How about a little thought from the other side on the NBA riot, huh? (Vanity)

Do hard fouls happen in games? Yup. I don't like to give up free baskets myself in basketball, and I consider myself to be a very sportsmanlike player. Would I have fouled THAT hard? Nope. Does it happen all the time in the NBA, NCAA, high school, middle school, even Y ball? Yup.

And it could have ended there. Had Big Ben Wallace not decided to put his big mitt in another player's face. Hey, I don't like being fouled hard either. And I get hard fouls all the time, as I love transition basketball. How many times have I put my mitt in someone's face over it? Never. Not once. HE started the whole thing, not Artest.

Did Artest act like a spoiled brat by laying on the table? Yup. But TO acts like a little brat everytime he scores a touchdown, A-Rod acted like a little brat when he protested his out in the ALCS despite he KNEW he intentionally swatted the ball out of the other player's hand, and Ben Wallace acted like an immature brat when he made the incident more than it was. I don't like bringing attention to myself in sports. When I played soccer, I didn't want anyone to see me or know I was around. Until I stole the ball. When I wrestled, I loved winning with a simple Peterson roll rather than an impressive barnyard which looks good but is inneffective. As a martial artist, I want to bring the least amount of attention to myself as possible. In tournaments, I do what works, not what's pretty. I've won three thus far. But guess what? Acting bratty, for the most part, is how you get ahead in sports. Everyone knows TO. His licensing is off the hook. As is A-Rod's. As is Big Ben's. The Detroit Pistons became famous for acting like children in the 80's. Now they complain about it? My only fault is that Artest didn't kick Rodman or Bill in the nuts. Maybe that will make up for their thuggery of the times, with shorter shorts of course. This is sports, deal with it. It sells papers, it gets media attention, and that's what counts in professional sports.

Sadly enough, it could have ended after Artest laid on the table. But some drunken fan decided to be a true idiot and treat Artest with a beverage. As a martial artist, I would never hit someone for such a lowly defense. But I can understand why one would. It is easy to sit at your computer and say that he shouldn't have done anything, but what would YOU do? Can you say that there is absolutely NO chance you wouldn't respond in a similar way? I have had a customer throw a drink on me at my job, and it made my blood boil. You just don't do that to someone. Unless you want a fight, or are just being immature yourself. At which point it is argued that THE FAN, NOT ARTEST again took the incident to the next level. Did Artest react badly? Yup. Would I have reacted differently? I did. But I can understand why he did.

Finally, the fans acted like ignorant like punks themselves. These were not 8 year old schoolchildren asking for autographs with a puppy in their arms. Anyone who saw what happened, with an unbiased eye, can tell that this was a drunken mob. If Artest is charged with assault, then every one of these morons in the stands is an accomplice to inciting a riot. As is the thrower, and Ben Wallace. Not to mention the Piston players who seem to be rooting on.

About the fan almost getting killed on the court by O'Neil. How come when someone hits a QB late, it's ok for a lineman to chop block the guy the next play? But when a fan jumps on the court, and there is only ONE reason to jump on a court when a riot like that happens, it's not ok to pop the little prick? I know what you're going to say...it's a cheap hit on a fan. Yeah, well it's a cheap hit on a QB too. Payback comes in either form, for idiot linemen or idiot fans. Would I do it? Never, because I know the power of a punch, and that it could debilitate or kill someone very easily. That fan should have known that, and stayed in the stands given the volatility of the situation. Was Mr. O'neil wrong in trying to separate the little brat's head from his body before slipping? Yup. Should the moron have been there in the first place? Nope.

Am I justifying what the Pacer players did? In no means. They are wrong and should be punished severely. I am merely saying that they are not the only wrongdoers in this situation. If Artest should be booted from the league, then so should every fan involved in the fracas. If O'Neil shouldn't have acted so childish in attempting to put his fist in someone's face, then Big Ben shouldn't have started it all by putting his hand in someone's face either.

Am I justifying the aura of the NBA (and almost all professional sports) that rewards such juvenile behavior? Nope. Which is why I'm going to watch the rest of the race.

I think any fan that can be identified throwing anything at anybody, or getting on the court, should be banned permanently.

That said, I hope that punk, Artest, gets his balls sued off.

> ... every one of these morons in the stands is an
> accomplice to inciting a riot.

The NBA needs to prosecute the patron perps (or just get
them locked in the same holding cell with the floor felons :-).

Professional sports is defined as:
Metphorical combat of commercial tribes.

.. sometimes not entirely metaphorical.

It stopped being basketball about 12 years ago and became basketbrawl (aka wwf). So what you see now is its natural extension. Until it returns to a game of skill and finesse, it may as well be as comedic and asinine as the wwf.

I hear what you are saying but, from my perspective, Artest was the problem. By hard fouling on a meaningless shot he asked for the ill-conceived shove from Wallace and then, instead of letting the officials sort it out, goaded already steamed fans (And Players I'm sure) into another ill-conceived action - Throwing the water at him while he arrogantly and ignorantly reclined on the Scorer's Table. He then proceeded to further escalate the situation by going into the stands, something that is strictly forbidden, not to mention extremely dangerous to everyone.

Nope, this would have been nothing more than a brief incident, confined to the Court had Artest not acted in as provocative a manner as possible and, while there is some level of shared blame, Artest is the instigator from start to finish. This finding is supported by the 30 game suspension handed down to him by the League.

Artest dropped a hard foul onto Wallace and Wallace let him know he ought not do that. Artest wanted no part of Big Ben, but realized he was being shown up as a coward, and that not even his kindergarden act of flopping down on the table for a nap was dispelling that coward image, Artest did what many an embarrassed coward does, he found somebody much smaller to attack.

Artest should be suspended without pay for the remainder of the season, with a reinstatement hearing held during the summer to assess his work on self improvement.

There's plenty of blame to go around but Artest charged into the stands and attacked a random fan, it appears that he didn't even know who threw the cup.

I live in Indianapolis and this story is still all the news on Monday. Artest is a loud-mouth who isn't really worth what he's being paid. Just a couple of weeks ago he asked for a month off to promote his new CD; then he said he was just kidding. One of our local sports reporters had to tell him what "integrity" means.

The Pacers needed to get rid of Artest anyway - he's more trouble than he's worth. The management has released statements that they're going to appeal the suspensions in whatever way they can, but they shouldn't. Artest let his temper run away with him and it's about time he learns that adults don't do that.

He deserves to be suspended the rest of the season.

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