Thou shalt not question the NBA rule book

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• Ryan Jones Posted: May.16 at 8:43 am
  Hi Sam.

• K22C Posted: May.16 at 8:49 am
  Hi Ryan and Sam.

• Slobodan Chutzpah Posted: May.16 at 8:53 am
  I couldn’t agree more. Disgusted is exactly how I feel (as does Mr Nash) after everything that has happened in this series. Also, one thing that’s been mostly overlooked is that the whole “matter of correctness” argument is revealed as complete bullshit when you consider that Duncan and Bowen left the bench in the very same game in a situation involving Elson and James Jones. Different brand of “correctness” for different teams, it seems. I’ve already vowed to skip the rest of these playoffs out of sheer disgust for the league.

• Ryan Jones Posted: May.16 at 8:56 am
  The phrase “they painted themselves into a corner” was invented for this exact situation. As my good friend Samuel points out, the League admittedly doesn’t care about fairness (which should be the most important thing from a sporting perspective), nor does it apparently care about putting the best product on the court (which should be the most important thing from an entertainment perspective). They care about their rules and the appearance of consistency, which is ironic when you consider this is a League in which the most famous shot in postseason history involved a blatant offensive foul that wasn’t called, a League that has long been defined by things like “make-up calls” and the preferential treatment given its star players by its officials. With all due respect to my other good friend Russell (nice work by your boys last night, by the way), the League blew this one not because of the decision it made, but because it left itself no choice BUT to make this decision.
  Maybe David Stern isn’t as smart as I thought. Either that, or, in spite of all this, we’re still all talking about it and (except for Sam) we’ll all be watching tonight. In which case, maybe David Stern is smarter than I thought. Either way, f*ck him.

• Decs Posted: May.16 at 8:57 am
  Hey guys

• Sparker Posted: May.16 at 8:57 am
  f*ck the nba. f*ck stu jackson. f*ck david stern.

• K22C Posted: May.16 at 8:57 am
  SAM STOP HATING!

• Slobodan Chutzpah Posted: May.16 at 8:59 am
  The Suns should break out a lil’ something I like to call Jalen Rose for Game 5. He could go for 36 points, all on three-pointers.

• ATrain Posted: May.16 at 8:59 am
  Stern just wants to avert attention from giving the MVP to Dirk. So he goes and ruins the best series left.

• alan p Posted: May.16 at 8:59 am
  Well, it really just makes no sense. So much for the conspiracy theories that the L was manipulating the refs for the Spurs to lose.

• Decs Posted: May.16 at 9:00 am
  David Stern has been on a power trip for too long now. He must be stop. Anyone got the Power Rangers number?

• K22C Posted: May.16 at 9:02 am
  Here is a picture I found of Sam
  - http://www.chicagorooter.com/BABY_CRYING.gif

• Clockwork Posted: May.16 at 9:07 am
  Did Horry deliver in the clutch? Hell yes!Seriously though, the Suns are f*cked. And since I’m tired of the Spurs, of Bowen compensating for his decline by kicking and grabbing, of the French media of hyping Parker as the greatest player since MJ, and of grouchy Pop, I’ll be rooting for the Jazz (actually, if it weren’t for Timmy D and Finley, I think people would absolutely HATE the Spurs). Utah in the Finals! Against Chicago!! So many memories…

• Joel O's Posted: May.16 at 9:08 am
  Yeah. I hope Nash goes off for 50 points AND 20 assists.

• K22C Posted: May.16 at 9:10 am
  they wont even score 90 points Joel, it would be sweet if he did, but i don’t see anyone doing that.

• Ryan Jones Posted: May.16 at 9:11 am
  “The Suns should break out a lil’ something I like to call Jalen Rose for Game 5.” I know it’s early, but Slobo gets my vote for Quote of the Day.

• 1hush D Posted: May.16 at 9:11 am
  K22C…..now you are the David Stern Sack Daddy! Sparker hat trick - with you! This is where the Players Union should be stepping in. B Hunter should say, “you know what - here is what we are going to do - boycott the game. That is, now the Suns will not turn out. It will be a move that will fire a shot across the bow of that asshole David Stern. The lost revenue, or threat of it, will wake the League up like never before and have a lasting impact.” - I know it will not happen but it should.

• Rod Strickland Posted: May.16 at 9:11 am
  It’s Pat Burke time!

• Joel O's Posted: May.16 at 9:12 am
  AWESOM-O says: “Weak! Lame!”

• K22C Posted: May.16 at 9:15 am
  @1hush D- I am not being anyone’s “sack daddy”, I just think things went down how they should have and its time to get off it and just watch game 5. I am a little tired of everyone being up on the sun’s sh*t all of a sudden

• 1hush D Posted: May.16 at 9:16 am
  Seriously now. I own DumpDavidStern.com but I need a webpage wizard to get the content cracking……..let’s do it. I HATE YOU STERNBOT!

• Boyd Posted: May.16 at 9:19 am
  I JUST POSTED THE FOLLOWING COMMENT ON A ‘CONTACT THE NBA’ LINK AT THE BOTTOM OF NBA.COM I ADVISE EVERY ONE WHO HAS A MEANINGFUL ASSOCIATION WITH THE GAME OF BASKETBALL TO DO THE SAME:
  Your actions regarding the suspension of Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw are utterly contemptable. You have rewarded the aggressive and dangerous play of one team by suspending two men who did not throw a punch or even touch another player. I realise rules are rules, but common sense is a virtue, and by taking the destiny of the NBA title into your own hands rather than letting it being played on a basketball court (you are a basketball league, after all) is an excercise in extreme stupidity and ineptitude. I can not expressly strongly enough the profound disgust of many of the fans of the NBA. Should San Antonio win the NBA title, there will forever be an asterisk by it noting that the NBA allowed them to kick, knee, and bodycheck opponents with virtually no punishment, handing them a crucial series through abhorrent decision making. This affair rightly tarnishes the respect many people have for your league, and hopefully will result in a great decline in interest, as it should, given that we expect to see basketball players compete for the title, not front office decision makers. I have followed the NBA for fifteen years, and can say without doubt I have never been more insulted by the ineptitude and idiocy of the league for deciding to judge in black and white an area that was unequivecolly grey. The NBA should be deeply ashamed by its actions. You may have permanently tarnished your reputation if San Antonio go on to win the title, and no extent of criticism and blame is unwarranted. The repugnance of your actions is immeasurable.

