3 Pacers, 1 Piston suspended "indefinitely"

Just heard on MI/OH game.

Sounds like Stern's gonna throw a pretty big book at 'em.

It is the conservative republican lack of morality and propensity towards solving problems through pre-emptive attack which is to blame for the disheartening display of violence and vulgarity at last night's sporting event in the NBA.

We are sure that citizens who view our republican collegues' propensity towards the use of violence with no accountablity unfortunately and sadly feel compelled to act in similar manner. We can only hope that the local police authorities can hold those responsible for this violence accountable - however, we must sadly point out that the House republican Congressional leadership sets a poor example of holding persons responsible for thier actions when they change House rules to allow their leadership to serve under indictment.

Artess, and who are the others? who was the piston? ben wallace?

...

NEW YORK (AP) -- The NBA suspended Ron Artest, Jermaine O'Neal and Stephen Jackson of Indiana and Ben Wallace of Detroit on Saturday for taking part in one of the ugliest brawls in United States sports history.

The suspensions were indefinite, and the league was still investigating Friday night's melee involving fans, which commissioner David Stern called "shocking, repulsive and inexcusable -- a humiliation for everyone associated with the NBA."


The league issued a statement saying it was reviewing rules and security procedures "so that fans can continue to attend our games unthreatened by events such as the ones that occurred last night."

Artest, O'Neal and Jackson -- all of whom threw punches at fans during the fight at the end of Friday night's Pacers-Pistons game -- were to begin serving their suspensions Saturday night, when the Pacers played a home game against Orlando.


http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/basketball/nba/11/20/players.suspended.ap/

....from the Pacers (ouch!) and Ben Wallace of the Pistons.

I know its been said, but I still can't believe it. I haven't heard yet what Larry Bird has to say. I am a Pacers/ and basketball fan in general & what an ultimate low (we thought those embarrassing days were in the past after Knight was fired!)

Sad, sad, sad; it sucks being a hoosier these days.....:cry:

I watched it on ESPN. After watching the pacers pelted with all the soda and beer, I was glad if Artess got a punch in on that guy. If that makes me a heathern then so be it.

as long as everyone agrees and no charges or lawsuits are filed. Want to fight? You should be able to...

but I guess the fans were drunk or something.

what kind of normal person pelts someone that size with beer. It's just stupid, and sometimes people have to pay for stupidity.

1. if you get drunk it's YOUR fault (not the beer vendors)
2. if you start a fight and get your jaw broken, it's your fault so stop bitching.

my tort reform idea.

on this last night, but I was informed that somewhere there is an unwritten rule that fans can heap abuse on athletes but athletes are in no way allowed to retaliate. I was previously unaware of this rule, but have since been educated as to the error of my ways.

Where I'm from, you don't assault people without being ready to fight back or get an ass whoopin. But apparently the rules differ regionally.

verbal yeah...once you feel in danger it's different.

in this case, he wasn't threatened (just thrown a plastic cup), so he might be punished. But that idiot fan who was walking towards him in the end got it what he deserved, punched twice. I hope he's eating with a straw today

:hi:

:D

wat up ;)?

the three Pacers...he is seriously getting screwed. I guess we will see.

"First, let's look at the play that set things in motion. With the Pacers holding a commanding 15-point lead with less than a minute to go, Pistons center Ben Wallace took the ball to the basket for what clearly was nothing more than a garbage-time bucket. Even Wallace's initial defender, Stephen Jackson, recognized the insignificance of Wallace scoring and stepped back, preferring to give up the score in exchange for regaining possession.

But once again, Ron Artest interjected himself into a play that had no bearing on the outcome of the game, fouling Wallace from behind as he went up for the lay-up. I listened to ESPN analysts last night talk about how Artest's foul wasn't of the flagrant variety, but that's hardly the point. At no time during that possession did Artest make any kind of play on the basketball. What he did was purposefully shove Wallace in the back and take a swipe with his off hand at the back of his head.

I worked in the NBA for 10 years, and one of the players I feel like I know the best is Ben Wallace, so believe me when I tell you that there is not a more gentle giant playing the game. I can recall a number of times when Wallace was placed in a situation where he or a teammate was being attacked and he chose to help diffuse the situation rather than engage in a physical confrontation.

But just a week prior to Friday night's game, Wallace had just buried his oldest brother, 61-year old Sam Wallace, making it all the more likely his emotions were riding higher than usual. Wallace is no fool. He knew Artest's intention was not to prevent a basket, but to invoke a response. If you look closely as Wallace is advancing, Artest lowers his head as if anticipating the shot that Wallace delivered to his neck. He knew what he was doing, and he got the result he wanted."

more at
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/writers/chris_mannix/11/20/pacers.react/index.html

Suspended indefinately..

"indefinitely" means. My guess is that the NBA needs to make an immediate statement against what happened...AND its the weekend, and they will discuss it on Monday. Let's wait until then to make final judgements.

yey Shaq


yey Dwayne Wade


Yippy

My Christmas present comes early....