's in front if him."

Yeah.... I always wondered about the WWE and fan involvement. I mean they have to stage the parts where the wrestler attacks an audience member right??!!??

[Clark Gilbert]

Originally Posted by Adam Y.

Yeah but if he does get the 10 game suspension his team is screwed. I heard on the news that his team barely had enough players to start with.

The Pacers only had eight players in uniform for the game because the NBA requires it. Due to injures and suspensions this means that 1 injured player (Scott Pollard) had to dress for the game and sit. The Pacers players rallied together and played a hard game, holding a team that averages 99 points a game to only 86. When Scott Pollard, Reggie Miller, and Jamal Tensley are healty enough to play the team should be good till the other players are let off suspension (if they are).

I don't have much to say about the game other than I thought it was pretty stupid, although I see this as a good thing for the Pacers as the people who normally don't get a chance to play a whole lot will get their opportunity in the next weeks. If they can stand strong and win some games the team will become stronger in the end with the return of the suspended players. Hopefully they can pull it together and win the NBA title this year.

[JVN]

Originally Posted by Koko Ed

And don't forget that Cleveland/Jacksonville fiasco a few years ago...

And then... NY Giants fans invented the "battery powered snowball."
Remember they knocked the camera guy off his boom?

Lots of season ticket holders got suspended.

[David Kelly]

For those of you who may not have seen it this morning or heard, Ron Artest was interview live today on the Today Show. 10 minute interview for him to explain his part of the situation.

And for those of you who do not know, Ron Artest is not like many of the "other players" in the NBA who have criminal records or long spans of violence. (Ron Artest has no criminal record or has been in trouble with the law like the "fan" who threw the cup.) Ron Artest grew up in a very rough neighborhood in New York (I think) and had severe rage problems. He was recommended to play basketball to help him control himself. He is a very passionate and agressive player. He is a very good family guy and good with children away from the court, just gets into trouble and sometimes gets out of control.

He deserves to be suspened for games, but not for the rest of the season or forever. He tries really hard to have a positive attitude about everything.


Interview requires Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player.


Note: The NBA players union has filed their appeal for the suspensions of Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O'Neal.

[MikeDubreuil]

Originally Posted by David Kelly

He tries really hard to have a positive attitude about everything.

And herein lies the problem with Mr. Artest, he lacks reposibility and regret for the incident. In fact, by the end of the interview you can tell he feels justified in what he did. I watched the whole 11 minute interview and never did he show any signs of remorse.

Originally Posted by Ron Artest

"I have tried to change the image of the league"

He then plugged his new rap cd; claiming it was about love. He was also wearing a hat and t-shirt from his record label. He plugged his new CD 3 times during the interview; more times than he showed regret. Incredibly untactful!

Originally Posted by Ron Artest

"I didn't harm anybody"; "I was real happy that I never hurt a person"

I don't even think I have to comment on this.

Originally Posted by Ron Artest

"It was scary and it almost hit me in my eye, I was like wow"

This seems to be the reason for his frustration, or you could say- justification, for what he did.

Originally Posted by Matt Lauer

"Should you be more disciplined as an athlete who makes $5 million dollars a year playing a professional sport?"

"I think I'm pretty disciplined and I think you should look at the tape and then you should hopefully answer the questions for me, that would help me a lot"

Accountability? He either feels as though he was disciplined, or he feels as though he shouldn't self incrimitae himself. Unfortunately for him, he doesn't come off as a guy where the elevator goes to the top floor so I'm guessing he feels he acted with discipline.

Originally Posted by Matt Lauer

"What do you tell the 12 year old fan of the sport who has seen it and is trying to come to terms with it?"

First Artest claims that he didn't want kids to see it and blames "you" [Matt Lauer, NBC, the media] for showing it.

Originally Posted by Ron Artest

"They seen disrespect from the crowd and then they seen a frustarted reaction from a player and they got to understand that sometimes things happen. People go to war, we don't want to go to war, nobody wants to die. But things happen and you move on, you try to move on and you try to make everyhting positive. So what I can tell kids is things happen and you try to move on and always try to stay positive and keep positive people around you and that's how you will get by."

Basically, he's saying to the kids that if you're disrespected that it's "okay" to go to war with someone. If someone disrespects you it warrants the penalty of death. This is all perfectly normal, as long as you move on and stay positive about you going to war with someone.

This whole experience has really showed me the importance of FIRST. Could you imagine some kid having Ron Artest as a role model? If Ron Artest is a role model, I'm Charles Manson.

[EddieMcD]

Originally Posted by meaubry

Why would you commit a blatant foul with less than a minute to play while you team is winning by double digits?

Okay, that was not a blatent foul. When someone goes up for a layup, and someone else goes to block him, there's usually contact. All Artest did was go up with Wallace. If anything, Wallace was in the wrong for what he did after.

Back on subject, I won't get into who started the whole thing. Hey, the benches cleared, a few staredowns and a couple nudges occured. That happens all the time (not that it should, I'm just saying it does). And suprisingly, Artest was staying out of it. Then he got hit with a cup. And I have to say, in that situation, I kinda don't blame Artest for what he did (even though I don't think it was right). Then we get our domino effect.

In summary: Wallace started it all. Okay, deeper summary: I'll hold both Artest and the fan who threw the cup at him responsible. The players who followed into the stands are all in the wrong too (and since I still believe in chivalry, I kinda see why they did it as well; they were defending their leader). However, any fans on the floor got what was coming to them.

And for a second there, I thought the NHL had resolved their lockout.

BTW, the WWE is docile compared to what happened last night.

[David Hoff]

First off, many people have the wrong impression about Ron Artest because all they hear about him is what the national media tells them. Living in Indy, I get to see him play almost nightly and he very rarely does something that is dirty or illegal. In fact, he received a flagrant foul about a week ago because of his reputation. A few days later, NBA took back the flagrant and cleared his record of it since he did nothing wrong. This has happened to him many times in the past as well. I'm not saying he hasn't messed up before, but I don't think he's as crazy as some make him out to be.

The melee that occurred was not completely Artest's fault or Ben Wallace's fault. I think a good portion of the blame needs to go to the few people in the stands who instigated the brawl by throwing things at the Pacers. I'm not saying Artest should have done what he did, but it is understandable. Also last night when Shaq was asked about the situation, he said he would have reacted the same way that Artest did.

[Brandon Martus]

Originally Posted by EddieMcD

Okay, that was not a blatent foul. When someone goes up for a layup, and someone else goes to block him, there's usually contact. All Artest did was go up with Wallace. If anything, Wallace was in the wrong for what he did after.

Don't watch the hand thats going up to block the shot, watch the hand that is pushing him in the back of the neck/head. That's what Wallace was so angry about, I'm guessing.

[Koko Ed]

Originally Posted by Brandon Martus

Don't watch the hand thats going up to block the shot, watch the hand that is pushing him in the back of the neck/head. That's what Wallace was so angry about, I'm guessing.

Ben Wallace overeacted alot to what had happened.

[Ryan Albright]

hands down artest, jackson thrown out of the league and criminal charges filed. Artest has been a loose cannon his whole life i was just waiting for him to snap. This is a disgrace to any pro sport