Holy shit....

[TheMightyFavog]

That Pistons Pacers game...

Those fucking fans were a disgrace. :mad:.

[hippiechick]

1. huh ? clues ?

:shrug:


:hippie:

[jdj]

20. here's a link, CNN finally got the story up:

HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- Indiana's Ron 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, forcing an early and ugly end to the Pacers' 97-82 win.

The game was stopped with 45.9 seconds remaining when a pushing and shoving between the teams spilled into the stands after fans began throwing things at the players near the scorer's table.

"It's the ugliest thing I've seen as a coach or player," Pistons coach Larry Brown said.

After several minutes of players fighting with fans in the stands, the Pacers were pelted with beer, ice, and popcorn as they made their way to the locker room in one of the scariest brawls in an NBA game.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/basketball/nba/11/19/bc.bkn.pacers.pistons.ap/index.html

edit: ESPN is showing the coverage NOW 11:44pm est

[GOPisEvil]

2. Can you describe the disgrace please?

[jdj]

4. some guy named artess or something fouled some other

guy, some fan poured beer on him, he jumped into the stands and proceeded to beat up the fan, then the whole team jumped into the stands,then the whole stadium erupted in craziness.

I saw it on ESPN, just now, all the pacers got beer and coke and stuff poured on them when they were being dragged into the locker room. I've never seen anything quite like this except at soccer games in other countries. They should definitely cover it on local news at eleven or tomorrow all day, it's gonna be going on for a while I think.

edit:
CNN said they have the story at CNN.com but it's not up yet.

[GOPisEvil]

5. Oh lovely...

...that's not good at all.

[hippiechick]

6. Artest is a fu*king disgrace.

I knew there was a reason I dislike basketball.
And I'm in Indiana ? Hooooo boy. :(


:shrug:


:hippie:

[TwoHandedLayup]

8. Artest didn't do anything

Obviously you didn't see it. He was behaving and some drunk fan started it.

[hippiechick]

9. He went into the stands and attacked the guy ?

...isn't doing "anything" ?

And no, I didn't see it.

I fucking HATE basketball and all the adoration these overpaid ASSHOLES get in this city.

Artest has made an ASS of himself on more than one occassion, I am not calling him a disgrace based purely on this evening.


:hippie:

[TwoHandedLayup]

12. Ok

I am a huge basketball fan, but not of Artest either. He is a hothead, but in this case he was staying out of it and there was no security.

It was purely the Detroit fans acting like complete losers.

[sir_captain]

16. nonsense

Artest shouldn't have gone into the stands, but it was totally not his fault--he was just sitting there doing nothing and got assaulted by the fan and he retaliated.

[THUNDER HANDS]

25. he didn't get assaulted

the guy threw something at him. Then he ran like, 15 feet over to him and put the guy in a choke hold.

That's totally out of line. No matter if you get something thrown at you you don't attack fans. Let security handle it.

[sir_captain]

29. Security did a *grear* job handling it

and yes, being hit in the face with a thrown object could be construed as assault. He was minding his own business and defended himself against a cretin.

You're right, he shouldn't have gone into the crowd, but he should never have been put into the position of even having to make that choice--and that's security's fault.

[THUNDER HANDS]

30. no, that's his fault

use some common sense and don't JUMP over rows of seats to attack someone.

I could understand if the guy was on top of you. But he had to run like 15-20 feet to get to this guy.

Artest is insane. Like Dennis Rodman insane.

[sir_captain]

51. Like I said

he shouldn't have done it.

I think he gets a bad rap, though, in general. He's done some dumb stuff from time to time, but he's no Rodman. I've followed his career since he was a high-school kid, and I actually think he's a pretty nice guy. I've gotta say, despite the fact that he shouldn't have done it, I think it's pretty understandable to lose it after you've been essentially punched in the face for no reason by Ben Wallace and you've completely backed off and then Wallace throws a towel in your face and you're really just minding your own business when you get hit in the head with a thrown object (he probably still doesn't even know what it was) from some asshole in the stands. Frankly, I think most people would have lost it under those circumstances. We're holding him up to a higher standard behavior because he's an athlete and ought to know better, but I think human nature is just going to take over at some point--doesn't really make him nuts.