• K22C Posted: May.16 at 9:20 am
  spamming is bad boyd.

• Alex Posted: May.16 at 9:24 am
  I have an idea what the League can do to change the rule when it comes to this type of incidents. And this will probably would only apply for playoff situations. Instead of suspending the player who actually started the fight, which in most cases is some scrub bench player, let opposing team’s coach to pick the player he wants to be suspended from the offender’s team. So in this case, Suns would be allowed to pick Tim Duncan or Parker to be suspended. What’s the point of suspending Horry? That’s no punishment. What I would do with actual offender is let him play but duck his paycheck.Nobody loves to go to work for free. Now thats a punishment. I think this would fit perfectly for the NBA’s military type of mindset. Just like in army, when one guy mess up, they make an entire squad scrub the toilet. If they implement this rule, I bet you next time Horry type of player think twice about starting something if he knew that would cause his superstar player miss the game. Duncan himself would kick the crap out of Horry right there on the court.

• H to the izzo Posted: May.16 at 9:30 am
  Ryan,what is this blatant offensive foul you speak of,surely you’re not accusing the NBA of having special rules for their star players? I second Rod Strickland

• Slobodan Chutzpah Posted: May.16 at 9:34 am
  Why, thanks, Jonesy.

• H to the izzo Posted: May.16 at 9:40 am
  Its Pat Burke time has to be another candidate for quote of the day

• 1hush D Posted: May.16 at 9:47 am
  I think a one game suspension of Horry would have been tolerable. But you cannot seriously believe that suspending Diaw and Amare is how it should have gone down. Get real. Since when do we follow the letter of the law over the intent? Cops give warnings for traffic violations. Judges consider intent not just the letter of the law for punishment. Why can’t the league think? Stern wants to tell players what they can or cannot wear and say and acts like a contemporary slave master ruling over his “boys”. It has to stop!

• neaorin Posted: May.16 at 9:51 am
  Stupid rules are meant to be changed. Here’s a hint: life’s not fair. Here’s another: there are plugins for Wordpress which enable preview for comments.

• Darren Walsh Posted: May.16 at 9:54 am
  Didnt Miami get rewarded in 97 for starting a fight? Half of the knicks were suspended for two games for leaving the bench. If the suns got away with this, it would open the door for other players to protest in the future.

• solly what Posted: May.16 at 9:55 am
  I hope the Spurs lose this game on purpose so that everyone can quit crying. Then they’ll obvi come back and win the last two. Just to show all of the haters and whiners. Spurs in 7

• 1hush D Posted: May.16 at 10:02 am
  why would they lose this game on purpose when this was their plan all along. “Ok bob, you check the f*!k out of Nash and send a message that we are not afraid to hurt somebody.”

• Chris O'Leary Posted: May.16 at 10:09 am
  You know how a championship team looks back and can point to a game where they knew they were going to win it all? If there weren’t suspensions, game four could have been it for the Suns. If they pull this one out tonight, the Sternbot can oil up his armpits and get ready to bring the Larry O’B. to Phoenix. Steve Nash makes things happen.

• Pete Posted: May.16 at 10:15 am
  This article is indicative of how the Spurs haters are coming out of the woodwork, like conservatives….it is not the crime, but whodunit! Steve Nash has a habit of crowding players and when he gets up close and personal he is going to get kneed by the only knee you can move without being called for traveling. He gets bopped on the nose and you feel pity for the Suns; he gets elbowed, and it is the biggest crime in NBA history, Rudy Tomjanovich-Kermit Washington and Kevin McHale notwithstanding. Overnight, the NBA team whom Shaq labelled as soft have become the Oakland Raiders of the BB world. How silly can this guy get!

• slate Posted: May.16 at 10:30 am
  Even though I’m a Spurs fan, I don’t want them to win this series without Amare(or Diaw).I know rules are rules,but come on commish!The first order of business this off season has to be revamping this “leaving the bench during an altercation” rule.Judge it on a case by case scenario and let the video cameras do the rest.Any fool knows when someone has bad intentions or is a peacemaker.Don’t you think David STERN (and I mean STERN!)went a little too far to prove to Tim Duncan that the Spurs get a fair shake.Hey Timmy I didn’t know you had power like THAT! F*#K the refs when you can have the commish lookin’ out for you.

• 1hush D Posted: May.16 at 10:31 am
  the L could have not suspended them and changed the rule. This is not about rules it is about idiots. And at the helm of the NBA, IDIOTS RULE!

• Westah Posted: May.16 at 10:32 am
  That article is one of the most rediculous things I have ever wasted my time on! The ruling is set in stone. It is set in stone to prevent the escalation of incidents. The line was drawn, and at this time must be held. There has to be responsibilty for the players to abide by the rules. The rule is intact to prevent people from acting on pure adrenalyn and emotion. When you find your self not doing so you get a one game suspension. There should be no arguement here. They broke a rule, they messed up, Horry messed up. Those are the people who are responsible.
  Now for other rediculous commnents made in that rambling article. The tainted league because highschool players are not allowed in the league. Please, college games are not hurting these kids. If anything I think the league should require a minimum age and minimum education level of say an associates degree (2 year degree). Please that Duncan gets touch fouls, you can say that about every player on a team you are not rooting for! Superstars seemingly get respect on calls. He may get away w/ calls but no more then your other MVP front runners of Dirk and Nash. The l;eague is not tainted because of the icidents you named. The only thing tainted is the Slam paying someone money to write an article of such ignorance.

• darren Posted: May.16 at 10:35 am
  Send Pat Burke out there in the first quarter to punch Duncan…Duncan will most likely retaliate causing him to be to be ejected not only from game 5 but also earning him an automatic game 6 suspension. There you happy now David Stern, Stu Jackson? It wouldn’t be fair to the Spurs but it would be the correct thing to do.

• StephenJacksonLovesOakland Posted: May.16 at 10:41 am
  ^Seeing Pat Burke play enforcer like that would be priceless. Maybe he can kick someone in the achilles while he’s at it.

• rob stewart Posted: May.16 at 10:47 am
  Will we finally get to see Jalen put in some work? Hope Burke gets atleast 15 mins and Jalen 20mins.

