I think that the comment John Saunders made was very harsh, and hope that he was not referring to all Piston fans. Now, those fans that had a part in that brawl were extremely stupid. Not only did they make the Pistons organization look bad, but they gave the city of Detroit a "black eye". I still have relatives that won't visit Detroit because of its violent reputation and now after seeing that game, it gave them an even worse impression of the city.

The reaction to this event seems to be very different than the reaction to white baseball players going into the stands and fighting people. Also, did you see how Austin Croshere was able to leave without having crap thrown at him. I don't like saying this is a black/white thing, but it is.

The guy that walked onto the court and got decked by Artest was Hispanic so don't make this black vs. white.

O Please, give me a break. Black and White thing? I'll look at the clip again but it could be that the "white" player didn't throw any punches. Do you really think that only the "white" fans were throwing stuff on them?

I don't think this has anything to do with black vs white. It has to do with the NBA pulling a bunch of unstable "boys trying to be men," out of places where they learned to behave this way, and putting them on the court because they can play. Listen to the interviews posted on the MSN video feeds. Rasheed talks like he's from the ghetto. I wouldn't be surprised if he and most of his team WERE!! The "white" player didn't get involved, possibly because he may have been concerned about other things than his dignity and pride. Like not getting the crap kicked out of him. Not to say he can't fight, because I have no proof either way, but would YOU dive into the stands to brawl with 20,000 nut-jobs? Be serious here. I'm sure both the Pistons and the Pacers all have common sense, but when you get mad, all that goes out the window. Croshere wasn't directly involved, so he had a CHANCE to keep his cool and he did. Everyone else went psycho.

Why is it that everytime one of my people (African-Americans) gets involved in something stupid like this, someone has to assume or voice the race card? Sorry, this time, try not looking at this episode as if they represent anyone but themselves. When you act like a "kromagnon" you should be treated like one!

Ron Artest shouldn't have been suspended for the rest of the season.

John Sauncers is a fvucking azzhole. Wow...an astute analysis by some arm-chair, talking head, mealy-mouthed zero who if it wasn't for professional sports would be flipping burgers.

yo u guys this situation is a fact of the world we live in society has changed and changed for the worse i think big ben deserved a stiffer suspension cuz if it werent for him throwing the punch at artest none of this would have happened

The "basketbrawl" situation is a total embarassment to the NBA. Other people blame the fans but I dont. Going into a sporting event you have to expect this kind of stuff from fans especially is alcohol is being sold. Its up to the PROFESSIONAL player to keep his cool. You never see this type of behavior in any other major pro sport. Basketball is slowly falling closer to hockey in national popularity. Im a big sports buff and i dont even know if or when the NBA seasons starts. If 18 year old kid can come straight out of high school and be a star in the NBA, that shows not only the lack of talent in the NBA, but the relativly no mental ability is required to be successful.

Also, when it comes to injuries, basketball players are by far the saddest. Shaq was out fo nearly half the season with a toe injury...a toe injury. Curt Schilling had surgury on hit ankel days before starting a game in the WS, it was his right ankel at that. He pitched a game that will go down in WS history. Football and hockey players play with broken arms, noses etc. The fact is, the NBA and its players are jokes.

I think that big ben should have gotten it worse than he did. Ron Artest would have not gotten suspended for the season and the playoffs if he did not have a marked past. Stern said so himself. You cant make that kind of decision based on someones past. Look at what Artest has done since he was last suspended. All Star, Defesive Player of the year and part of the pacers that lost to who? DETROIT!

I blame the fans in this situation. If they didn't throw something at Ron Artest, this wouldn't have happened. They should have moved some of the Piston home games to a neutral site, or to another city in Michigan to punish Detroit fans.