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Wow.

It appears the Indiana Pacers will pay a heavy price for Friday's embarrassing melee.

Ron Artest has been suspended for the season, while teammates Stephen Jackson received a 30-game suspension, and Jermaine O'Neal, a 25-game suspension, ESPN.com's Marc Stein and Insider Chad Ford have learned.

"The penalties issued today deal only with one aspect of this incident -- that of player misconduct. The actions of the players involved wildly exceeded the professionalism and self control that should rarely be accepted from NBA players," commissioner David Stern said in a statement Sunday.

The Detroit Pistons will be without Ben Wallace for six games.

Indiana's Anthony Johnson also received a five-game suspension.

Eldon Campbell, Chauncey Billups and Derrick Coleman, as the Pacers' Reggie Miller each received 1-game suspensions and $35,000 fines for leaving the bench following the initial altercation between Wallace and Artest.

"We must ... not allow our sport to be debased by what seems to be declining expectations for behavior by fans and athletes alike," Stern said in the statement.

Artest, O'Neal and Jackson -- who all threw punches at spectators in the stands or on the court at the end of the nationally televised Pacers-Pistons game -- began serving suspensions Saturday night when the league handed down indefinite bans until specific number of games could be decided upon.

The brawl was particularly violent, with Artest and Jackson bolting into the stands near center court and throwing punches at fans after debris was tossed at the players.

Later, fans who came onto the court were punched in the face by Artest and O'Neal.

Wallace began the fracas by delivering a hard, two-handed shove to Artest after Wallace was fouled on a drive to the basket with 45.9 seconds remaining. After the fight ended, the referees called off the remainder of the game. Pacers players were pelted with drinks, popcorn and other debris as they rushed to the locker room. The initial skirmish wasn't all that bad, with Artest retreating to the scorer's table and lying atop it after Wallace sent him reeling backward.

But when a fan tossed a cup at Artest, he stormed into the stands, throwing punches as he climbed over seats.

"He was on top of me, pummeling me," fan Mike Ryan of Clarkston said. "He asked me, 'Did you do it? I said, 'No, man. No!"'

Jackson joined Artest and threw punches at fans, who punched back. At one point, a chair was tossed into the fray.

Security personnel and ushers tried to break it up. Former Pistons player Rick Mahorn, who was seated courtside as a Detroit radio analyst, also stepped in.

Artest was benched for two games this month for asking Pacers coach Rick Carlisle for time off because of a busy schedule that included promoting a rap album.

Artest was suspended twice by the NBA last season, once for leaving the bench during a fracas at a Pacers-Celtics playoff game; the other for elbowing Portland's Derek Anderson. During the 2002-03 season, Artest was suspended five times by the NBA and once by the Pacers for a total of 12 games.

Artest also once grabbed a television camera and smashed it to the ground after a loss to the Knicks two years ago.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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Wow.

It appears the Indiana Pacers will pay a heavy price for Friday's embarrassing melee.

Ron Artest has been suspended for the season, while teammates Stephen Jackson received a 30-game suspension, and Jermaine O'Neal, a 25-game suspension, ESPN.com's Marc Stein and Insider Chad Ford have learned.

"The penalties issued today deal only with one aspect of this incident -- that of player misconduct. The actions of the players involved wildly exceeded the professionalism and self control that should rarely be accepted from NBA players," commissioner David Stern said in a statement Sunday.

The Detroit Pistons will be without Ben Wallace for six games.

Indiana's Anthony Johnson also received a five-game suspension.

Eldon Campbell, Chauncey Billups and Derrick Coleman, as the Pacers' Reggie Miller each received 1-game suspensions and $35,000 fines for leaving the bench following the initial altercation between Wallace and Artest.

"We must ... not allow our sport to be debased by what seems to be declining expectations for behavior by fans and athletes alike," Stern said in the statement.