• Steve Posted: May.16 at 10:52 am
  Waaaa! Waaaa! Waaaa! Waaaa! For God’s sake shut up, quit whining and play the game already. As long as you blame others for your own stupid mistakes you will never be winners.
  Should call it Valley of the Dumb…

• allenp Posted: May.16 at 10:53 am
  The letter of the law is followed much more often than the intent. Didn’t ESPN just do a huge story about that black kid who was got convicted of child molestation because he had oral sex with a girl two years younger than him? I don’t remember the same type of outrage on the Slam message boards over that one. I guess it doesn’t push the same buttons.

• Co Co Posted: May.16 at 10:58 am
  I still feel like I felt yesterday, I think its unfortunate, but when everyone talks about how great the Suns are they give 95.9% credit to Steve Nash. Everyone knows Amare is a great player, but it has been implied that he’s only that good because of Stevie. So I say this is where we get to see if Stevie is as good as advertised or if he’s as good as the players around him. He does still have at least one All-Star left and the best bench player. He’s the two-time MVP, now more than ever we get to see what’s up with lil homie.

• Rod Strickland Posted: May.16 at 10:59 am
  I’d like to see Pat Burke rip out Bruce Bowen’s heart and hand it to him. And then he could drain a three because he has to play offense too. Is Shawn Marion secretly giddy right now?

• Ryan Jones Posted: May.16 at 11:03 am
  Good news guys — this lady explains everything, so we can stop posting now: http://youtube.com/watch?v=2EpPe8LS_RQ&feature=dir

• Aaron Posted: May.16 at 11:03 am
  Point blank Steve, Duncan should be out of this game and so should Bowen. How would you feel if that happened? Put the shoe on the other foot and you realize what a joke it is..

• Ryan Jones Posted: May.16 at 11:06 am
  allenp, you make a great point, except for the fact that this website exists primarily to discuss basketball. I’m outraged by social injustice and poverty and the war in Iraq and the destruction of the planet and at least a few other things, but I generally don’t bring them up here, because this is slamonline.com. There are roughly 400 billion other places on the web to address issues like that, so it seems sort of random to get testy about that here.

• The REAL Bronx Bomber Posted: May.16 at 11:06 am
  It’s funn how everybody is crying about Amare and Diaw getting suspended, but guess what he broke the rules. I’m not a fan of either team, and the suspensions were fair. Where was all this outrage 10 years age when the New York Knicks were screwed by this rule. We lost LJ, Ewing, Houston and Starks for Games 6 & 7. We lost that series because of that. Hey even Reggie Miller was got by this rule back at the Palace incident, and he was in street clothes. Everybody is mad because the Suns are probably going to lose this series, damn stop all the damn crying. Oh yeah, why was Jalen Rose dry snithching on tv yesterday about Duncan leaving the bench, he’s such a little girl.

• H to the izzo Posted: May.16 at 11:11 am
  Allenp:Would you bring up the playoffs on a stopglobal warming site forum?

• Kevin Wilson Posted: May.16 at 11:15 am
  Where’s the outrage on the SLAM message boards over Darfur?

• Ryan Jones Posted: May.16 at 11:15 am
  Only girls and wussies and Suns fans care about global warming.

• Sam Rubenstein Posted: May.16 at 11:16 am
  The Knicks were screwed over by that rule 10 years ago, and I felt the same pain you did back then. That doesn’t mean we should want to see it happen to someone else. Why can’t there be someone to decide what the intent was? Why do we have to be so close-minded about rules being rules? David Stern admitted that the Ron Artest suspension was a judgment call that he acted on all by himself. Where is that judgment now?

• Ryan Jones Posted: May.16 at 11:16 am
  Kevin, I thought you should know, Katie Couric smells like ass.

• Sesa Posted: May.16 at 11:17 am
  Does anyone think that Stu Jackson looked like Robert Horry? Probably just my imagination.

• Nadav Mor Posted: May.16 at 11:19 am
  If Amare was on his way to check in to the game, how can they say he left the bench to fight?

• H to the izzo Posted: May.16 at 11:19 am
  Well Ryan you can give me my thong,moisturiser and Pat Burke jersey cause’ I care dammit

• Kevin Wilson Posted: May.16 at 11:20 am
  Ryan, I’ll change the quote. I’m just stealing quotes from NYC comedian Todd Barry … the humor is that the quotes aren’t really introspective at all.

• Ryan Jones Posted: May.16 at 11:22 am
  “caring” is totally gay.+

• H to the izzo Posted: May.16 at 11:25 am
  Why must you do this to me?

• Kevin Wilson Posted: May.16 at 11:25 am
  Nadav, when you check in, you stay out of bounds. You don’t come onto the court until after you’ve checked in. I agree with Ryan that the NBA made the right call via the rules, but it’s painted itself into a corner with the hardline approach … and when the rule does get changed, someone else will say, “You did it just because of Team X” and somebody will violate the new rule in a silly way. Stupid rule or not, Amare and Boris should know the rule and have the sense to not give the NBA a chance to suspend them.

• Nadav Mor Posted: May.16 at 11:31 am
  The rule talks about leaving the bench area. He obviosuly left the bench area, walking towards the scorer’s table, where the fight happend. I dunno, this seasons has been weird.

• sefos Posted: May.16 at 11:33 am
  the sternbot did what he had to, throwing the book at the suns. now the suns gotta do what they gotta do, namely, send pat burke and sean marks into the game to put the beatdown on the bowen crusher and take him out of comission. how in the hell is this guy still playing and doing his evil thing, when EVERYBODY KNOWS he’s a dick?!

• Co Co Posted: May.16 at 11:34 am
  I don’t think the rule is stupid. Like it or not, the only way to keep these things from escalating is to keep EVERYONE that wasn’t already on the court off of it. The refs don’t have time to decide who’s a peacemaker and who’s an instigator and when you have 5 or 6 uninvolved people from each bench coming to one place in the name of peacekeeping or not it will escalate because Team A doesn’t know Team B is coming over to keep the peace. All they see is 5 more guys coming at their guy so they will more than likely feel threatened then everyone will be on the defensive. This situation sucks, but the rule is a necessary evil. In my opionion.

• Steve O Posted: May.16 at 11:35 am
  Clearly the NBA needs to revisit the rules on this one. For all those people who are saying “get over it” put the shoe on the other foot. If Duncan had been suspended for this game you would be lighting up message boards claiming injustice. Because he’s a giant robot that the NBA loves he is immune to any scrutiny. Sam is right the only way to make it “fair” is for some shady calls to be made on The Robot. Futhermore, not suspeneding Bowen after the knee to the groin shows that the NBA clearly does factor intent into some situations. Maybe Stern should unsuspend Joey Crawford and have him officiate the game tonight. That would be the only way to rectify the situation.

