posted 11-20-2004 01:09 AM         

Artest and Stephen Jackson charged into the stands and fought with fans in the final minute of their game against the Detroit Pistons on Friday night, and the brawl forced an early end to the Pacers' 97-82 win. (Related item: Box score)

Officials stopped the game with 45.9 seconds remaining after pushing and shoving between the teams spilled into the stands once fans got involved by throwing things at the players near the scorer's table.

"It's the ugliest thing I've seen as a coach or player," said Pistons coach Larry Brown, who was in the middle of the confrontation, trying to break it up. "There's no excuse for fans to act that way and there's no excuse for players to (respond). I was worried about our players' families and young kids. I've just never seen anything like that. I didn't know what to do, personally."

posted 11-20-2004 10:41 AM         

was at work and didn't see it but heard about it

posted 11-20-2004 05:40 PM         

Artest, O'Neal, Jackson, and Wallace are all suspended indefinitely as of right now.

I think what the fans did was wrong, but the players should have never gone into the stands.

I'm a little biased but I think Wallace should be suspended and fined the same way any other player has been when they started a fight ON the court. Artest, O'Neal, and Jackson should be out for the season for fighting in the stands. I imagine there will be many lawsuits from the fans hit seeking some NBA money. I wouldn't be surprised to see criminal charges.

All in all, a big black eye for the city.

posted 11-20-2004 08:37 PM         

*****PORTLAND JAILBLAZERS*****

If there not getting busted for pot, driving with
no insurance, drivers license.....or like the latest
Jailblazer, owning and betting on dog fights at your
million home.

What part of "Your suppose to be a role model for our
children" don't they understand???

posted 11-20-2004 08:59 PM         

quote:

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Originally posted by butchcee:
I just heard the statistic that 40% of the NBA players have a criminal records.

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Al - that figure might be a little low, lol.

I'm going with what Charles Barkley once stated:

they could get rid of these things before they start (smart idea) or let it happen and become a "crowd draw"...

look what hockey did... encouraged fighting in the old days... got the fans hooked on it , then try to eliminate it when wimp minorities whine about it. now they have attendance problems. I played hockey for 46 years and i like the fights, both as a spectator and as a player... its keeps things in check...

if b'Ball doesn't stop it now this problem will fester into a big problem... and god help us all if someone figures out that allowing a ""little bit " will fatten their wallet.

jmo

posted 11-21-2004 08:28 AM         

NFL fights are a joke,,,guys wearing helmets and padding,,what a joke!

Fighting is what keeps the excitement going,,,,trash talking, pushing, in your face confrontations, elbows, knee to the groin, are all part of sports [except soccer. They play that with the feet and let the fans fight,lol]

posted 11-21-2004 07:06 PM         

quote:

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Originally posted by dbudner:
Now that was ugly. Can't say it was smart going into the stands. In baseball you really wanted the loud mouths to come down to the field because then you can protect yourself (pound the idiots and have the law on your side afterwards). I still haven't seen a basketball player that can fight either, though O'Neal did get in a good blindside on the fat guy last night..

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posted 11-22-2004 08:18 AM         

quote:

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Originally posted by blubyu:
The guy who gave the first shove should be banned for life from the sport along with the slim who first went up into the stands.

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Maybe a little harsh Dale! Why did Artest feel like he needed to hack Wallace so hard when the Pacers were up by 15 points with less than a minute to go? My feeling is that Artest had a bone to pick with Wallace, and Wallace finally had enough of it.

I think Wallace's 6 game suspension is a little harsh (he had nothing to do with the brawl, just shoved Artest after getting hacked). I completely agree with Artest being suspended for the rest of the year. I think the same should have happened to O'Neil and Jackson...

The next morning ESPN was going down a list of similar incidents across all sports. Not being a hockey fan I was surprised to learn that some fan had jumped into a hockey bench ti challenge an entire hockey team... what was THAT guy thinking?

posted 11-22-2004 01:18 PM         

quote:

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Originally posted by CTProwler:
The round mound of Rebound!! Charles Barkley

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quote:

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Originally posted by jmcant1:
I completely agree with Artest being suspended for the rest of the year. I think the same should have happened to O'Neil and Jackson...

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If they would just fire these bozo's and ban them for life from playing the sport in the USA, folks would think twice about making an azz outta themselves and their teams.

Whether we want them to our not, these folks are the ones projected on our youth as role models. Make that crack smoking, raping, drugged out, thugs as role models for our youth.

What messages does this send to kids? Don't finish school, curse like a sailor, treat women poorly, and settle everthing with a fight.

Better yet, give em a gun and drop them in the middle of Iraq....that will sober them up quickly.