Re: 2004-05 NBA thread Sportscenter breaking it down. Some Pacer had a dustpan ready to swing at someone. Un-freaking-believable.
Re: 2004-05 NBA thread Yup. Among the calming influences: Chuck Person Rick Mahorn Rasheed Wallace I think that speaks volumes as to how bad this was.
Re: 2004-05 NBA thread Tinsley. It was freakin' stupid. O'Neal's screwed - he'll probably face assault for the way he layed out that guy on the court. I have to give props to Rasheed Wallace thought for doing what he could to control it and break things up (never thought I'd say that). But $hit, man - nothing he could do.
Re: 2004-05 NBA thread Wasn't the guy O'Neal decked the same one that went after Artest on the court? I can't see how he'd be prosecuted if the guy was on the court to start something.
Re: 2004-05 NBA thread Man it was over the top...JO and Artest bashed the sh1t outta that white fat kid. That fat kid got a two punch K.O... first from Artest than O'neal slide punched him like something from Mortal Kombat. He was on the ground...O'neal comes in, and knocks him out. Damn. Crazy sh!t!! I'll be surprised if that guy ever walks again. The guy couldnt get up...he obviously was KOed
Re: 2004-05 NBA thread All jokes aside, this was way too similar to a WWE preformance. This was just crazy and I hope the NBA looks to UEFA for a punishment...make them play a home game or two in an empty stadium.
Re: 2004-05 NBA thread Did that fat dude do anything? Seemed like he ran onto the court, stopped when he saw Artest, then got punched. Then seemed like O'Neal came over and gave him a straight punch to the jaw. Man, that was one of the saddest things I've ever seen.
Re: 2004-05 NBA thread Completely agree. What the hell was that fan doing on the court to begin with? At that point, Artest is defending himself. He doesn't know if this guy has a knife or some other weapon or anything. And O'Neal flying in, well, he was just defending his teammate. At that point, with all the crap that had happened earlier, it's just self-defense and a let's-get-the-hell-out-of-here mentality.
Re: 2004-05 NBA thread Some ESPN guys are saying this is the worst riot they've seen in sports. Clearly they haven't been outside the USA lately... I mean, there was just an incident in Rio... http://soccernet.espn.go.com/headlinenews?id=316500&cc=5901 Must be something in the air within the past 7 days...
Re: 2004-05 NBA thread I think he thought he was a hardass . . . then, by the time he realized what he had gotten himself into, it was too late. What about the guy who threw the cup at Artest? As Artest went into the stands, the guy was talking crap the whole time . . . until Artest was about ten feet away. Then he was scared sh!tless.
Re: 2004-05 NBA thread What concerns me is that Artest will get punished more severly because he's Ron Artest.
Re: 2004-05 NBA thread One of these guys threw the beer at Artest, but I can't see if they're holding any cups or anything
Re: 2004-05 NBA thread Yeah, that look on his face was totally "OH SH!T!!!!" I think the worst offender was Steven Jackson. He just ran right into the stands and seemed to pummel whoever was in his way. At that point I don't blame the fans because I think they were just trying to defend themselves even though they were trying to restrain some of the players. After that all hell broke loose and who the hell knows. All I know is that it's the saddest thing I've ever seen.
Re: 2004-05 NBA thread John Saunders is a nutjob. "Think of the children!" -- "People don't realize that the NBA players are at a disadvantage when they are trying to climb chairs. They are really vulnerable" -- "[The two Hobbits] that ventured onto the court and were coldcocked got what they deserved". The cop that was interviewed said no one was seriously injured. They said the guy with the hat threw the cup of beer, but maybe it was the woman? She looked a lot more guilty and scared when Artest came her direction and the guy in the hat looked oblivious.
Re: 2004-05 NBA thread The players who went into the stands to fight should get minimum 1 year bans. They can't handle getting hit in the face with a drink??? This happens all over the world all the time. Guys like Artest need to learn to control themselves, and if they simply can't then too bad you get big f-ing bans and big f-ing fines. Better yet they should all be charged by the police, I hope the players get no lesser punishments than fans, they should not be above the law for fighting and such. This exposes the NBA for the big bunch of overpayed ghetto criminal thugs that it largely is.
Re: 2004-05 NBA thread sorry for being stubborn, but most of you are wrong, and i still think ian is an idiot. 1st of all, the only players that should take any blame are ben wallace and jackson. i really like wallace and he seems to be a calm dood, but he blew the not so hard, hard foul out of proportion. i dont take that bs that i think ian said that it was just artest being scared. it wasnt a bad foul, artest was responsible and tried getting out of a bad situation. jackson got too hyped up and kept sh¡t going. both of them should receive a suspension. now for when artest is laying down. i have NOTHING wrong with what artest did. professionals are supposed to take verbal abuse, not physical. if some dickhead wants to throw something at a player because he thinks he is safe due to being a fan, then let him get his as$ kicked. to FC Tall (i think)...what the hell does it matter if a guy is 6'6 200+lbs? if anything, the fan should be smart enough to know the guy can whoop him. artest ran to the guy (at 1st they said it was the wrong guy, havent heard it since) and slammed him down, but didnt punch him (i think), but even if he did..oh well. i think jackson threw the 1st punch...hot head, but he was defending a teammate at that time. then a fan hits artest, at that point it is a fight. any1 in the way is game. i dont blame the players. to ANYONE who said o'neal should be suspended? wtf are you thinking. a FAN was on the COURT and went after artest. the guy came up to artest, threw his shoulders like artest would be scared (u could see the guy was scared at that point) and got his sh¡t split, then his friend came in and tackled artest. he was then punched by a guy in a suit and then o'neal clocked him. o'neal did nothing but protect a friend and then protect himself as he was pretty calm while walking out until provoked. blah blah blah. to sum it up, the detroit fans were scum tonight and are to blame. i dont see it any other way. i hope the players sue these fans the second there is a lawsuit against them. i feel bad for innocent ppl involved, but oh well. this is going to lead to a seperation between the court and fans, oh well.
