Knicks-Nuggets megabrawl??

Does a fan feel ripped off when a player blows their knee out the game before the game they have a ticket for? Life sucks sometimes. Anthony deserved what he got.

 

Yeah, Jeffries would've punched Anthony back if that guy didn't hold him back.

Question: Do you think this suspension can come as a blessing in disguise for Anthony? The reason I ask this question is because today I heard that LeBron said that feeling fatigued. Earlier in the season, DWade said the same thing. Playing in the summer does takes a toll on you. Could this suspension help Anthony freshen his legs up for later in the season/playoffs?

 

Well, lookie what popped up in my e-mail...

Stern disgraced himself and the league today. Those weren't suspensions. They're mini-vacations. If the league is serious about eliminating fighting in the sport, make an example out of these knuckleheads. If Anthony knew he could receive a 30 game suspension, does he slapunch(TM) Collins? Probably not. Does "Little" Nate Robinson run around like a wanna-be tough guy if the threat of a season long suspension hangs over his head? Doubtful. Does Jared Jeffries choke Anthony and then try to go after him if he knows he'll miss 25 games? Nope.

The next time--oh, and there will be a next time. Count on it--something like this happens, Stern owes it to the league to make an example out of a player.

Don't even get me started on Isiah...

 

Carmelo DOES NOT deserve to miss 15 games. Fights happen. The fight between Michael Barrett and AJ PerICAN'TSPELLHISNAMEWITHOUTGOOGLE was much worse, and neither of them missed an equivlant time.
Jermaine O'Neal punched a fan last year and missed 15 games.
David Stern is on a power trip, and it's ridiculous.
Fights happen in sports. It wasn't a sucker punch, he was being chided. Five games would have been sufficient.

 

Sorry, HB, Stern was spot on with his actions today. Suspensions are fair. Since he can't prove Isiah's role, fining the franchises is the only way to go.

 

I'm not really sure why the reaction to the NBA is stiffer. Maybe it's because that sports is most associated with the negative stereotypes of the "hip-hop" (read black) culture. But in football and baseball it's not like it's always white guys going at it, so I'm not sure the race argument totally holds water here.

I think a big part of this is because the Palace debacle is still lingering and because of the team (Knicks) and player (Carmelo) involved. A year or two ago when that reliever for the Rangers, Cordero (?) threw that chair that hit the fan in Oakland (?) there certainly wasn't as much outrage and he wasn't white and that was a far worse incident than this one, IMO. I think that type of instance backs up my point on it being the people involved that makes the greatest impact.

 

When did Jeffries choke Anthony?

 

O'Neal was suspended for 25, Stern can't help that 10 games got knocked off in an appeal. And you really can't compare the two instances, just completely different circumstances.
Stern is on a power trip. Not sure this proves that though.
That wasn't a sucker punch? Let's say you're at a bar and you have words with a guy. Say it gets separated and you think everythings over. Then you get punched from the side by one of the guy's buddies. And for the hell of it, let's say he doesn't hit like a bitch... when your picking your teeth up off the floor you'd probably be inclined to say getting punched by someone when you aren't looking at them would qualify as a sucker punch.

 

When both teams were on the baseline, out of bounds. The NYT had a photo of Jeffries' hand on Anthony's neck.

 

Oh my bad, didn't see that.

 

Just for DyePack:

NYT piece on how fighting has been cut back in the NHL.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/19/sports/hockey/19hockey.html?ref=sports

 

I wouldn't exactly call this Jeffries "choking" Melo. Hand on neck, maybe...not choking.



And can we please stop the stupid hockey fights/basketball fights debate.
Can somebody provide me with the following stats, please: Number of fights in hockey games this season and number of fights in NBA games this season.

The difference is hockey allows players to go toe-to-toe and punch/slap/wrestle for 5 or 10 minutes, then slaps them on the wrist and sends them off ice for a 10-minute time out.
The NBA does not allow players to punch each other out once or twice a week, as they do in the NHL.