Artest, O'Neal and Jackson -- who all threw punches at spectators in the stands or on the court at the end of the nationally televised Pacers-Pistons game -- began serving suspensions Saturday night when the league handed down indefinite bans until specific number of games could be decided upon.

The brawl was particularly violent, with Artest and Jackson bolting into the stands near center court and throwing punches at fans after debris was tossed at the players.

Later, fans who came onto the court were punched in the face by Artest and O'Neal.

Wallace began the fracas by delivering a hard, two-handed shove to Artest after Wallace was fouled on a drive to the basket with 45.9 seconds remaining. After the fight ended, the referees called off the remainder of the game. Pacers players were pelted with drinks, popcorn and other debris as they rushed to the locker room. The initial skirmish wasn't all that bad, with Artest retreating to the scorer's table and lying atop it after Wallace sent him reeling backward.

But when a fan tossed a cup at Artest, he stormed into the stands, throwing punches as he climbed over seats.

"He was on top of me, pummeling me," fan Mike Ryan of Clarkston said. "He asked me, 'Did you do it? I said, 'No, man. No!"'

Jackson joined Artest and threw punches at fans, who punched back. At one point, a chair was tossed into the fray.

Security personnel and ushers tried to break it up. Former Pistons player Rick Mahorn, who was seated courtside as a Detroit radio analyst, also stepped in.

Artest was benched for two games this month for asking Pacers coach Rick Carlisle for time off because of a busy schedule that included promoting a rap album.

Artest was suspended twice by the NBA last season, once for leaving the bench during a fracas at a Pacers-Celtics playoff game; the other for elbowing Portland's Derek Anderson. During the 2002-03 season, Artest was suspended five times by the NBA and once by the Pacers for a total of 12 games.

Artest also once grabbed a television camera and smashed it to the ground after a loss to the Knicks two years ago.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

I jsut saw it on the local news.......WOW is right!

Mark

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I think it's pretty fair. Ben Wallace should get more than a 5 game suspension, but certainly not to the extent that O'Neal and Artest deserve.

I think to round it out, however, Detroit should have some sort of time frame of playing in an empty arena, at least until Palace officials can prove that they can provide adequate security. I would add that banning alcohol would help (but considering my experiences with Detroit fans, that probably wouldn't matter.) If it were possible, I think the Pacers should ban the sale of tix to Detroit fans at any game at Conseco--they were disgusting and pathetic when they came here during the playoffs last May (and I'm referring to the women w/children... I won't even comment on the men.)

Edited by rachel
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Obviously not, but I've encountered a hoard of loud-mouthed, drunken mothers with children screaming profanities about how 'they beat the GD, MF'in Pacers' and urging anybody (with palms up, waving fingers) to 'bring it on'....Yeah, they were Detroit fans and this was in the ladies restroom at Conseco. I think if you took a poll here (by 'here' I mean Indy, not this board, obviously ^_^ ), and included the guy in charge of ticket sales, they would probably agree with me.

It would just mean more tix for us....

Edited by rachel
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I think it's pretty fair. Ben Wallace should get more than a 5 game suspension, but certainly not to the extent that O'Neal and Artest deserve.

I think to round it out, however, Detroit should have some sort of time frame of playing in an empty arena, at least until Palace officials can prove that they can provide adequate security. I would add that banning alcohol would help (but considering my experiences with Detroit fans, that probably wouldn't matter.) If it were possible, I think the Pacers should ban the sale of tix to Detroit fans at any game at Conseco--they were disgusting and pathetic when they came here during the playoffs last May (and I'm referring to the women w/children... I won't even comment on the men.)

:tup

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I think a 6 game suspension for Ben is fair. His reaction was over the top, but Artest's foul was really hard. Pushing someone in the neck is not cool.

Fans from all teams can be stupid. I've had my share of abuse as an MSU fan at Michigan football games and such. Alcohol + competitive sport = people acting like idiots.

