playstation
Selfless Service
J.A. Adande, The L.A. Times
"The severity of punishments delivered to Ron Artest (out for the rest of the season), Stephen Jackson (30 games) and Jermaine O'Neal (25 games) for their behavior in the brawl near the end of their game at Detroit on Friday night is Stern's way of persuading the ticket-buying masses to come back to a sport that has fallen out of favor.
If his punishment for Latrell Sprewell attacking his coach was suspension for a full calendar year (later reduced to the rest of the season after the players' union appealed), Stern had to show he takes an assault on fans just as seriously.
He knows the league's hurting. He can read the TV ratings. Even worse, he gets the daily news clips, increasingly filled with ill-advised behavior and outrageous quotes from his players. The league's marquee franchise, the Lakers, imploded from an overabundance of egos. One of its brightest stars was just booed at an awards show, and still has to contend with a civil suit stemming from a sexual encounter two summers ago. Now its defending champion was a part of the Friday melee."
now here come the suns. young, energetic, play the right way, almost showtime-esque, 5th largest city in the US. They work hard, don't make waves, etc. what do you think?
"The severity of punishments delivered to Ron Artest (out for the rest of the season), Stephen Jackson (30 games) and Jermaine O'Neal (25 games) for their behavior in the brawl near the end of their game at Detroit on Friday night is Stern's way of persuading the ticket-buying masses to come back to a sport that has fallen out of favor.
If his punishment for Latrell Sprewell attacking his coach was suspension for a full calendar year (later reduced to the rest of the season after the players' union appealed), Stern had to show he takes an assault on fans just as seriously.
He knows the league's hurting. He can read the TV ratings. Even worse, he gets the daily news clips, increasingly filled with ill-advised behavior and outrageous quotes from his players. The league's marquee franchise, the Lakers, imploded from an overabundance of egos. One of its brightest stars was just booed at an awards show, and still has to contend with a civil suit stemming from a sexual encounter two summers ago. Now its defending champion was a part of the Friday melee."
now here come the suns. young, energetic, play the right way, almost showtime-esque, 5th largest city in the US. They work hard, don't make waves, etc. what do you think?