Re: 2004-05 NBA thread sorry in advance for being rude, but who the fvck are you to judge these players? ppl get hit in the face with beer all the time all over the world? well im sure they do, but i bet you it leads to a fight. fans have no right to touch the players in any way, especially when it is assault. guys like artest need to learn to control themselves? well i agree, but not in this case. after an incident with another professional, one who is supposed to get physical with him, he acted very well. the guy in the crowd deserved what he got. professionals or not, they are humans and no one should have to accept being insulted/assaulted like that. ahhh why even argue. i just really hope detroit gets in trouble with this, and i actually like to see detroit do well. it is a shame their fans are trash. edit: just to add...yes, from a professional one would like for them to act in a very calm manner and just ignore what happened, but i do not see how anyone can blame them for doing what one would expect from anybody on the street.
Re: 2004-05 NBA thread Germans love David Hasselhoff. Ron Artest is crazy. 8 Mile is one of the many miles of trash in Detroit. This is the most exciting thing to happen in the NBA in years.
Re: 2004-05 NBA thread I'm a rational adult human being, and I am judging what I see. Thats "who I am." Not really man, players get hit by worse like urine bags, and they just get the hell out. Not that its okay to throw uringe bags etc... You're on crack, the guy needs to learn to control himself, he has a problem with his head. You know, the people defending themselves were the fans. Artest and his buddies are the ones who charged into the stands throwing punches ready to outright fight. THat pales in comparison with throwing a drink cup. Give me a break Fans who fought should be punished and so should the players. They should be punished heavily, fined, and charged with any appropriate crimes. Not weak US sports 5-10 games bans but year long stuff, with no pay, set an example.
Re: 2004-05 NBA thread just watched the whole thing unfold on sportscenter for the 2nd time. artest laying down artest hit with cup artest jumps in crowd grabs a fan and holds up down yelling another fan stands in front of artest and throws a bottle (or cup) in his face steven jackson hits that fan artest hit from behind by a fan who held him back fred jones holds ppl back/tries to stop everything said piston sucker punched by some fat guy ... fat guy in pistons jersey and a hat walks onto court sizes up artest and imo looks like he wants to do something artest (imo) defends himself and clocks the guy fat guy's friend pushes down artest and falls a guy with the pacers in a suit comes and hits the friend once and falls the 2nd fat guy (without the hat) begins to gets up jermaine o'neal comes in and levels the guy with a wicked right ... artest being restrained and seems pretty calm group of fans provoking him cop threatening to mase him reggie miller and co come defuse the situation ... artest and jackson in the tunnels ... jermaine o'neal walking off the court calmly with some things such as shirts being thrown fans confront o'neal and the group escorting him a chair is thrown into said crowd o'neal gets pissed and goes after the person o'neal held back and reluctently (but somewhat voluntarily imo heads to the locker room) o'neal gets more things thrown at him o'neal attempts to go after them o'neal heads out many fans pouring drinks on o'neal, throwing cups on o'neal, throwing popcorn on o'neal, etc. ... judge for yourself, but the fans are to blame imo.
Re: 2004-05 NBA thread My take on things. The Pistons ought to get punished. They ought to get punished so badly they'll hope fans stop coming to their games. I don't care what Ron Artest did, I don't care that the fans pay the players' salaries or whatever, a line was crossed tonight. I've been to my share of NBA games. Hell, I've been to most people's share on NBA games. I've sat frountcourt and I've heard every little thing imaginable. Players being abused verbally is nothing new, whether it's accusations of homosexuality, spousal infidelity, maternal promiscuity and even good ole racial slurs. But all that shìt's verbal, though, and there's a huge line between verbal and physical abuse and it's not that easy to cross it. Tonight, however, the line was crossed, and I for one am happy Artest and Jackson clocked a few people one. I would've done the same thing and hell, I hope any other player would've in their place. 20 dollars that you paid for that ticket does not give you the right to throw anything at players. Not if they're your team's bitter rivals, not if there's a fight, not even if the player is a mental case like Ron Artest. The problem is, until this incident tonight, we've been getting closer and closer to the line I mentioned before. Spitting on players on the way to or from the locker room happens all the time. The players, we assume, are supposed to take it because they take home millions a year. Of course, I hardly think there's a clause in Artest's contract whereas he agreed to have stuff thrown at him. Players are going to get punished, but so be it. I just hope next time some idiot decides to get a little rowdy at a ballgame, he'll look at the 6'7 mounds of muscle out on the court and think twice.
Re: 2004-05 NBA thread I agree with you on this to some extent. I think it just boiled down to frustration on Ben Wallace's part. He shouldn't have acted that way. It didn't even seem like that hard of a foul. But also Stephen Jackson got all fired up and didn't help matters much either. And it seemed like that friend was trying to defend his friend as well. Not justifying the fan for being on the court, but it seemed like O'Neal and Artest went a little overboard. I think both sides are to blame. The players should've kept their cool, no matter how pissed they are. I don't blame them for being mad, but going into the stands? You're asking for a world of trouble. The fans were awful too. The whole mob mentality obviously came into play and everyone near the court took advantage. My biggest problem though was with Stephen Jackson. He was out of control during the whole thing, starting from the Wallace shove all the way down to when Artest went into the stands. Well whatever, it's over now. I'm sure we'll be hearing about this one for a while.