I would have announced the suspension through the rest of the season and let the players association appeal it. At least the league looks like they are trying to take some serious steps to clean it up.

Clean up what? There hasn't been a real problem with rough play or elbowing fouls this season in the NBA...at least from what I've seen.

I would prefer 7 games or whenever the injured opponent is able to resume play--whichever is longer. That should be the case in all pro sports, but, alas, I am a dreamer.

I could never see any professional league going this route...anyhow Harden was cleared to practice and will probably play Saturday. So in your case, he'd still get the 7 games, and you'd still have people wanting more.

I really like that idea, because it seems to me the biggest injustice with dirty play is when the injured player is out longer than the guilty player's suspension.

I know it probably won't happen, but I still like it.

Vicious ...
 

I've been real busy at work this past week. This is the first time that I've had time to view this. Vicious.

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Arbitration needs a 12-game suspension
 

Precisely. Let them grieve it and let the union argue that an elbow from a professional athlete with a jacked upper body to the temple of someone not defending himself is anything but a) a deliberate attempt to injure and b) potentially lethal.

The players association can only take a suspension in excess of 12 games to an independent arbitrator, so the joke of a commissioner gave him five fewer games, than he could have imposed without worrying about arbitration. 12 games could potentially reach into the third round of the NBE playoffs, tentatively scheduled for sometime around Bastille Day.

I can see not imposing more than the 12 games because it's important that the penalty not be stayed pending appeal.

Stern, of course, has been busy fawning "welcome to the NBE" to the newly ordained owner of the Hornets who just happens to also run a football franchise with a record of paying its players to hurt opponents.

BTW, Kermit Washington got 26 games. Precedence, Mr. Arbitrator. Precedence.

I don't buy that the Saints are the only team to do this, I don't even necessarily buy that they were the worst offenders. They just got caught, IMO (I could be wrong), and happened to be the example the NFL wanted to set.

As bad as this was, it wasn't even close to Washington's sucker punch of Rudy Tomjanovich.

BTW, who is Rick Artest?

The 20th Century ...
 

Hey guys. Many Forum members weren't even born yet in 1977.

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I certainly was born before this and I do remember at least early talking about this play. There was not ESPN or CNN (Even MTV) and 1000 channels on basic cable (or cable at all) to publicize this situation. But I do remember this happening and being talked about a lot in my childhood. Then again the NBA was not live TV in many cases and you only saw a national broadcast at most.

Peace

1977. Like it was yesterday.
 

The film from the Washington-Tomjanovich fight is symptomatic of the ESPN approach to the use of sports video, even though it was a dozen years before ESPN was invented.

It's the highlights and nothing but the highlights. They don't show you Tpmjanovitch running for Washington at a full sprint and Washington looking over his shoulder and seeing an opposing player running at him and punched him.

Yes Washington got what he deserved, but the ESPN-style clips make it look like more vicious than I think it was.

Since we're in the 70s, the worst basketball fight I ever saw was Minnesota vs. An Ohio State University, Luke Witte took a hard foul, then a Minnesota player went to help him up, but kneed Witte in the groin and punched his head, then another Minnesota player came over and stomped on Witte. Another OSU player was attached from behind by Minnesota's very sportsmanlike Dave Winfield (yup). Two Minn players were suspended for the rest of the year

You remember this? I thought you were closer to my age, and I don't remember anything from when I was three.

I am not saying I remember where I was when this happen or remember where it was, but I do remember what was going on before ESPN was a network. My dad would watch every major sporting event on TV, so I tended to hear or see these things on TV.

Peace

:D I don't really remember a whole lot before ESPN started but I do remember life before cable came to my small little town in Iowa. Highlights were what we saw on the news at 10:00.

We didn't follow the NBA that close, so I never heard of the fight until a few years ago.

It was two years, not twelve. :D