[mark414]

43. it was all the fans

don't make judgement until you see it

this NEVER would've happened if the fans wouldn't have escalated it

[jdj]

10. I heard he was actually laying down on that announcers table

when the beer was poured on him (why would he be lying down, was he hurt). It was the guy he fouled that overreacted, it was a normal looking foul, but the piston guy jumped him. I didn't see if he got a hit in but maybe he did, maybe they were checking him out.

They called the game before time and sent everyone home. The fans were really out of line, after the way they acted I can almost understand the guy not wanting to take having beer poured on them, what kind of stupid person pours beer on someone that physically fit who is 6 and a half or 7 feet tall?

[TwoHandedLayup]

15. He was being a showboat

by resting on the table. Showing Ben Wallace he didn't care and was calm. I don't think he was hurt before the fight.

[Downtown Hound]

11. Well, I'd be pretty pissed if someone poured beer on me

[TheMightyFavog]

3. Big fight broke out in the stands...

End of Line.

[TwoHandedLayup]

7. That was disgraceful

Detroit should get fined several millions of dollars just for the lack of security. The fans there are disgraceful. Pull the season tickets and arrest them.

You always hear about athletes being abusive to others, but this was the opposite. Artest was staying out of the trouble and a guy walked right up to him and dumped a beer on him on the sideline. Artest should sue that guy like every douchebag tries to sue athletes in situations like this.

Disgraceful.

[THUNDER HANDS]

27. he didn't walk up to him

Artest ran like 15 feet over to the guy, whatever happened the guy threw something. He didn't walk over to artest. He couldn't have. He was laying on a scorers table and the guy was a few rows back and over.

That fan should sue Artest.

[screwfacecapone]

13. If anyone is to blame, it's Ben Wallace.

acting like that over a little foul. And those pistons fans need to be ashamed of themselves.

[UrbScotty]

14. Fans? THEY'RE NOT FANS, DANG IT!

They're pretenders.

Those spectators (the ones who threw food, beer, etc.) are no longer fans in my book. At least not Pistons fans.

[TwoHandedLayup]

17. Pistons will get fined bigtime

And they should make them play a couple games with an empty stands or lower level. Disgraceful.

[jdj]

18. yes, I really don't know what they think gives them liscense

to act this way. I mean if they ran into Artest on the street they wouldn't mess with him, but in a game they think they can just abuse these guys... I know they make millions and all that, but I think tonight the fan learned a lesson he may not forget. I can't blame the guy for trying to beat his ass.

[THUNDER HANDS]

26. i can

Artest is insane. You don't run into the stands to attack fans.

[jdj]

32. well, I've been short all my life

5'2", and one thing you learn as a short person and a female is to not bite off more than you can chew.

Wow, ESPN just showed a close-up of Artest attacking the guy. I just think it is stupid on the part of a fan to think that the players will always take this.

You know what they say about assumptions, and this fan got his ass-umption kicked.

[THUNDER HANDS]

34. he has a nice lawsuit waiting for him

Man, that guy will make out like a bandit. Expect a $50-100 million lawsuit over this.

[jdj]

36. you know it looks like the guy that threw the beer was someone

else, not the tight-black-shirt guy, even though tbs guy was egging it on, and the look on his face when Artest came after him was priceless. I missed the part a few seconds later when another man who looked just like Ruben Stoddard jumped on Artest from behind. What a trip.

I don't have no sympathy. I've never gotten over in my life by acting like an asshole, and if I went to a bar and threw beer on someone male or female I could expect a whoopin' or an attempted one. Maybe I just don't understand the "rules of engagement" with regards to the etiquette of beer throwing in b-ball games.

[THUNDER HANDS]

38. whoever it was

had great aim. I couldn't hit a person with a beer from 15 feet away.

I agree with you too. I don't think the guy who he attacked was the one who threw the beer.