• DubsGonDoIt Posted: May.16 at 11:37 am
  Great post Sam, I think you said it all for anybody who wishes the NBA was a fair & unpartial league. Reality wise, the NBA will never be fair. Stern & Jackson seem to be okay with the Spurs being allowed to get away with dirty play & cheating by trying to take out Steve & Amare. The league is obviously okay with a team using cowardly tactics to win the championship, even though it makes half of the fans think this shit is all rigged. Bottom line I could really care less about a Spurs championship. SO GO SUNS, GO JAZZ, GO PISTONS, GO CAVS .. BEAT THE SPURS!!!

• Kevin Wilson Posted: May.16 at 11:40 am
  And then handle it like it was pro wrestling, with Tim Duncan looking and seeing only two refs. Then the lights go down and fireworks and music go off as Crawford enters. Dick Stockton yells, “Oh my GOD, it’s Duncan enemy Joey Crawford.” Then Reggie Miller screams, “Noooooooooooooooo.” Sorry for going Bill Simmons on you guys.

• Ryan Jones Posted: May.16 at 11:40 am
  Kevin, I saw Todd Barry at the Bowery Ballroom a few years ago, some alt-comic thing with Eugene Merman (hit and miss), Demetri Martin (pretty good, I thought), Neil Hamburger (f*cking remarkable) and Patrice O’Neal, who spent most of his set eviscorating the predominantly hipster crowd and is therefore my hero. I still hate Katie Couric, though.

• Ryan Jones Posted: May.16 at 11:41 am
  Hey izzo, asking questions is totally gay, too.

• Steve O Posted: May.16 at 11:42 am
  All they would need is a cage and some folding metal chairs…

• H to the izzo Posted: May.16 at 11:44 am
  A bit of open advice to anyone do NOT ever ever heckle Patrice O’Neal he will take your manhood away from you

• H to the izzo Posted: May.16 at 11:45 am
  Ryan,answering questions is for communists

• Ryan Jones Posted: May.16 at 11:49 am
  Communism is gay.
  And word on Patrice O’Neal. My man is a BEAST.

• Andy Posted: May.16 at 11:49 am
  Spurs to win game 5. Suns to win in 7. Injustice can do great things to a team.

• Feelin' it Posted: May.16 at 11:58 am
  I 150% agree with this collumn. Stu Jackson has to be joking when he says he doesn’t want to determine the outcome of a series. Amare Stoudamire is the only big man for Phoenix that can offset or possibly outplay Duncan and it is not right he is penalized for defending his teammate especially when he did not even escalate the problem…Oh yeah, Diaw should’t be suspended either.

• H to the izzo Posted: May.16 at 11:58 am
  Ryan,Is being straight gay?
  On Patrice O’Neal at the Montreal comedy festival last year it looked like he had no material and basically ripped in his wife for the whole show and was still better than half the comics there

• H to the izzo Posted: May.16 at 11:58 am
  Hows this:I like men(no homo)

• Ryan Jones Posted: May.16 at 11:59 am
  Being hetero is totally homo.

• Fearless Posted: May.16 at 12:03 pm
  why don’t they just suspend the whole suns team for showing up

• Reggie Evans Posted: May.16 at 12:16 pm
  Kevin, the Joey Crawford appearance idea is hilarious … Maybe they should construct a barrier, or some tape or rope around the bench area - if you go over it, it’s obvious you had to break the barrier, which you won’t if you have sense about the rules. Basically, you have to make a conscious effort to break the rules to get suspended for leaving the bench.

• eyehatedirk Posted: May.16 at 12:20 pm
  I somehow get the feeling that Spurs fans are a bunch of Republican’s……….

• Brian Peters Posted: May.16 at 12:26 pm
  The interest of the NBA in actual basketball has swung so far away towards the ‘business’ that the game & sport are no longer important people. This is the latest in an extremely long string of events within the NBA that show D. Stern & Co have no concept of the thought that the quality of the game is what drives the league. There is a difference between the league’s “product” and the game. The game is what made the league…everything outside the actual basketball should be second priority and that is increasingly not the case. The NBA is starting to stand on fragile ground with the actual game quality. I can’t comprehend what this suspension decision is really based on….it seems either very shortsighted or too ‘big picture’ in that perhaps the view was the itegrity of the correctness of the rule interpretation outweighed the value of an equitable series for the Suns. In either case the decision was flawed; (a) in the short term it rewards the Spurs for the possible injury of Steve Nash or (b) it was not correct in applying its own rules as Spurs players were not punished for leaving the bench and other similar plays were left unpunished Going home and cancelling my NBATV subscription as I think speaking with my pocketbook is the only thing that the NBA understands.

• Steve Posted: May.16 at 12:31 pm
  If they are going to suspend Amare and Boris for leaving the bench, then Tim Duncan and Bruce Bowen should also be suspended for stepping on the court when Oberto was undercut by a suns player earlier in the game. If the suspensions are based on the fact that a rule was broken by two suns players, then everyone that stepped foot on the court while not in the game should also be suspended. Also, Duncan actually stepped on the court during the Horry altercation as well and was not suspended for that either.

• Reggie Evans Posted: May.16 at 12:32 pm
  The rule needs to be rewritten, and I’m sure it will be … after this season. For one thing, the rule has some wording about “leaving the immediate vicinity of the bench”, well what if a fight breaks out right in front of a bench? Say an opposing player fights someone ON the bench? Then EVERYONE on the bench can be involved in the fight without getting an automatic suspension? They haven’t left the “immediate vicinity” of the bench! It’s not a well written rule.

• Dutch Rich Posted: May.16 at 12:32 pm
  It was a forced substitution. You need five players on the court to resume play. Stat and Diaw just couldn’t make up their minds as to who was going to check in for Steve. Haha
  Stu sucks

• soyboy Posted: May.16 at 12:42 pm
  All that’s left is for the rule to be changed then. Forget this “vicinity of the bench” restriction. If your coaching staff cannot keep your bench in control (ie. not allowing them to be close enough to breathe on the players on the court). This should not apply if the “altercation” is of course directly in front on the bench area.

• soyboy Posted: May.16 at 12:46 pm
  huh… i posted on the same topic the same time you were REggie Evans…

• Reggie Evans Posted: May.16 at 12:47 pm
  uh, eyehatedirk, I know your comments were restricted to Spurs fans, but you might like to know tha 57% of registered voters in Phoenix are REPUBLICANS … unless you think all the Suns fans are just the Democrats in Phoenix?

