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Listening to all the rhetoric about the Knicks fiasco over the past two-plus days, you would think someone had died instead of just catching a fist to the jaw. Here are my random thoughts on the subject.
• Mardy Collins: Although some may put all the blame on the rookie for taking down J.R. Smith and starting the fight, Collins did what any player with an ounce of pride in him would have done. At the time, Denver was up nearly 20 points with less than two minutes to go. Smith had just thrown down a fancy dunk and he was going in for another when Collins reminded him of an unwritten rule in sports: Thou shall not run up the score. Collins was suspended six games for his hit, but it doesn’t mean he is a dirty player. It just shows that he understands the game within the game.
• Smith: Here’s another unwritten rule: Thou shall not showboat in someone else’s home court. Smith, like many young players, lacks good judgment. Had he been more mature, I’m sure he would have understood that it is not always wise to try to make it on SportsCenter. In fact, it can be hazardous to your health. Smith was given 10 games for allowing himself to be goaded into a fight by Nate Robinson.
• Robinson: In my opinion, the diminutive Knicks guard committed the worst offense of all by instigating. After Collins and Smith had a few words together, Robinson stuck his nose where it didn’t belong. He stupidly challenged Smith to a fight and was responsible for setting off the scuffle. As a result of this, Robinson played the same role that Steven Jackson had in the Pacers-Pistons brawl. Robinson, who clearly has an inferiority complex, should have gotten more than a 10-game suspension.
• Carmelo Anthony: I desperately want to like the talented Nuggets forward, but Anthony suffers from an ailment that plagues many athletes: he is utterly clueless. Anthony has the skills to be talked about as one of the game’s best players, yet he truly doesn’t understand what it means to be professional. After leading Syracuse to the NCAA Championship and being drafter third overall in 2003, Anthony foolishly appeared on a thuggish street video that warned viewers to "stop snitching." He then made up for it by donating $1.5 million to a youth center in Baltimore, but after throwing a sucker-punch to Collins and receiving a 15-game suspension, he threw away all his goodwill. A player of Anthony’s status is going to be judged differently. He needs to realize -- just like Spiderman did -- that with great power comes great responsibility.
• Isiah Thomas: Much has been made about Thomas warning Anthony not to go into the lane moments before the fight started. But I don’t see anything wrong with what Thomas had said. Any coach in Thomas’ position would have urged his players not to let any visiting team run up the score.
• George Karl: Along with Robinson, I think Karl should take most of the blame. Although he swears he wasn’t trying to run up the score, leaving four starters on the floor with 1:30 left and a 19-point lead, contradicts his claim. Moreover, it’s no secret that Karl, a friend of Larry Brown, dislikes Thomas. I’m sure Karl now regrets his actions, because his decision to humiliate Thomas and Knicks is going to cost his team dearly.
• David Stern: I would have liked harsher penalties, but overall the commissioner did a good job in handing out the suspensions and fining both teams $500,000.
• The Media: Let’s not blow this out of proportion. What happened Saturday night was just a fight. It was not a riot or even a brawl. It was just a stupid fight; something that happens quite often in sports. Players in the NHL fight on a daily basis, yet nothing is made of it. MLB often has fisticuffs between a pitcher and a batter, yet no one is singling out baseball as a disgraceful sport. In addition, the NFL is a hotbed for criminal behavior, yet it is still the number sport in America. Ultimately, I understand that a league with hip-hop influenced players is going to be judged differently, but if you give the NBA a chance, I’m sure you’ll see that it is a great sport.
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