And the Next Scene of Violence is...Detroit.

[The Captain]

I don't think the NBA has any time limit on beer sales as we saw many fans had what looked like completely full cups of beer to toss on the players, and I would assume someone wouldn't just sit there for a while with a beer, but rather would have just purchased it.

My father actually came up with a good idea: Get rid of that first row and seats and replace it with a "No-man's land" where only security personnal will be allowed to stand if they need, but otherwise will be a vacant spot to push the fans further back. When you think about it, basketball is about the only sport left out there where fans can literally touch the players at nearly any moment. In football, the sidelines are for teams and personnel only, in hockey there's that huge rim around the ice, in baseball, the stands are somewhat away from the field, but in basketball, the fans can stick their feet out and trip a player. Sure, some might see the appeal in this, but frankly, I think it's a sacrifice that needs to be made.

Also, I feel I must add this:
Shame on the NBA Shootaround crew for defending the players who ran into the stands. Do you mean to tell me that a normal reaction for any man is to chase down someone and pummel them? Sure, if you get something thrown at you, you're angry, but that gives you the right to throw a punch? Be the bigger man, I say. Get over your ego. Now, if a fan actually charged someone, like those dumb Pistons fans who stood in front of Artest when he was trying to exit and looked ready to fight, then I can understand self-defense, but trying to tell me that athletes have it rough and can justify lashing out very violently because they need to defend themselves is a silly argument. To me, athletes are just like journalists: they have glass jaws. They can dish it out, but when it comes back, they go down or look for ways to get out of trouble. Sure, what the fans did was horrible, but jumping into the stands and throwing punches only made the situation worse. Put your ego aside and use some common sense, someone.

EDIT: This sums up what I think as well: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/column...ray&id=1927360

Take care all.