• Reggie Evans Posted: May.16 at 12:49 pm
  more for eyehate dirk - from wikipedia - Cities like Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio usually support Democrats, while their suburbs are heavily Republican.

• H to the izzo Posted: May.16 at 12:50 pm
  Reggie:I like to think so

• Reggie Evans Posted: May.16 at 12:51 pm
  soyboy - it’s a logical thing to point out about the wording of the rule.

• Piedie Posted: May.16 at 1:01 pm
  Stu is a moron

• Reggie Evans Posted: May.16 at 1:12 pm
  Stu for Prez

• Chad Posted: May.16 at 1:16 pm
  Ironic that Stern and Jackson put this rule in place years ago to curtail the escalation of arguments into all out fights because it was detracting from the NBA bottom line (Van Gundy hanging on Zo’s leg or Ron Ron climbing into the stands). Any true basketball fan that was watching the last five minutes of Game 4 had to appreciate the intensity and extreme level of competition that can only be reached in the playoffs, especially between teams that have fought it out in prior years playoff series. Regardless of who we wanted to win, we were all saying to ourselves “Yes! Three more games of this.” Until Jackson and his iron fist ripped it out of our hands and thus detracted from the NBA’s bottom line. It can be said that this is the biggest shot Horry has made in the post season for his team in his career, knocking out two starters in one shot. Was it calculated or premeditated? No, Horry isn’t that kind of player but as much as Stern says this rule dispels bench clearing brawls in one breath it can also be said in another breath that it encourages on court fighting. Although it will never be outwardly said, now physical role players will be thinking in the back of their head, “I got this guy on the edge and their stars are on the bench, if I can start a big enough scene maybe we can induce the stars on the court and thus out for the next game.” Somewhere between John Chaney’s goons and Isiah Thomas warning Carmelo Anthony not to drive to the hoop this mentality can exist with this rule in place. The worst part about it is had James Jones had thrown a punch at Ellison he would have been suspended . . . and so would Duncan and Bowen, advantage Suns. I disagree with Barkley in his view of the ruling but I absolutely agree with him in that you can’t suppress playoff emotion and teammate loyalty. Basketball is the most palpable of the major sports, there are now helmets or pads, no distance between opponents like a pitcher and batter. You are toe to toe with the fiercest most athletic individuals in the world. That is part of the beauty though, would MJ really be MJ if he had a helmet on his whole career or Red Auerbach be Red if he sat in a dugout his whole career. The moment you try to pick and choose when the competitive fire, zeal and passion is at full tilt and emotions are free and when players must remain dormant as their leader gets body checked into the score table you are detracting from the game we all love.

• Wu Posted: May.16 at 1:20 pm
  The Suns still have their best player, the anti-nowitiki, Steve Nash. He is one of the annoited ones so I expect him to have a monster game tonight. The NBA followed the rule that was in place and that’s it. If this happened during the Wizards Cavs series nobody would care so I choose not to care about this. The NBA will go wheter you watch the rest of the playoffs or not.

• mutoni Posted: May.16 at 1:21 pm
  you realize that the suns are going to get every single call tonight, right? stern is an evil genius; never forget this. this series is going 7. book.it.

• DarK Posted: May.16 at 1:23 pm
  Oh, and if you want to pass blame around, blame Horry, Diaw, whoever. But don’t forget about Nash - damn, he took that flop way overboard. Horry barely moved! Nash doesn’t even get up that much on his layups. A little less acting, and maybe his teammates wouldn’t have reacted to the level they did.

• Sam Rubenstein Posted: May.16 at 1:24 pm
  Chad, the tragedy of the whole thing is that this incident took so much shine of such a great game that nobody is talking about now. The Suns won a game they never win and the Spurs lost a game they never lose. It was a huge NBA basketball moment, and now its lost in the ruling.
  After some reflection I’d say the Horry shot in the Finals game 5 vs. Detroit was his biggest one. Then this, and then the shot to beat the Kings.

• Reggie Evans Posted: May.16 at 1:28 pm
  I want to Steve Nash work his magic with a less talented team. See just how much better he “makes” players play, without thinking, “well, he has a great team already!”.

• Neal Posted: May.16 at 1:29 pm
  I am a life-long Spurs fan and I feel that Stoudamire and Diaw were suspended unfairly. Any rule in professional sports that does not allow flexibility for human emotions in such a highly competitive environment should be reexamined. I am not aware of any past history with these two players that would dictate such a severe penalty. As for Horry, I have no idea what he was thinking. Maybe he wasn’t thinking at all. I do not agree with the media’s assessment of the Spurs play. I don’t see how a team can go from being a model franchise to a team of hoodlums in one series. Some players find San Antonio’s style of play irritating because they are not allowed to have free rein to do drive to the basket or shoot wide open jumpers. The Spurs challenge every shot. They are no more physical than at least ten other teams in the league. The last series against Denver they took several hard fouls and there is no better cheap shot artist in the game than that jerk they call “Mello”. The Spurs kept their cool and never once retaliated. The Spurs newfound reputation is a product of a certain Suns coach and players attempting to play the media and league office to sway the series in their favor.

• Todd Posted: May.16 at 1:30 pm
  Again….why is T. Robot not suspended oh fair and gracious Stu. The proof speaks. http://youtube.com/watch?v=Y39nRO5keRM

• Kimble Posted: May.16 at 1:30 pm
  Sam, I couldn’t have said it better. It’s just disbelief. And anger. A lot of anger that Bowen and co still can keep doing what they do. I don’t like the Spurs, never have, never will. Come on Nash!

• DarK Posted: May.16 at 1:52 pm
  “Why is T. Robot not suspended?” Um, I did not see any type of altercation there. “The proof speaks.”

• Sam Rubenstein Posted: May.16 at 1:54 pm
  Even though I am cheering for the Suns, it’s been nice to see that many Spurs fans such as Neal here for example or on other sites, don’t want to see this happen either. They want to win on a level playing field (or at least as close as it can get to that) and they could still beat the Suns at full strength in Phoenix much like game one. Now we’ll never know and that cheats all of the fans.

• Russ Bengtson Posted: May.16 at 1:58 pm
  I could simply copy and paste Co Co’s last post, but I won’t. That’s where I’m coming from, though.

