Re: 2004-05 NBA thread Stephen Jackson is done for a while - he clearly threw a punch at a fan. Pathetic showing by Pistons fans and a few of the players.
Re: 2004-05 NBA thread Apparently Artest was lying on the table and a fan came close to him and threw a bottle at him.
Re: 2004-05 NBA thread I came in as the Pacers players were making their way into the locker rooms. I caught Oneal get showered in beer, pop and popcorn. From the replays it almost looks like Artest saw the guy who threw the stuff at him to begin with, and made a bee-line right for him and actually caught him.
Re: 2004-05 NBA thread Rip Hamilton kept wanting to joing the fracas but he was way to skinny to break away from the guy holding him. Wow - one huge Detroit fan started swinging at a Pacers player from behind and from the blind side. Good thing he missed. Pathetic.
Re: 2004-05 NBA thread Ron Artest had no business going into the stands. Sure, some jerk threw beer at him but he's a professional athlete, there is never an excuse to go into the stands. That was a massive brawl, the biggest I've ever seen in pro sports. Huge fines and punishments coming out of this. A few fans had some beer muscles and are lucky they aren't in the coma ward right about now. Ben Wallace merely pushed Artest. Things were simmering down until Artest jumped into the stands.
Re: 2004-05 NBA thread It's pretty crazy that no security was around though. I have a feeling we may seem some policy changes by David Stern after this game. The sideline reporter said it was a bottle, but it was pretty clearly a plastic cup. I am certain bottles aren't allowed in the Arena.
Re: 2004-05 NBA thread Sports reporter on Detroit tv just said Artest went after the wrong guy in the stands.
Re: 2004-05 NBA thread NBA TV has their live update show on and they haven't even mentioned the score of the game yet.
Re: 2004-05 NBA thread Man did that announcer have a stick up his ass or what. I can understand if you're a little upset over this, but he was screaming like he was the one getting his ass kicked.
Re: 2004-05 NBA thread Just saw the whole replay again after watching it live. Ron Artest is clearly gone for 20-30 games, maybe more. He's going to have enough time to produce a whole new CD. He had a plastic cup thrown at him after he was lying on the scorer's table and then just went ballistic.
Re: 2004-05 NBA thread Wow! I just got in and turned on ESPN news. (they're doing in depth coverage)This is one of the ugliest scenes I've ever seen in sports. This will have serious ramifications for the days to come.
Re: 2004-05 NBA thread The Pistons should face penalties for the behavior of their piece of sh!t fans.
Re: 2004-05 NBA thread I'm biased in the other direction because I don't like the Pistons, but IMO Ben more than merely pushed Artest and got the whole thing going. Unfortunately for him, he may be made a bit of a scapegoat for that push and get more of a punishment than he would normally.
Re: 2004-05 NBA thread Are you talking about the fan in the white Pistons jersey who came out on the court and confronted Artest? Cause that wasn't a miss and had some force behind it.
Re: 2004-05 NBA thread Wallace definitely overreacted but Artest is a punk. He wanted no part of Wallace, then he went into the stands like a maniac and ratcheted everything up a notch. A terrible scene all around.
Re: 2004-05 NBA thread What happens on the court stays on the court. Things were calming down until Artest went into the stands, after a fan pushed his buttons. Pro athletes need to have self restraint. The NBA cannot tolerate huge athletes rampaging into the crowd. Imagine if someone had a 3 year old child in the first few rows and Artest comes barging into the crowd, knocks the child down, who hits their head on the cement floor and dies. You've then got yourself a massive tragedy on your hands instead of a few drunk clowns provoking an athlete. Artest has no control, the guy is a loose cannon. The more I think about it, the more I see him gone for months. Here's something to note: Christmas Day (Indiana vs Detroit) I Wonder if that possible TV ratings bonanza will carry weight when the league considers suspensions.
Re: 2004-05 NBA thread ...and I get picked on for being a soccer fan? If they charge the fans they should charge the players...it's as simple as that. Self-defense my ass. When you are 6'9 and 275 lbs. and you get a beer thrown on you do you really fear for your life to the point where you need to whoop that fan's ass? I got a beer thrown on me last night at a concert but I didn't feel the need to whip the dude's ass over it as I would have probably been arrested. I just don't think the Pacers should be wanting the police to get involved as they are guilty as well.
Re: 2004-05 NBA thread The idiots on ESPNews right now are giving the thug players a pass on this and placing 100% blame on the fans. Would their contract with the NBA have anything to do with that? If the NBA goes after the fans on this one they will lose the few fans that they have left.
Re: 2004-05 NBA thread Now that I think about it I do remember one scene in sports that was pretty ugly also. A riot broke out at a Bowe-Golota (I think) fight in Madison Square Garden a few years back with a ton of fans getting involved and police being called in. This scene kind of reminds me of that.