Everybody has to be held accountable, the players and fans. First of all, no fan should be throwing things. What if a fan threw something that hurt somebody or hit a kid nearby? Secondly, Artest knew what hit him was a cup of beer, not something dangerous. A player should never go into the stands for any reason. He should have alerted the security to have those fans dealt with. The whole mess would have been avoided. However, as I mentioned already, having Ben Wallace going psycho on ya just before (not that strong of a foul) and then throwing his headband at him didn't make Artest in the most calm of states. He was amped and the cup was something that pushed him over the edge. And we all know Artest is always on the edge of insanity anyway.

The one fan that was one the court deserved everything he got in my opinion. From looking at the tape, he was confronting Artest and doing a little shimmy shake like he was gearing to fight and yelling at him. Does this guy understand how big Artest is? Obviously, that guy is a complete idiot! Just as the players shouldn't go into the stands, the fans shouldn't enter the court. Once you do, it's all for yourself. I'm thinking that devastating right hand from Jermaine O'Neal made that guy not want to come onto the court again. I think O'Nea's suspension is too harsh. Maybe because I know him being a Blazer fan and all but that fan deserved the George Foreman bomb. He was lucky O'Neal slipped or his face would have been completely rearranged.

The Detroit fans are a disgrace! How many people kept it going by throwing the whole kitchen at the players as they left?

This does seem like an isolated case for basketball and the suspensions are so severe that it makes the players a little more fretful of the situation. Punishment though has to be rendered to the fans as well.

There is a Christmas day game Detroit at Indiana. How about that? Just when you thought nothing could overshadow the Kobe vs. Shaq game that day. Something has to be done about the preparation of that game.

How did the presence of alcohol play a role in this fight? You had to be piss drunk to go onto the court to confront Ron Artest. He only stands 6 ft 7, 245 lbs of muscle..... yet alone that he's more wacko than Michael Jackson.

___________________
Yankees
Rams
Blazers
Man U
Oregon Ducks