• DarK Posted: May.16 at 1:59 pm
  Yeah, I’m definitely with Neal here and how the Suns have been spinning some of these incidents. Barbosa undercuts TP earlier in the series, and is probably still nursing that elbow, but you don’t hear a word about that play, as bad as it looked. Gino’s knee to Stoudemire during the regular season? That was as incidental as it gets - EVERY player raises his off-knee when jumping for a layup.

• Russ Bengtson Posted: May.16 at 2:00 pm
  Where’s the sympathy for Robert Horry and the Spurs then, if this is just about keeping the teams at full strength? He got suspended for TWO games for a) a hard foul, and b) defending himself. Back in the Bad Boys days, Dennis Rodman, Rick Mahorn and Bill Laimbeer used to hit their MOTHERS harder than that.

• eyehatedirk Posted: May.16 at 2:10 pm
  I didn’t mean it in a literal sense about them being Republicans, I just meant it cause they’re going with the conservative interpertation of the rule book cause it favors them.

• slate Posted: May.16 at 2:24 pm
  The NBA has gone soft, no wonder the NFL ,NHL and even baseball (to an extent)probably look at basketball players like oversized-softies.I remember when players had nicknames like McFilthy & McNasty….ON THE SAME TEAM!!!

• eyehatedirk Posted: May.16 at 2:25 pm
  Furthermore, I believe the Suns should be allowed to re sign Richard Dumas, Thunder Dan, and (if they can pull him away from the local Sizzler or Hometown Buffet) Oliver Miller for the remainder of the series.

• J-Bird Posted: May.16 at 2:26 pm
  Damn, this could’ve been a really great series, guess Stu and David had other ideas

• eyehatedirk Posted: May.16 at 2:26 pm
  Slate, you’re not from Wethersfield CT, are you?

• Mads_o Posted: May.16 at 2:34 pm
  If I’m the Suns, I have my 12th, 11th and 10th man take out a few Spurs Hulk Hogan style in front of the Spurs bench, when the staters are taking a rest…

• t-rocc Posted: May.16 at 2:42 pm
  i’m thoroughly disgusted by the suspensions - but in reading what everyone has to say about them, i came across something i found kind of funny… http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2007/news/story?id=2872149 in the ESPN story where they have their basketball “experts” weigh in, Greg Anthony is usually one of the voices. on this subject, he’s conspicuously absent…

• Ryan Jones Posted: May.16 at 2:42 pm
  My favorite part of this whole thing is the Clinton-eqsue semantics of it: “It depends on what your definition of ‘altercation’ is.” Apparently, “altercations” are full-blown sex, but an “incident” is just a bl*w job. Go get ‘em, Stu!

• slate Posted: May.16 at 2:44 pm
  I want someone to walk up to David Stern/Stu Jackson and throw a fake punch at them.If they DON’T: 1)Blink, 2)Put up their hands in a defensive/protective stance,or 3)Attempt to throw a punch back, the rule can stand forever.But if they do any of those things then it shows they’re human after all and the rule must change immediately! If you ever saw footage of “THE PUNCH” you have no idea what Rudy T’s intention was.So I understand the concept of the rule.But humans are humans all day long,and competitors during competition.Just put some humanization in the rules.Thats all I ask for as a fan of the game (and a Spurs fan).I thought Nashty was league MVP and I’m sure he’ll prove(once again)why he got robbed.Of course the Spurs are gonna win,but its gonna be a fight(no pun at all)

• Reggie Evans Posted: May.16 at 2:46 pm
  Can you guys at Slam use your journalistic muscle to confirm that Shaq said on TBS/TNT that Kobe was his choice for MVP. Allegedly, he said this during a timeout near the end the latest of the Nets-Cavs game. There is no video of this on youtube, so, right now it’s just hearsay. Please find out if it’s true. It’s very important to me. Like, life or death.

• Eoin Posted: May.16 at 2:46 pm
  Basketbawful have a really good comparison of this to the Joe Crawford situation.Joe was suspended because he let himself become the story of a game.And yet almost FIVE THOUSAND people have signed a petition to get the nba to explain or change the rule or just not be such frickin’ idiots.ohmygod, the lack of common sense is making my head hurt.

• H to the izzo Posted: May.16 at 2:47 pm
  Wow I was having trouble understanding the difference between an “altercation” and “incident” that definition really helped Thanks Ryan or should I thank Bill?

• slate Posted: May.16 at 2:47 pm
  @ eyehatedirk not CT,straight outta The Bx.

• Rod Strickland Posted: May.16 at 2:48 pm
  Ron Burgundy: Boy, that escalated quickly… I mean, that really got out of hand fast.
  Champ Kind: It jumped up a notch.
  Ron Burgundy: It did, didn’t it?
  Brick Tamland: Yeah, I stabbed a man in the heart.
  Ron Burgundy: I saw that. Brick killed a guy. Did you throw a trident?
  Brick Tamland: Yeah, there were horses, and a man on fire, and I killed a guy with a trident.
  Ron Burgundy: Brick, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that. You should find yourself a safehouse or a relative close by. Lay low for a while, because you’re probably wanted for murder.

• Rod Strickland Posted: May.16 at 3:00 pm
  ^^^^^^Just sub names from PHX/SA for clarification.

• Ryan Jones Posted: May.16 at 3:03 pm
  Given all the misogynistic comments that have been popping up lately, izzo, maybe you should just call me Hillary.

• DarK Posted: May.16 at 3:03 pm
  No journalistic muscle here, Reggie, but my eyes and ears witnessed Shaq calling Kobe his regular season MVP, pointing to the fact that out of eighteen regular season games during which a player dropped 50, Kobe was responsible for ten of them.

• eyehatedirk Posted: May.16 at 3:04 pm
  Haha, that’s awesome, especially cause D’Antoni looks like Ron Burgandy.

• Todd Posted: May.16 at 3:05 pm
  DarK….If Amare and Diaw are suspended for leaving the bench then T. Robot should be gone for the game along with the Bowen Collector. The proof does speak! Only because the game continued and a big deal about that hit was made did nothing happen. To further my point whatabout when a guy hits a 3 in front of the other teams bench and then talks some smack and guys get up off the bench. Nothing ever happens. Way to apply the rule as feel comfortable Stu are still madd about being part of the Grizzlies?

• Jen Posted: May.16 at 3:11 pm
  Stoudemire and Diaw didn’t even get into no fight. They just simply got up. They could have just got up just to see how Nash was doing! It’s despicable. The Suns needed these two players to win also. Forget the rules. They’re not fair at all! But Nash can do it on his own if he wanted to. He’s amazing. So, let’s see what happens tonight.

