Threat delays Pacers-Pistons at the Palace

[greasywheels121]

Detroit :fyou :headshake

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2022140

 

Threat delays Pacers-Pistons at the Palace

 

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- The start of the Indiana Pacers' game against the Detroit Pistons was delayed Friday night. Police and officials at The Palace did not give a reason for the delay, but were expected to hold a news briefing.

 

Both teams eventually took the floor Friday night and resumed action.

 

The Pistons had what they called "playoff-level security" in place for Indiana's first game at The Palace since the Nov. 19 brawl between the teams at the arena that spilled into the stands.

 

Shortly before the scheduled 8:10 p.m. start, Palace officials told the fans that the game would be delayed "due to unforeseen circumstances." The arena was already nearly full, and fans were not evacuated. The crowd cheered when the big overhead TV screens were tuned into the Michigan State-Duke NCAA Tournament game at about 8:30 p.m. ET

 

A half-hour later, a Pistons official confirmed that the game at the Palace will be played.

 

The start of the game was delayed because of a threat to the Pacers, the Pistons told ESPN.

 

The last time the teams' played at The Palace on Nov. 19, a brawl broke out between Pacers players and fans in a 97-82 Pacers victory.

 

Officials stopped the game with 45.9 seconds remaining after pushing and shoving between the teams spilled into the stands and fans began throwing objects at the players near the scorer's table.

 

Pacers Ron Artest was suspended for the remainder of the season, Stephen Jackson served a 30-game suspension and Jermaine O'Neal served a 25-game suspension. Pistons center Ben Wallace missed six games.

 

Two subsequent games between the teams in Indiana took place without incident.

[Jabroni]

No offence but Detroit fans are trash.

[WHarris1]

Detroit fans are complete and utter f***ing trash.

They are an embarrassment to this league.

 

I seriously despise them.

 

:fyou Detroit fans

[greasywheels121]

Wow...

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2022140

 

Police say bomb threat caused delay

 

The Indiana Pacers-Detroit Pistons game in Auburn Hills, Mich., has started after a delay of 1 hour, 25 minutes. The game was delayed because of a threat that a bomb was in Indiana's locker room, Auburn Hills chief of police Doreen Olko said.

 

Olko said a bomb threat was called into the switchboard at The Palace at 7:19 p.m ET. Olko reported that the caller said there was a bomb in the Pacers' locker room.

 

"The game did not start on time," Olko said, "because we had to make sure that everyone involved was at a comfort level that would allow them to start this game. That's what took so long.''

 

"Nothing was found," Olko said. "We are completely confident that the Pacer locker room and the entire building is safe. If not, we wouldn't be here."

 

Olko said police had searched the locker room with dogs on Friday morning, and security personnel was stationed at the door for the rest of the day.

 

"We never believed that the building was unsafe," Olko said.

 

Auburn Hills police searched the locker room again with dogs three hours prior to tipoff, Olko said, and then again after the threat was made.

 

"It obviously is a very serious matter," Olko said. "It would be a very, very serious crime."

 

The Pacers went on and off their bus about three times, according to their bus driver, and once left the loading dock and drove to a far end of the parking lot.

 

The Pistons had what they called "playoff-level security" in place for Indiana's first game at The Palace since the Nov. 19 brawl between the teams at the arena that spilled into the stands.

 

Shortly before the scheduled 8:10 p.m. start, Palace officials told the fans that the game would be delayed "due to unforeseen circumstances." The arena was already nearly full, and fans were not evacuated. The crowd cheered when the big overhead TV screens were tuned into the Michigan State-Duke NCAA Tournament game at about 8:30 p.m. ET.

 

A half-hour later, a Pistons official confirmed that the game at the Palace would be played. Tipoff took place at 9:35 p.m.

 

The last time the teams' played at The Palace on Nov. 19, a brawl broke out between Pacers players and fans in a 97-82 Pacers victory.

 

Officials stopped the game with 45.9 seconds remaining after pushing and shoving between the teams spilled into the stands and fans began throwing objects at the players near the scorer's table.

 

Pacers Ron Artest was suspended for the remainder of the season, Stephen Jackson served a 30-game suspension and Jermaine O'Neal served a 25-game suspension. Pistons center Ben Wallace missed six games.

 

Two subsequent games between the teams in Indiana took place without incident.

[SoxFanForever]

Wow that is f***ed up. Who makes threats at a basketball game? People have serious issues.

[WHarris1]

The ones that throw s*** at players

And have riots in their city.

 

Just ask Geangreco

[greasywheels121]

Sans JO and Tinsley, Pacers go into Detroit and win 94-81. Schweet.

[WilliamTell]

I halfway expected something to happen.

[greasywheels121]

I was just thinking about this whole situation, and David Stern really pisses me off. The situation is FAR from fixed, if the Pacers are getting bomb threats playing a game in the Palace.

 

David Stern gave the entire Pacers organization the shaft. His decision affected the owners, players, and the fans; he basically threw our season away. Before the season, we were predicted to be a top 3 team in the East, and I don't think anyone could argue that.

 

It seems David Stern really just gave Detroit a break, because of who they are right now in the NBA: defending champs.

 

Stern :fyou

Edited March 26, 2005 by greasywheels121

[Purdue129]

I agree with Greasy and the Pistons getting a break. As for the fans...

 

After living here for awhile now, I can say that the city as whole and a chunk of its fans (regardless of the team) are trash... but there are a ton of good fans up here too.

 

 

...let's just remember how much we didn't like a couple of idiots making a stereotype out of White Sox fans...

[YASNY]

I agree with Greasy and the Pistons getting a break.  As for the fans...

