Huge Brawl Between Players and Spectators in Pacers-Pistons Game

Amen, Brother Joseph Botwinick -- Preach it!

and all other advocates and practionists
of violence should be beaten, caned, choked,
kicked, etc

 

Alright, my two cents worth. Artest is a trouble maker. Ben Wallace is a stand up guy. He has not had any trouble like this since he has been playing. He is big boy and can take a beating. I would use him as a role model on the court. Watch him and you will see he is a humble guy. Artest went for his head, with 45 seconds left in the game most teams that are winning will sit back and wait for the clock to run out. Not this idiot. From watching the video he sure didn't want anything to do with Ben Wallace as he laid there on the score table shaking. He gets hit with a plastic cup of beer or pop, no one really knows for sure and leaps the table fights through a crowd to go after some fan. Kknow what, he could have went around the table and headed for Ben Wallace....nope the idiot went for the fan. Make no mistake, Artest wanted NO part of Ben Wallace! Shows what a coward he is too go after a fan IMHO.
This could have been avoided by the refs simply removing both players from the game, maybe that was not too easy to do because of all the mayhem. Either way no one's life was threatened by a plastic cup that landed softly in his lap so he will end up loosing. The fans that he punched...they will be rewarded greatly. First by the NBA and then by the players because of law suites. They will lose. There is a reason why you don't run into the crowd. I have attended many games at the palace and chances are the person who threw the cup would have been ejected had security had time to get there. That stuff in not tolerated there. But that is a cardinal sin to run into the crowd. Most players realize that. As for the player that walked onto the court and artest went off on, he will be set for life. He did not show any signs of threating artest. And O'neal....that was the sorriest sucker punch I have ever seen. Came out of nowhere, the guy was getting up and no threat to artest ( he was several feet away with someone from management) comes flying out of nowhere and floors the guy. O'Neal will make this man very rich too. The Palace is not in Detroit (matter of fact I just live down the road from it) the fans are not worse then other fans. I have seen fans from every sport and home field throw stuff onto the field or court at players. It usually doesn't get out of hand like it did here. The fans are too blame too. They were wrong to throw things but the stupidity award goes to the Pacer players. I believe Artest, Jackson will be suspended for most or all of the season. O'neal may escape the same fate because he is a money player. Draws the crowds. Ben will get fined, maybe a game or two wich would be harsh compared to past practices. A fight that just involves a push is usually just a fine but because this erupted into such a brawl they may penalize him worse that just a fine.
I think that we need to get back to the fact that players ought to be more then just good players. That they represent the best in their sport and need to behave in like manner. If they would set the example it would go along for the fans who are kids, and grown up kids!
Hey my opinion for what its worth.....you know what they say about opinions, everybody's got one.

 

I say make an example out of all of them. Ban them all for life from the NBA. Arrest them. Sue them for every penny they have. Make them pariahs. Make their actions very unpopular.

Joseph Botwinick

 

If the teams and the leagues give them a slap on the wrist, they are jeopardizing the game, IMO. How many of you would like to take your 10 year son to a game like this when you are not sure that they will be safe. Unless harsh punishments are given, I would not be assured that the team and the league is serious about protecting the fans from this type of thuggery. These guys are not millionaire PROFESSIONALS. They are thugs. The fans who participated in this are abunch of drunk thugs.

Joseph Botwinick

 

Heckling is no problem with me. Throwing beer cups and chairs is.

Joseph Botwinick

 

THats just the pt Ken, acting like a goon is out of character for Ben. Artest on the other hand seems to carry that tag as his reputation. Watch Ben play, he takes a lot of rough fouls and plays ball without retalitation. Compare that to artest's temper and you will get my pt. I still reward the Pacer with the stupidity award and you will see the courts will prove me right.
And to show what a coward Artest is he didn't go for Ben he went after a fan. Neither the towel nor the cup hurt him. He just was scared of Ben.
Tim

 

You heard wrong there is no plans to increase security. And it wasn't just a foul, it was a cheap foul by a goon. He didn't even go for the ball. He punched him in the back of the heard. Being ahead with 45 seconds to go wasn't good enough for this class act. He needs to be suspended.

 

I am giving you the award there in Oklahoma for the best sense of humor.

 

Read the column that Ken linked. Watch the video from all angles. Artest has been told by the Pacers not to get involved in any other fights. He did fairly well for some time. Reggie Miller was with him at the scorer's table keeping him calm.

Wallace threw the towel and one fan reportedly told the police that he took that as a green light to start throwing beverages. Who knows--it is all in the hands of the police now.

Professional sports has a disgusting side. In the 1950s there were no games on Christmas Day as players and fans wanted to be home with their families. Stop selling beer at the games and a lot of alcoholics will stop going to the games and there goes the profit of the NBA.

Big city people emphasize public events over home and family. A lot of people show up every weekend for anything that is free or relatively cheap no matter how banal the event.

Both the Pacers and the Colts play downtown. Now we have dozens of bars catering to the sports crowd downtown. It is a whole industry. But the price to the city is high. Indianapolis is essentially broke but the Colts are demanding that a 20-year-old $100 million dome be razed and a new one costing $500 million be built. If we do not comply, the city must pay them $2 million a year to stay in town.

Conseco Fieldhouse ran a steel cable through the front-row chairs yesterday to keep them from being thrown. Bobby Knight should never have thrown a chair on the floor in Bloomington.

The NBA and the NFL should stop selling beer, but they are unlikely to do that. $$$$$$

 

How much money do these guys make to be "professionals". As a teacher, I endure much abuse from students and parents all the time. Does that mean that I can start throwing down like a thug with them and all other innocent people standing around at the time. Nope. I would be fired on the spot, arrested and sued. My lincense would be suspended and I would be banned for life from any public school. These guys are making millions and being heckled by guys who probably make less money in a year than these guys make in one night. If it were me, I would laugh at the drunk losers and collect my $80,000 check for my one night of work. But, that is just me.

Joseph Botwinick

 

Its quit clear how bias you are Ken....guess you missed the thrown shot to the back of the head of Ben Wallace. Thats what started it!

 

How much money do these guys make to be "professionals". As a teacher, I endure much abuse from students and parents all the time. Does that mean that I can start throwing down like a thug with them and all other innocent people standing around at the time. Nope. I would be fired on the spot, arrested and sued. My lincense would be suspended and I would be banned for life from any public school. These guys are making millions and being heckled by guys who probably make less money in a year than these guys make in one night. If it were me, I would laugh at the drunk losers and collect my $80,000 check for my one night of work. But, that is just me.

Joseph Botwinick </font>[/QUOTE]I agree with you Joseph. Matter of fact it really isn't any different in the public sector. As you stated. Assult someone cause they insulted you or your mother and YOU will end up in jail.
Its clear that both sides where at fault as far as the fans go. But what happened is the exception just like the pacers running into the crowd. Espen was talking about the last time a player ran into the crowd to fight and it was back in 1970. There has only been 3 or 4 incidents according to them in all of NBA history were a player ran into the fans and got into a fight. Pacers just happen to be one of the few stupid who lost control. It happens in sports events even among christians and the best of men. Its the ones who are known for their tempers are the ones that are the problem.

Tim

 

Better video clip here

http://www.dailyrecycler.com/blog/