• IDK Posted: May.16 at 3:16 pm
  I’m so sick of the word ‘whiner’

• H to the izzo Posted: May.16 at 3:18 pm
  Yes Madame President

• Ryan Jones Posted: May.16 at 3:21 pm
  IDK, English people say “whinger,” so maybe try that. That extra “g” makes a big difference.

• allenp Posted: May.16 at 3:34 pm
  Ryan your point about my comment was valid. This is a basketball website. Yet too often we got off into petty rants about unfairness and injustice. Suns fans are crying to much about a rule that has been enforced the same way since it was enacted. This was not some attempt to guarantee the Spurs the title and I’m tired of hearing that. This victim shit is out of hand. If you can work up this much outrage about something so trivial then you need to be able to work up outrage about other bad things that don’t just affect your favorite team. I’m also tired of hearing people complain about Bowen like the things he did were obviously dirty and couldn’t have been interpeted in any other way. I’m also tired of people calling the Spurs a dirty “team” when they were basing those comments primarily on the actions of Bowen before Horry went crazy. How can the diry actions of Bowen make his team dirty, but Raja clotheslines Kobe on the way to the rim it doesn’t reflect on the rest of his team’s dirtiness. That shit is not logical. The old school pistons were dirty. So were the Knicks and Heat. The Jazz are almost a dirty team. The Spurs really are not. And I’m not even a Spurs fan, I wanted Denver to win.

• Rod Strickland Posted: May.16 at 3:37 pm
  I’d like to see Mark West, Frank Johnson, and Elliot Perry get some burn tonight for the Suns. Oh and I heard the Spurs signed Satan for the rest of the playoffs.

• Russ Bengtson Posted: May.16 at 3:38 pm
  Miroslav Satan?

• Rod Strickland Posted: May.16 at 3:41 pm
  No, Russ, Miroslav’s brother, Lucifer.

• DubsGonDoIt Posted: May.16 at 3:43 pm
  Damn, Bowen tried to step on Amare’s foot again in game 4 3rd quarter, check out the video …
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26SPv_50DCE&NR=1

• Abed Posted: May.16 at 3:45 pm
  THE NBA FREAKIN SUCKS!! Then they wonder why they don’t get ratings…

• slate Posted: May.16 at 3:51 pm
  Yeah Rod maybe Alvan Adams,Gar Heard,Paul Westphal and Walter Davis can suit up tonight and if San Antone really want to get gully the Suns can put in Ron Lee (for defensive purposes).If these NBA softies think Bowen is rough/dirty be thankful they never had to face Ron Lee (b’lee dat)!!

• Michael Posted: May.16 at 3:52 pm
  The suns will get blown out. I know they played without Amare last year, but the reason they plaeyd so well was becasue of the blossiming of Boris Diaw.

• Chris Posted: May.16 at 3:58 pm
  This is such a black eye for the league and i’m not talking about the altercation. This series possibly the best one we’ll get in the entire series will not be settled on the basketball court, and that’s wrong. All year long we’ve been asking the question can the suns get by the spurs, and now if the spurs win, we’ll never really know if the best team won. Who knows this suspension might mean Nash will never win a ring (obviously I’m making some assumptions, but it’s possible) all because Stoudemire and Diaw stepped onto the court. The punishment does not fit the crime

• Holiday Posted: May.16 at 4:08 pm
  I don’t understand how Stern can be so tough on Amare and Boris for something like this, when Baron Davis obviously turned and intentionaly threw and elbow at Derek fisher and nothing happened, so taking steps a teamate that has just been knocked down is worse than physically harming another?

• soyboy Posted: May.16 at 4:19 pm
  lol…bowen having a foot-fetish someone should photoshop a smiling bruce bowen’s face on a container of Mr. Clean.

• soyboy Posted: May.16 at 4:19 pm
  lol…bowen having a foot-fetish… someone should photoshop a smiling bruce bowen’s face on a container of Mr. Clean.

• Steve O Posted: May.16 at 4:25 pm
  I still think a Joey Crawford/Robot reunion would be one for the ages, however since that is as likely as Tom Chambers suiting up tonight maybe the NBA should take a page from the MLB’s policies. Players should have the right to appeal (I’m not actually sure how it works for MLB playoffs) their suspensions to league and be allowed to suit up until it is determined whether or not said suspension is just. That way Stu and Sternbot could take the time to determine intent, and severity of the action etc while still leaving room for human emotion. No one fought (besides Big Shot Bob) so no need for suspensions. To Russ, no love for Horry because he is averaging 3 ppg not 24 ppg like STAT.

• Eric Posted: May.16 at 4:25 pm
  what’s to keep D’Antoni from pulling a John Cheney tonight? He should tell Marcus Banks to go in let Tony Parker steal the ball from him at halfcourt, then to run up behind Pepe Le Pew and tackle his no-rapping ass into the row of photographers. Sure, Banks gets his mandatory 2-game suspension, but at least Mr. Longoria won’t be able to play Game 6. Is it just wishful thinking?

• Eric Posted: May.16 at 4:33 pm
  Thanks for enlightening the uneducated Sports Babe. We stand corrected. Now take your blouse off and make me a sandwich or something.

• Ryan Jones Posted: May.16 at 4:44 pm
  Points taken, allenp. We live in a nation where more people vote for American Idol than can be bothered to vote for president, and that bothers me as much as I’m sure it does you. As for all this, I wish there was a way to divide this forum into one for Suns and Spurs fans, and the other for the rest of us, just to find out what the unbiased consensus is. Whether one team is or isn’t dirty and the other is or isn’t whiners doens’t really matter to me. I’m just pissed that the otherwise smart men who run the NBA are so stupid when it comes to RELATIVELY important things like keeping the best players eligible for the pivotal game of a pretty great playoff series.

• Reggie Evans Posted: May.16 at 4:49 pm
  Do more people really vote for American Idol than for president? Because you can vote more than once on American Idol, so I know there are more votes, but not necessarily people. This is an important issue.

• Hersey Posted: May.16 at 5:12 pm
  I’m Suns fan/blogger and I feel the team got screwed but it’s time to adapt and overcome. If they win this series, it’ll be because they bounced back from a HUGE obstacle. I remember when a good Knicks team had a shot at the Bulls snatched away because PJ Brown dwarf tossed Charlie Ward into camera row. The rule sucks but so do injuries. This team has had major injury problems in the playoffs the past two years and they know they’ll get these two guys back for Game 6. Beating the Spurs has proven to be a battle with archaic 1990s rules as well but the Suns can still win this series.