On a side note, what's up with Rip lately? He's missing shots like crazy in tonight's game against Charlotte. His missed a whole bunch the other night against the Pacers, too.

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Here's another reason why Artest is not going to get any mercy:

Artest was benched for two games this month for asking Pacers coach Rick Carlisle for time off because of a busy schedule that included promoting a rap album.

Artest was suspended twice by the NBA last season, once for leaving the bench during a fracas at a Pacers-Celtics playoff game; the other for elbowing Portland's Derek Anderson. During the 2002-03 season, Artest was suspended five times by the NBA and once by the Pacers for a total of 12 games.

Artest also once grabbed a television camera and smashed it to the ground after a loss to the Knicks two years ago.

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but Artest's foul was really hard.

True, it was a hard foul, but it wasn't flagrant. Detroit, of all teams, shouldn't be surprised by 'hard fouls'.

  Pushing someone in the neck is not cool.

Nor is getting punched from behind... Just ask Fred Jones who got cold-cocked by Ben Wallace's brother.

As for fans everywhere getting ramped up.... I've been to quite a few NBA games in other cities. I still stand by my assessment. I guess my point is that I expect better behavior from mothers who are taking their children to the bathroom and was quite shocked that they would be inciting fights like that. Did I mention it was in front of their children?

Edited by rachel
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But when a fan tossed a cup at Artest, he stormed into the stands, throwing punches as he climbed over seats.

"He was on top of me, pummeling me," fan Mike Ryan of Clarkston said. "He asked me, 'Did you do it? I said, 'No, man. No!"'

If this is the first guy Artest went after, then there's no doubt he's telling the truth that he didn't throw the cup in the first place. Just watch the video.

The dude has a cup in his hand as Artest comes after him. :g

Guess Artest has lots of time to work on promoting the rap album now. :ph34r:

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It's not just that Artest's foul was hard and from behind. He let Wallace go by him unchallenged in the final seconds of a blowout before going in to foul him from behind. It appeared as though he only let Wallace go by so that he could foul him from behind. To my mind, he was clearly trying to instigate something, and end up getting a lot more than what he asked for.

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I thought about the suspensions and game of basketball.

This is entertainment.

I really don't want to see Artest out for the season and mess-up the Pacer team because some fans got him excited.

I think he should be FINED millions, but let him play. Supposedly, he'll lose about 5 million, since he won't play the rest of the season. Why not FINE him 4 million and let him play.

We still want to be entertained. Play basketball. It was only a small fight.

It's not like Tyson, where he bit someone's ear.

Same with the O'Neal and Jackson suspensions. Just FINE them heavily. They will get the message. 30 games and 25 games??? Way too many IMO.

Why wreck the entire PACER team. The fans from Detroit will love the fact that they were able to mess-up the entire PACER team.

How does this help the sport? Key player don't play - so who wants to watch? This is just entertainment. It's not the OLYMPICS, where honor and pride are at stake.

It's a tough sport. We watch, because the players are tough.

If a movie star gets in trouble, does the industry ban him?

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Tjazz,

You've got to be kidding. As a professional athlete, he needs to let the security guards handle this and he has to show some restraint. This is not about entertainment but about law and order, so to speak. He goes into the stands and beats up on some guy. Not only does he deserve to be suspended but he'll probably be doing some jail time also. It's too bad they couldn't kick him out of the game for that kind of conduct.

Mess up the Pacer team. This thug needs to know that there are laws about battering people. This is no different than Tyson.

Next time somebody thinks about going into the stands, they'll think twice.

Instead of thinking about this in sports terms, think about it as person to person. If someone did this to you, that person would get the book thrown at him by the authorities.

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How much jail time do you want for a couple of punches?

Gee, lets lock everybody up.

Let's sue everybody.

The courts and jails are pretty full.

I'm not saying he does NO time on suspension. But there have been WORST fights in MBA history. Broken jaws.... Some real hard hitting.

