Basketbrawl "MasterCard" Ad

(crosspost from the DU Lounge b/c I'm new and didn't think to look here!)

There are pictures at http://armchairgm.com/index.php?p=36 but the text is (basically):

One basketball ticket, $150.
A beer: $8.50
Bail money: $$$

... well, click the link for the punchline, I don't want to ruin it! :-)

Ben Wallace can shove Artest (look at the video, it wasn't a hard foul at all) and basically create a fued between the two players. Then you have this classless fan who threw a cup full of beverage and ice at Artest right after the incident. And the result being Artest suspended for the season. I can't believe the NBA did that and I hope the appeal works out for Artest and the other Pacer players that got screwed.

remember: Wallace didn't go into the stands and beat on somebody who didn't even throw the cup. Artest did.

I live in southeast Michigan and have seen the replays over and over and over every night. Artest wasn't even going after the ball -- he fouled Wallace hard in the back with less than a minute to go and a 15 point lead. There was no reason for it.

Should Wallace have shoved him? Probably not. And should the fan have thrown the cup? Absolutely not. But Artest inflamed the situation by his theatrics on the scorers bench. Why didn't he remove himself from the situation and go to his own bench? He was looking for publicity and he got it.

Artest can be blamed for "inflaming the situation", but he bears the full responsibility despite being provoked repeatedly?

Artest can be blamed for "inflaming the situation", but he bears the full responsibility despite being provoked repeatedly?

Up until that point it was a fight in an NBA game. Probably a little more heated than most, but nothing that we haven't seen before. And yes a fan through a drink at him. Again, that is somewhat unusual, but nothing that hasn't happened before. Artest turning into a madman and attacking any fan he could get his hands on was the unusual part. As far as I know, that has happened only once in an NBA game with Vernon Maxwell (and at least Maxwell got the right person).

Of course, I still think Jackson should have gotten many more games. Artest was - at the very least - provoked. Jackson just decided to start punching people.

I've watched it a few times, and here's a possible interpretation of Jackson's actions which fit what I saw:

He originally went up to retrieve/protect Artest. He even had a hand on Artest's arm as he got there, pulling back.

Then another moron threw some more beer, and suddenly Jackson's going crazy as well.

Still no excuse, just thought I'd throw that out there.

BTW, you know that touching footage of the two little boys, one consoling the other, both crying? A few minutes later, you see their dad come up and console both of them.

But a few minutes before, their dad was right in the middle of it, swinging at the back of Artest's head.

This isn't the first time, nor will it be the last, that Artest has been the center of controversy.

"Artest was benched for two games earlier this month for asking Pacers coach Rick Carlisle for time off because of a busy schedule that included promoting a rap album.

Artest was suspended twice by the NBA last season, once for leaving the bench during a fracas at a Pacers-Celtics playoff game; the other for elbowing Portland's Derek Anderson. During the 2002-03 season, Artest was suspended five times by the NBA and once by the Pacers for a total of 12 games.

Artest also once grabbed a television camera and smashed it to the ground after a loss to the Knicks two years ago." http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/basketball/nba/11/21/artest.suspension.ap/?cnn=yes

He's been a loose cannon for sometime. Not to mention he had some run-ins last year with Detroit. I saw where someone suggested anger management for him before he returns to the NBA.

Pacers will still probably make it to the playoffs....

the East is weak...

and Jermaine is gonna be a beast when he gets back...

hurts.

the volokh conspiracy linked to the same weblog, lol. that's pretty funny when you think about it. basketbrawls: uniting, not dividing!