• wilson Posted: May.16 at 5:46 pm
  As a Kings fan welcome to the club. The leagues double standards are legenday but the agenda is real: steer the playoffs. Look at how the NBA gave a free pass to Jordan against Utah. Kings-Lakers game 5. The Spurs longstanding dirty play is nothing new but hey they are the Spurs so no problem with a knee to the groin or flagrant foul that was designed to deliberately injure. Two games? If that had been Ron Artest he would have been suspended for half a seson.

• James Caldwell Posted: May.16 at 6:34 pm
  After reading these comments, I’m convinced that not only are the Suns the whiniest team in the NBA, but their fans are even bigger crybabies. Fortunately, after Friday night, they will no longer be in the playoffs and we will stop hearing from them until next year.

• Drolfe Posted: May.16 at 7:00 pm
  I love it when Sam is bitter and angry.

• hollywud Posted: May.16 at 7:01 pm
  ftl… and stu and the commish

• SeanM Posted: May.16 at 7:16 pm
  Whats with the spurs hate guys? Being from Australia and only getting my NBA coverage from my Slam subscription and online it is disappointing to see the Spurs being painted as the NBA bad guys especially in the last week or so by writers such as Sam. If we aren’t being criticised for being boring we are dirty, give it a rest. We are scoring and running with the Suns and we did the same thing in 2005 in the WCF. Now I know we went back to a grind it out style of play against Detroit in the finals of 05 but I think the Spurs should get some credit for being a versatile tough team. Bruce has his detractors and has done some questionable things throughout his career and in this series. What Horry did was completely unacceptable. However how about an objective coverage of the series instead of the Suns homerism I am seeing at the moment. Its enough to make me want to cancel my subscription, I read Slam and Slam online because I feel its the most complete coverage of the NBA. In the last week you have really let yourself down with some bias petty journalism. Lift your game.

• Sean P. Posted: May.16 at 7:18 pm
  “Do more people really vote for American Idol than for president? Because you can vote more than once on American Idol, so I know there are more votes, but not necessarily people. This is an important issue.” Just imagine how votes for president would be cast if everyone could text message in as many votes as they wanted?

• Russ Bengtson Posted: May.16 at 7:35 pm
  If Charles Barkley is so upset about the suspensions he should dust of his old No. 34 jersey, call Nike for a pair of retros and get his big ass back in the paint. Sexy.

• Russ Bengtson Posted: May.16 at 7:36 pm
  I meant “dust off”. Man, I hate not being able to edit.

• Duckets killin' 'em Posted: May.16 at 8:58 pm
  I hate the Spurs. I hate them more & more every game I see them in. They get the most BS calls. Duncan is a great player, he needs to stop whining at everything. Bowen is dirtier than 3 dollar hooker.

• Paniscus Posted: May.16 at 9:56 pm
  this is only half fair. diaw and amare, hate to say it because i love those guys, deserve their suspensions. what blows is that bowen gets away with all of his bullshit. how many times can he pull these stunts before the L recognizes that they’re not accidents?

• RasheanMathis Posted: May.16 at 10:38 pm
  What ticks me off is that Jackson decided to interpret the rule one way in one instance to make sure Amare/Diaw were susended and decided to interpret it in the way to make sure Duncan/Bowen were not suspended. This is a mans game, everyone should be playing tonight -even Bob. The NBA worries about dress codes, draft ages, trying to establish themselves internationally and then they shoot themselves in the foot when they had a series that even non basketball fans were into. It becomes more and more obvious that David Stern and Gary Bettman are cut from the same - lack of common sense clothe.

• 1hush D Posted: May.17 at 2:34 am
  AllenP…….that was a good point regarding that bullshit conviction of that kid. For the record, I not only hate the Spurs, I hate American justice. Hell, I just hate America.

• Ryan Jones Posted: May.17 at 8:26 am
  Re: American Idol voting… Admittedly, Reggie, I’m not sure. Like any good, angry liberal, I may have fudged the numbers slightly to make my point.

• Redrum Posted: May.17 at 9:47 am
  I love it!!! the Spurs got some edge! they got gangsta! they are the villains, the ones that the NBA supports and promotes behind the scenes, they are now REAL champions, with baggage, as tha Lakers, Celtics,Bulls etc.. I start to think this is another ingenious Stern ploy, transforming one of the smallest market teams in the NBA, called boring, Milk and Cookies Spurs, no soul etc, into the team we love to hate. If this is deliberate, then Stern is most intelligent man alive….

• Redrum Posted: May.17 at 9:51 am
  Forgot to mention Detroit in that “love to hate list”…

• Mike C. Posted: May.17 at 10:24 am
  Funny how the Jazz used to be one of the most reviled teams in the league, and now due to the prospect of the Suns being cheated out of a legit shot at beating the Spurs, the Jazz have now become the people’s favourites by default. The two sweetest words in the English language: De Fault.

• Drew Posted: May.17 at 12:52 pm
  Every other sport gives its executives flexibility in deciding when to suspend players. Why doesn’t the NBA want to be able to use judgement? Why is Stern so dead set on having rigid rules. The “no complaining about calls” rule was a disaster. The dress code is a joke. The “don’t leave the bench” rule has arbitrarily decided the most important series this off-season. It is time for Stern to start treating his employees and players like adults.

• K22C Posted: May.18 at 9:26 am
  GET OFF IT ITS OVER THE SUSPENSION IS DONE NO FUTHER DISCUSSION. (sorry it is getting that annoying).

• pablo Posted: May.19 at 1:37 am
  Hey Sam: if you hate the NBA so much, why in the hell are you working with something related to it? It´s not necessary for you to know rules, but you made a point clear: you were raised like a bitch. Period

• Sports Update Blog Posted: May.30 at 3:11 pm
  [...] I must admit, I’m more than a little surprised that SLAM Sam didn’t pull out any Heroes references in this post about how the suspensions handed down from on high by the NBA Rulebook. But then, maybe it’s one of SLAM’s other authors who is talking about Heroes all the time. I don’t know. I have a hard time keeping them straight. (As a side note, I do applaud AOL for giving each author their own RSS feed, even if their commenting system is close to being fatally flawed) [...]