Originally posted on Dec. 19, 2006.

^.^

Alrighty, by now, we all have heard about the basketbrawl game between the Denver Nuggets and the New York Knicks. Lots of stuff happened, lots of players got suspended, and both teams got fined $500,000.

However, what may not have been apparent was the sort of "secret" fight that started at the game, and has continued since.

See, Denver was ahead going into the final minutes of thegame, yet they still had their star players in the lineup. This infuriated Knicks coach Isiah Thomas, who thought that Denver was trying to run up the score. At one point, Thomas apparently told a Denver star player that he should not be in the game...apparently forgetting that he was the coach of the Knicks, not the Nuggets.

Anyway, apparently Isiah Thomas told Mardy Collins to blatantly foul J.R. Smith, and from that point, the proverbial excrement hit the fan.

Knicks coach Isiah Thomas certainly did his ball club no favors by exacting revenge on the court, and if he is not fined by the NBA, then something is wrong. But the supposed running up of the score in that game was *his* fault, not the Denver Nuggets, and not their coach George Karl. The blame for this debacle can be put squarely on the shoulders of Isiah Thomas, and the looser has-been basketball team that the Knicks have become. As Yahoo sports writer Dan Wetzel put it:

"If (Nate) Robinson really wants this to end, if he wants the MSG boos silenced, then he should get his teammates to compete hard the first 46 minutes, not just foul hard in the final two.

If Thomas wants to stop people from running up the score on him, then he should have built a better club. He shouldn't have wasted all that money on illogical signings, outrageous trades and heartless characters.

No, Thomas and his guys weren't the only ones in the wrong Saturday. The Nuggets have their own issues. But when it was over, at least they weren't crying, at least they weren't punking. "

And don't get me wrong...I'm not in the tank for the Denver Nuggets. In fact, the only time I follow the NBA is when something this insane happens, and to me, these things are just one more example of something that could be a role-model for kids, turned into Saturday Night at the Fight Club.

People expect bloody brawls at hockey games, and the occasional football game. Heck, the fans make more trouble in international soccer, and even sedate games such as baseball have their share of brawls.

I imagine soon that they'll start advertising golf as an oportunity to cave someone's head in with a metal club. How about bowling...ever try shot-putting a bowling ball at someone?

I echo the sentiments of Mr. Wetzel...if Isiah Thomas was so concerned about being embarrassed, then perhaps he should build a team that is not such an embarassment. When the University of Wyoming football team got slaughtered this year by BYU, I didn't see football coach Joe Glenn whine and cry about it. We got beat by a high-calibre team, and we went forward about our business.

Perhaps the pros need to learn something from the college-level sports they spend so much money recruiting from.

---
John B.
Blog Guy

BACK