We always knew that Ron Artest was a thug and Ben Wallace was a crybaby, overreacting to the slightest of fouls, but now we have to add the fans of Detroit into the mix as quite possibly the worst fans in the nation. What they did tonight was a disgrace. Were they provoked? Probably. Did they have the right to defend themselves? Yes. But should you be allowed to come on to the court to "confront" a player? Definitely not. Should you be allowed to sucker-punch a player from behind (even if he is in the stands)? Of course not. Detroit fans showed tonight how truly classless they are. And while I realize that there were a small minority that make the majority look bad, that's just too bad. Here in Southern California, we have a reputation of being bad fans because we show up late for games. Of course that's not true of all SoCal fans, just like all Detroit fans are not classless, but every single person who threw something at the game tonight, every single person who stood by and let other fans go join the fracas, every single fan who stood there and CHEERED as the opposing team was getting pelted by items, every single fan in there that stood idly by should be ashamed of themselves - not only did you make yourself look like an idiot, but you made Detroit as a whole look like a town of thugs and gangsters.

No doubt the penalties will be stiff for the players involved - no doubt the "fans" in the stands will sue - no doubt the players will be suspended - but what of the fans that threw items at the players? What of the fans who walked on to the court or sucker punched players? Just as I hope stiff penalties are handed down to the players, I hope every video feed is reviewed and those responsible for the chaos are prosecuted. I hope everyone who threw a bucket of popcorn or a bottle of water onto the court or the players is sentenced to community service or jail time. The players should not take the full blame for what happened - the fans should as well. Not only should they take the blame, but they should be ashamed of themselves.

URL: ESPN.com - NBA - Recap

Edited to add:

After posting the above post, I read a bit more at ESPN and found Ray Ratto's great article on the whole night - quality clips follow with a link:

What ought to happen is simple, and comprehensive. The Pacers involved get real suspensions – long, staggered and without pay. The Pistons get fined several million dollars for their security lapses, even though this was your basic unforeseeable situation. The teams play their next game in an empty arena, while paying all arena personnel as though they had worked that day, and then make sizable contributions to anti-violence charitable groups in their towns. And the fans involved are identified, found, stripped of their season tickets (if applicable) and charged with as much as the law will allow.

Some day, though, someone will end up dead at courtside, or rinkside, or the sideline, or in the tunnel, and then we'll all wonder how it could have come to such a horrible end.

And we'll remember this night, and how the worst riot in recent NBA history was "someone else's fault."

URL: ESPN.com - NBA - Ratto: Palace badges of dishonor