 

After living here for awhile now, I can say that the city as whole and a chunk of its fans (regardless of the team) are trash... but there are a ton of good fans up here too.

...let's just remember how much we didn't like a couple of idiots making a stereotype out of White Sox fans...

 

True. But you are talking about Detroit!

[hammerhead johnson]

Before the season, we were predicted to be a top 3 team in the East, and I don't think anyone could argue that.

 

A Top 3 team out East? More like a Top 3 team in the entire league along with San Antonio and Detroit.

 

The pre-brawl Pacers would whoop anybody in a 7 game series outside of those two teams.

 

Teams like Phoenix and Miami wouldn't know what hit them. When you have some of the finest defensive players in the league (O'Neal, Artest, Tinsley) with scoring options all over the place (paint, perimiter) and damn good overall depth, you're killing people.

[greasywheels121]

http://www.indystar.com/articles/9/232835-5149-179.html

 

When will Pistons be held accountable for security lapses?

Bob Kravitz

 

In November, the Pacers went to the Palace of Auburn Hills and were goaded into a brawl that effectively destroyed their season.

 

Friday night, a series of phoned-in bomb threats aimed at the visitors' locker room caused massive delays and serious consternation, especially among fearful Pacers personnel.

 

Now look at the playoff race.

 

If the season ended today, it would be the Pacers vs. the Pistons in the first round.

 

So here is commissioner David Stern's best and last chance to make the Pistons organization and the Palace hierarchy pay for the fact that the Pacers cannot play in that building fully assured of their safety:

 

Play Detroit's home games -- at least the ones against the Pacers -- in an empty building.

 

Absurd?

 

Excessive?

 

Well, the brawl and the multiple bomb threats were absurd and excessive, and it's time to make the Pistons and their small percentage of loony-tunes fans pay for the way they've treated the visitors from Indiana.

 

Nov. 19 was bad. This latest episode, though, may have been worse. Nobody, the Pacers included, should have to play a basketball game worried about their safety or even their life.

 

"What's made this whole thing unfair is, a lot has gone wrong and you know we haven't blamed anybody," Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh said. "But still, all the light has been shined on us. We've clearly taken the brunt of all this."

 

Which is true, but not completely unjustified. They were, after all, the ones who went into the stands, and the arguments they've presented -- "well, they started it" -- have sounded rather hollow.

 

But this wasn't entirely a solo act, and the other side has escaped culpability entirely. While the Pacers had their entire season -- Reggie Miller's final season -- entirely eviscerated, nothing has happened to the Pistons.

 

While the two individual miscreants got lifetime bans from the Palace, nobody has held the Pistons or the Palace responsible for controlling some of the rudest fans in the league. There was no fine for poor security. There was nothing. Just a promise from Stern that the league would review and increase its security presence.

 

Well, now comes time to hold the Pistons accountable.

 

Make them play the Pacers in front of empty seats.

 

The fact is, they do this all the time in international soccer. When a team's fans get out of hand, either at home or when traveling as a fan club on the road, soccer's various federations make the team with the rowdy following play games in an empty stadium.

 

It's really quite simple.

 

Get the players and the media in there, and keep everybody else out -- and that includes you, Kid Rock.

 

Wait a minute. Do you know how many millions the Pistons would lose with two, three or four empty home dates?

 

Fine.

 

Let's talk about losing money.

 

You take the money lost by Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O'Neal, you could buy your own Pacific atoll, plus a private jet. (Sadly, Artest's CD sales did not quite make up for the lost cash).

 

And that doesn't mention the revenue the Pacers -- the healthy and active Pacers -- probably would have made with a reasonably long run in the playoffs.

 

If you're the Simon brothers, and you're looking at the loss of millions, it's hard to feel much sympathy for the Pistons or the Palace over a few games.

 

OK, but we're talking about a handful of drunks who touched off the brawl, and one or two lunatics who called in bomb threats. How do we know it wasn't somebody from Indiana, just trying to make the Pistons look bad?

 

We don't know. We don't know where the calls were coming from, and we don't know what the motivation might have been.

 

All we know is this: As the Pacers were waiting on their bus and voting over whether to play, the NBA and security chief Stu Jackson were threatening the club with massive fines if they didn't play the game.

 

Isn't that the way it's been all season?

 

A Pistons fan does something egregious, and the Pacers are the ones who are put in the position to take the blame.

 

On Nov. 19, the Pacers clearly stepped over the line. The other night, it was the NBA's turn.

 

"They (the league) assured us it was safe, so we played," Walsh said. "But yeah, I was angry. They're telling us about bomb threats, and the league is telling us we have to play. This has just been a nightmare year. Not just Nov. 19, but the whole thing."

 

By now, the Pacers have paid their penance in triplicate. They have played with seven players. They have worked to have the suspended players' salaries donated to local charities. They have stepped up their already considerable efforts, in this community and in other cities, to show that the Pacers should not be defined by Nov. 19. And somehow, they're still going to crawl through the back window into the playoffs.

 

And the Pistons?

 

They're complaining because Larry Brown is in the hospital.

 

Listen, if they win another title, the Pistons should vote Beer Cup Guy and Chair Toss Guy a half-share apiece.

 

We're all smart enough to know that the vast majority of Pistons fans are cultured and civilized, the same way we know most NBA players would never think to cross the line Artest and others crossed that night.

 

If it's Pacers-Pistons in the playoffs, though, how can Indiana trust they will get through a series without suffering bodily harm? Twice now this season, the Palace and its fans have failed them. Which leaves the NBA with the one option they're too frightened to consider.

 

After all, an empty seat never hurt anybody.