The NBA once again gave the impression it was a league perpetuated by thugs, and yet, the madness did not end there. It shouldn’t be that difficult to separate bravado from responsibility, machismo from reality, but there stood Nate Robinson nearly an hour after the blood had barely dried on one of the game’s worst brawls ever, talking about how it was all about “trying to protect family.”Good Lord, what a way to pile shame on top of the disgrace. Had some masked man just broken through the window and stolen Robinson’s bling? Had his fancy ride been carjacked? At least the culprits involved in the Pistons fight against the Pacers two seasons ago in Detroit had the good sense to shut up. – Lisa Olsen, New York Daily News
If any player involved in that mess deserves an ounce of respect it is Jared Jeffries, who went into the fray as a peacemaker, took a sucker punch to the ribs from Smith and then chased down Carmelo after the punch to Collins™ face. Robinson claims he was sticking up for a teammate when he shoved Smith, but he was the instigator there. Jeffries, however, clearly was coming to the defense of Collins when he charged after Carmelo. He had an assistant coach, a security guard and two teammates grabbing at him to hold him back. Otherwise, he would have gotten to Carmelo, who, by then, had retreated toward the Nuggets bench. Alan Hahn, Newsday
Doesn™t it figure Stephon Marbury™s coming out coincided with the brawl? He finally played like somebody with All-Star credentials, finishing with 31 points and eight assists. I just left the door open for all of the haters out there because it was another bad loss.
Mardy Collins needs a lesson on delivering hard fouls. He™s almost strangled an opponent in each of the last two games during garbage time. Who cares if somebody™s rubbing it in? – Mike Dougherty, Journal News
Last year Nate Robinson was a decent novelty on a terrible team. Who doesn™t love a short guy with some energy?
This year, he™s a fake tough guy as evidenced by his involvement in Saturday™s annoying brawl. With about a minute left, the Nuggets were headed for another ho-hum rout at the Garden. Another night of discussing how baffled Isiah Thomas is after the Nuggets dropped 67 in the first half.
Instead that™s put aside because the Knicks were ticked that Nuggets left their starters out for too long. Boo hoo, they should worry about their own team and everything they™ve done wrong to create this 9-17 fiasco., Larry, Knickerblogger
Isiah Thomas and others, let’s not pretend that having some starters in the game late deserves the melee of thrown fists that ensued (and how about that Nate Robinson tackle?) . And let’s not pretend that the underlying cause here was a breach of etiquette in leaving starters in. That was a misdemeanor that should have passed without making the news. What went wrong here was a series of really stupid overly aggressive mistakes on the part of players who should have known better. – Henry Abbott, True Hoop
Mardy Collins committed a stupid and unnecessary hard foul. Carmello Anthony won himself a permanent spot on the Kermit Washington all-stars. A bunch of players will get to spend Christmas and New Years with their families (and, for a few like Anthony, perhaps much of January). The world will go on. At least the players kept their brawling to the court, so, props to them for that. Oh, and Isiah Thomas’ deer-in-the-headlights postgame presser and quotes makes the whole thing almost worth it., Memphis Bengal, Sports Frog
It was laughable to hear Robinson talk about sportsmanship. Ironically, a few weeks ago, Robinson, after getting in trouble for botching that well-documented bounce-the-ball-off-the-court dunk in Cleveland, said he’d only try it in the future if his team was up 20.
Jeffries, in his fourth game as a Knick, decided he would deliver the retribution for Anthony’s slug, not David Stern. Jeffries raced down the length of the court, looking to spill blood. Credit Knicks assistant Mark Aguirre for holding onto Jeffries for dear life. Jeffries was called by Thomas the “glue” to the Knicks when they signed him, but instead he looked like a lunatic last night. – Marc Berman, New York Post
In the unlikely event you’ve not seen what everyone is scribbling about, there’s more than a few clips of the fight on YouTube just waiting for the NBA to take down.
That’s the same Lisa Olsen who had to face down Zeke Mowatt’s dong years ago in the Giants locker room? Good on her for keeping the faith and keeping on with the keeping on. That said, what the hell is she talking about?
The gratuitous and racialized swipes at the NBA — bling, fancy cars, etc., shoehorned in just so we don’t forget the color of those who perpetrated the brawl — are one thing. An expected thing, even, although usually coming from the other 25-cent tabloid in NYC. What’s lame to me is the intentional misunderstanding of Nate’s comments.
It’s obvious from context, let alone if you actually talk to pro athletes all the time, as she either does now or at least once did (c.f., Mowatt, Zeke, sexual/sensual harassment), that by “family” he meant “team.” It’s a little ‘hood in its expression, but it’s exactly the sort of teammate-based cliche that NFL players specialize in, and often get praise for. And it’s obvious to me that when these sorts of tussles happen in baseball (where they’re often much worse looking than this) or football (where the perpetrators often have far longer and scarier rap sheets than the tall doofuses in this brawl) they don’t get that sort of sneering, half-assed analysis. Maybe it’s because I still like the NBA that I even care about this, but why is Nate Robinson somehow more of a “thug,” and his actions more “deeply disappointing” to clucking white sportswriters, than, say, Ricky Manning?
Lisa Olsen, you are the prohibitive favorite for my Sunday “Get Off That Bullshit” Award. Although Joe Buck has yet to announce his game today, so that could change.
David,
actually, Lisa came face-to-dong with Zeke M. in the Patriots locker room. As Victor Kiam knows all too well.
Please note that blingmeister / original G. David Lee is seen in the vicinity of the this brawl.
gc politely left out that david lee has platinum grills.
BIAS!
it also looks like you have a ponys song in your playlist that i haven’t heard. give it up!
I was truly under the impression there had been a moratorium placed on “bling” on some a warm summertime Tuesday in 2002, but I suppose I was mistaken.
Now excuse me, while I go hunt down the best version of this on YouTube. I was waiting for something worth checking out having to do with the NBA.
Isiah has turned the Knicks into the “Bad Boys,” and that’s not a complement. http://valentinesviews.blogspot.com/2006/12/nba-fight-night-at-garden.html
“Ten players ejected! Nate Robinson of the Knicks and J.R. Smith of the Nuggets hurtling into the stands! Some suspicion that bad blood between Knicks coach Isiah Thomas and Nuggets coach George Karl may have precipitated the melee!”
You might also say, “that’s not a compliment!”
If you want to drum up traffic for your blog, buy a fucking ad!
The exclaimation point on my keyboard is stuck!
“Bad Boys”, while a terrible film, isn’t nearly the worst thing Martin Lawrence has starred in!
Bad Boys isn’t even the worst of the Bad Boys films!