Ben Wallace shoved Artest in the neck. Ben didn't take a swing at Artest. Usually, a swing is considered worst than a shove. 5 games???? for a shove.

Like I said, he didn't BITE. Artest threw some wild punches. WILD, he didn't break a jaw or cause serious injury. IMO

Where's the blood?

Just like I don't think it's equal for a drink to cause a fist in the face. Artest should have throw gatorade at the fans. He was wrong to jump into the crowd.

We're only talking about it beacuse it's entertainment. Sports is entertainment.

Edited by Tjazz
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...bobetterblues at JC made a great point that if someone threw a drink on someone at a bar the person who threw the drink would be due an ass whooping.

There are so many potential variables in that scenario that to unequivicolly reach that single conclusion is really pretty dumb.

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However, bobetterblues at JC made a great point that if someone threw a drink on someone at a bar the person who threw the drink would be due an ass whooping.

I didn't see any ass-whooping?

Some wild punches. Course, he probably hit the wrong guy too. I'm not sure why Artest hit the second guy. Maybe some words were exchanged?

I'm sure if this goes to court, Artest will plead that he went mental after he was shoved by Ben Wallace.

Let's see, when movie stars hit people (paparazi? I can't really spell) do they get away with it? Usually in the court system, what happens?

What happens in the court system when a music star shoots someone?

Now you think the court system is going to do something with a basketball player? What happened with Kobe?

Edited by Tjazz
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I don't know, was Spreewell suspended for 73 games after his choking incident? If so, then I would agree the 73 games for Artest is about right.

As for the other Pacers?

I couldn't figure out why O'Neal and Jackson were jumping into the fans and throwing punches.

Edited by Tjazz
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I'm not sure why Artest hit the second guy. Maybe some words were exchanged?

During a fan riot, a fan goes on the court and approaches you.

Its called defending yourself.

******************************

I guess we should be glad that no one at the arena was armed:

Five hunters gunned down in Wisconsin woods

Police: Dispute over deer stand apparently led to killings

Monday, November 22, 2004 Posted: 3:24 AM EST (0824 GMT)

(CNN) -- Sheriff's deputies are investigating the killings of five hunters Sunday in northwest Wisconsin -- bloodshed apparently sparked by a dispute over a hunting spot. A suspect has been arrested.

"This is completely nuts," said Chief Deputy Tim Zeigle of the Sawyer County Sheriff's Department. "Why? I mean, five people dead because somebody was trespassing on property. It makes no sense."

Three others were wounded, said Julie Veness, an emergency medical technician in Exeland, Wisconsin.

Saturday marked the opening of the nine-day deer season, and Veness said the shootings appeared to stem from a dispute over a deer stand -- an elevated position from which hunters can target deer.

"Apparently, the person was asked to leave and get out of his deer stand, and he didn't take it very well and he fired away at them," she said.

The suspect apparently got lost in the woods after the rampage. He was led out by a pair of hunters who were not aware of the shootings, according to Zeigle.

"We were very thankful to take him into custody. No one else got hurt," Zeigle said. "When he was taken into custody, his gun was empty."

Jennifer Greshowak, a spokeswoman for Lakeview Medical Center in Rice Lake, said three men from the same hunting party were brought to that facility after suffering gunshot wounds. One of the three was transferred to a hospital in nearby Marshfield, she said.

The other two -- identified by relatives as Denny Drew and Lauren Hesebeck -- were recovering from surgery at Lakeview. Drew was in serious condition, while Hesebeck was listed in fair condition, their families said in a statement issued Sunday night.

"Our families certainly appreciate the thoughts and prayers of this close-knit community, and encourage you to think and pray for the other families involved," the statement said.

Veness said the killings have shocked Exeland, a village of 219 people about 135 miles northeast of Minneapolis.

"It just doesn't happen in this neck of the woods," she said. "We don't expect any of this to happen."

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