[jdj]

41. did you catch the "oh shit" look on his face?

he was mouthing of and then all of a sudden his mouth formed a perfect 'O'. I still have it on ESPN, I am somewhat worried about the tbs guy, because really he could be hurt bad, Artest got him all the way down to the ground before any reinforcements showed up.

[THUNDER HANDS]

45. yeah, that was priceless

I hope someone has a screen cap of that. It'll be my new sig line. :D

[mark414]

46. did you know

that the fans had been throwing racial slurs at the pacers all night long?

[THUNDER HANDS]

57. no, i ididn't know that

but when my Nets were playing the Celtics two years ago in the ECF, they chanted 'Wife Beater' at Kidd with his wife and child in the arena. Kidd didn't charge the stands. He just killed them on the court.

Fans are allowed to get inside the heads of the other team, its what they do. Racial slurs are abhorrant, but they're not exactly new to sports.

[Hoosier]

19. WHOA

Unreal. Wallace should be run for a month!

[catzies]

21. I saw it. Appalling.

Ron Artest will sit out a LONG time. Can they make him sit out a season for it?

[Columbia]

22. Geez

Looked like a European soccer game almost.

Disgusting.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

23. LOL!!!!

As soon as I saw "Pacers" I thought, what the f*** did Artest do now?

[THUNDER HANDS]

24. wow

Ron Artest is like, insane. Really, he's Dennis Rodman with regular hair.

That said, Ben Wallace overreacted to that foul, which wasn't a horrible one. I've seen a lot worse.

Then Artest lays like a jackass on the scorers table and a fan throws something at him.

Artest goes berzerk and rushes into the crowd, puts the little fan in a black shirt in a choke hold and throws him to the ground.

Players from both teams get involved and it looks like an old school hockey fight.

I place blame on Ron Artest. Its his fault. He HAS to control himself. He has no self control at all. AT ALL.

[jdj]

28. the wallace guy was acting like such a jerk too

the way he jumped on artest, part of the foul was below camera but there was nothing to it, then later on when all hell broke loose he (wallace) just about knocked down one of the men that was trying to hold him back from getting into the pile.

and they say men don't have periods.

[THUNDER HANDS]

33. Artest can drive anyone insane

He's a dirty cheap player. Yeah he plays hard, but most dirty players do.

He gets under your skin and when he fouls you, he's good at making it a hard foul that doesn't look bad but really annoys you.

He's a pest. A good, solid player, but not the type I'd want on my team. His negatives outweigh his positives.

I think Wallace deserves 50% of the blame for overreacting to the foul, but as for the whole thing with the fans - that was all Artest and his inability to control his anger.

[jdj]

37. and the other pacer guy was right there beside him but

no one is talking about him, is he normally well behaved or something?

[THUNDER HANDS]

42. steven jackson

he's not as insane as Artest, but the guy is like one of those 'me first' athletes.

He used to play for the Nets and was one of those guys who always wanted to take shots and not pass to anyone. Seemed like an arrogant guy to me.

One of the Pacers though, from what i saw, got hit with something bad because he was bleeding from the head on the way back to the lockerroom.

I did see a chair get tossed too. It looked like a WWF brawl.

[jdj]

48. that's exactly what it looked like, WWF

with the chair and stuff, all they lacked were the fake blood packets to bite down on when they got hit.

[Champ]

61. No self control at all?

He sure seemed to excersize alot of restraint to me, throw a drink on somebody and see what they do to you.

[Northern Experiment]

31. What, fans in all sports EVERYWHERE...

throw beer and drinks at players. Artest and Jackson was the ones out of line by running up into the stands and physically punching fans.
Sure, the fans took it to far, but the players are fucking trained to not go into the stands....anything can happen.

On Ben Wallace, the foul Artest gave him was unnecessary. He pushed him on the back of the head while the ball was on the other side. It was clear it was a blatant foul. Big Ben got pissed and shoved Artest. Artest would have gotten a flagrant foul and Ben would have probably gotten ejected.

Like another poster said, Artest was on the bench showboating (behaving my ass) and the fans reacted by tossing a cup of beer at him.

Tough!
You don't go into the stands. Unless the guy ran out and hit Artest...I don't see the reason for him to rush up there.

[THUNDER HANDS]

35. exactly

Artest started this. Really. The guy needs to be banned from the league because next time he could kill somebody. He's a disgrace to professional sports.

[jdj]

40. I've never been to a pro game, only college games

and only women's games, and only soccer and volleyball and basketball so the world of acceptable beer throwing is unfamiliar to me. And to think what I have been missing.

[sir_captain]

59. The idea that it's acceptable to throw

beer at sports games is complete bullshit. I have been to hundreds and hundreds of pro sporting contests in multiple sports in many many cities and can count the number of beer throwing incidents on one hand, and in each case, they were dealt with immediately by the cops. So yeah, don't worry, it's not nearly as bad as some are making it out to be. :-)

The fans escalated the incident tonight...that's the bottom line.

[DrGonzoLives]

44. Bullshit

It was a hard foul, not intentional. Things like that happen when you go for a dunk. Though I suppose that in your book Wallace was perfectly justified and pushing Artest BY THE NECK eh?

Fans throw stuff all the time? Maybe in pro wrestling, not in basketball.

[THUNDER HANDS]

47. there was 42 seconds left in the game

it was clearly over by then. Artest was just being a punk. And he picked on the wrong mofo.

Fans don't throw stuff all the time, but i'm sure they felt like defending their team. These two teams have a history. Didn't they meet in last year's conference finals?

[TwoHandedLayup]

56. dude

Artest fouled him hard, but not flagrant. He is a punk, but this isn't his fault.

Wallace will sit 10 games easily for starting this. Artest and Stephen Jackson probably longer. Shameful

[mark414]

49. did you see the video?

did you know that the fans had been throwing racial slurs at the pacers all night?

i agree with you, but not in this case. this was ALL the fans.

[THUNDER HANDS]

52. the players are responsible

if i was that fan, Artest would be hearing from my lawyer tomorrow morning.

[mark414]

54. did you see the video?

dude got what he deserved

[THUNDER HANDS]

58. and so will the pummeled guy

once his settlement with Artest comes in. Because the guy with the hat threw the beer. Not the guy in the black shirt.

[TwoHandedLayup]

50. Did you guys watch the game?

2 possesions before Wallace went after Artest, Wallace fouled Artest hard from behind but wasn't called for it. There is already some history there between them. After he fouled Wallace, not flagrantly, Wallace went after him.

Artest was pused into the bench and just laid back and was "showboating" by saying I am cool. I am past it. Wallace threw a towel in his face and kept trying to go after him. A fan threw a bottle of water onto Artest from 4 rows in. Artest flipped, yes he is insane.

He didn't need to go into the stands, but saying it is all on him is wrong. Trust me, I am no fan of his, but there was zero security. Artest is to blame for some of it, but the lack of security is the main responsible party.

It looked like Artest went after the wrong fan. So you are probably right on the lawsuit from him, but Artest should sue the arena and the fan that threw the bottle and then later rabbit punched him in the head.

There is no rationalization for going into the stands, but you can't blame it on Artest completely. Everyone has their breaking points and he was acting normal, not artest normal, but standard behavior for an average person.

The fans were even able to get down on the court after this started and the one guy that came after Artest got what he deserved. Don't mess with an 6'6" behemoth like that.

Disgraceful on the stadium and the Detroit fans that did that. Don't spin this into the players fault. It really wasn't this time.

[jdj]

53. as if that weren't bad enough

the soda and beer pouring at the end, when the players were leaving..

urgghh, I was embarassed FOR them.

[THUNDER HANDS]

55. i agree with you on the lack of security

had this been at MSG, the fan would have been tossed in less than a minute and there'd be 50 cops in riot gear surrounding the court.

[DrGonzoLives]

39. Pistons fans prove again they have no class

Much like Philadelphia fans, they are borderline fans if at all. Most of them are just looking for an excuse to riot.

[Northern Experiment]

60. Come on, not all Pistons fans are like that....

and not all Philly fans are like that.