Melo got a 15-games suspension...

[wcsoldier]

NEW YORK (AP) -- NBA scoring leader Carmelo Anthony was suspended for 15 games Monday and six other players were penalized as commissioner David Stern came down hard on both teams after the Nuggets and Knicks brawled at Madison Square Garden.

Nate Robinson and J.R. Smith each got 10 games, and four other players also were suspended. Stern fined each organization $500,000. But there was no separate penalty for Knicks coach Isiah Thomas, who had warned Anthony not to go into the lane before the mayhem started Saturday night.

"The NBA and its players represent a game of extraordinary skill, athleticism and grace, and, for good or bad, set an example for the entire basketball world, on and off the court," Stern said in a statement.

Mardy Collins, whose hard foul on Smith sparked the fighting, was suspended six games and Knicks teammate Jared Jeffries will miss four. Also, the Knicks' Jerome James and Denver's Nene were both penalized one game for leaving the bench area during the chaos.

Ten players were ejected after the fight, which started with 1:15 left in Denver's 123-100 victory. It was the NBA's scariest scene since the brawl between Pacers players and Pistons fans in Detroit two years ago.

There was speculation Thomas would be penalized for his comments to Anthony. Stern acknowledged hearing about it, but said he relied only on "definitive information" when handing out punishments.

Stern said the fines to the organizations are meant to show he is serious about cleaning up the game.

"It's a more general message that I'm going to start holding our teams accountable," Stern said

["THE" MoSav]

he deserves it...

[Sanford - V. President of the Dangerous Crew Movement]

he should gat 5 more just because he acted like a bitch after that "punch."

[wcsoldier]

anyway, Denver gonna fall hard without their best scorers, plus they got a tough schedule so no way they gonna win more than 2 or 3 games... I'm glad for this bitch ass coach, George Karl,  he's the biggest moron I've ever seen as a coach.. next time think before frontin 

[WC Iz Active]

he deserves it...

I agree

[Antonio_]

he deserves it...

[Halu Sination]

nate honestly deserves more than 10 suspensions. that fight could've easily been avoided, but his dumbass ran in and pushed it further

[Citizen-Y]

Nate should of gotten 15 too.

[Halu Sination]

even nate's teammates agree that hes annoying

But to teammates and coaches he also can be the annoying little brother who talks too much and can't control his emotions. Larry Brown tried to get Robinson sent to the Developmental League last season, only to be rebuffed by management.

Before the Knicks' home opener last month, MSG Network recorded Robinson outside the locker room posing and dancing for the cameras. Teammates tried to stop him but Robinson continued dancing. Robinson also has earned a reputation as a bench jockey who trash-talks to players on the floor. He also has been criticized by teammates for, ironically enough, showboating.

Last year, Robinson was involved in two fights with teammates. He went after Jerome James with a broom during a practice and then had to be separated from fighting Malik Rose in the shower. The shower fight prompted a veteran teammate to give Robinson another nickname.

"That's just Nate," the Knick said. "He's a jerk."

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/story/481123p-404884c.html

[GangstaBoogy]

well there goes 30 points a game from my fantasy team 

nate honestly deserves more than 10 suspensions. that fight could've easily been avoided, but his dumbass ran in and pushed it further

forreal. i don't see how carmello got 15 and he got 10.

[Fuck Your Existence]

15 games is enough..the proof of him being a punk bitch on tape is punishment enough

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

well there goes 30 points a game from my fantasy team 

[Antonio_]

lol @ Nate trying to fight an animal like Jerome James. He's lucky James didn't kill him with a punch.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Rocky Mountain low
 
By Steve Kerr, Yahoo! Sports
December 18, 2006
 
Carmelo Anthony's sucker punch at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night didn't just strike Mardy Collins' face. It also struck at Anthony's own image, which had undergone a fabulous facelift in the past year and a half.

After a spectacular performance at last summer's world championships - during which he was lauded for his leadership and class - and a brilliant start to this season as the NBA's leading scorer, Anthony appeared to have matured and taken a major step forward in a career that began somewhat tumultuously. But Saturday's punch - which transformed what was a quickly dying NBA fight into a brawl - brought back questions of Anthony's character and raised doubt about his ability to be one of the NBA's pillars of success.

We know Melo is a phenomenal player - there's no doubting that. But can he be the megastar the league prides itself on? Not just a physical talent, but a Dwyane Wade, Michael Jordan type? The kind that David Stern can point to and say, "That's our guy," and sell him to the public?

Fights come with the territory in basketball. Most of the best players in the history of the game have been involved in them. Larry Bird went at it with Dr. J, Michael Jordan grabbed Reggie Miller by the throat in a game and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar punched Kent Benson years ago. Shaquille O'Neal went after Charles Barkley during a game in Houston late in Barkley's career. The game is extremely emotional and intense, and the players are so competitive that altercations are inevitable.
 
Let's face it: That's what we love about the NBA - heated competition between some of the world's best athletes. Sometimes, however, the action can be so fierce that things get out of hand. And when they do, players have to understand that there's a line that can't be crossed - particularly these days, two years after the Pacers-Pistons brawl that shocked the sports world and hurt the NBA's image.

Anthony crossed that line.

The fight between Collins, Nate Robinson (who also crossed the line, by the way) and J.R. Smith had been broken up and tensions were easing. Anthony's sucker punch of Collins reignited the fire and bedlam ensued. Carmelo should absolutely have come to the aid of Smith, who was the victim of a dirty foul by Collins but not by punching the Knicks player.

There is an art to defending a teammate who has been flagrantly fouled. Get in your opponent's face, point at him, gesture at him, threaten him - and then let security and teammates pull you back. That way, you defend your team's honor without doing any major damage. It requires composure, which is difficult to display in the heat of the battle, but it's absolutely necessary, particularly for a star player.

Anthony's mistake cost him 15 games - the length of the suspension the NBA handed down Monday. It also cost the Nuggets their second-leading scorer: Smith, who'll miss 10 games, which is a longer suspension than he probably would have gotten had the fight been broken up earlier. That means Denver, which had enjoyed a good start to the season and looked like a strong postseason contender, will have to really scramble to keep its head above water.

Anthony - like all NBA players - had to know that Stern would come down extremely hard on anyone throwing punches. Most people figured Anthony would get a seven- or eight-game suspension, but Stern doubled that. The league's image is paramount, and it took such a beating after the brawl at The Palace that Stern will do everything necessary to halt fighting. (Never mind that nobody seems to be concerned about hockey's image, where a fight like the Anthony/Collins one occurs nightly and is cheered - but that's a different story.)

Stern's punishment - which included seven player suspensions and $500,000 fines for both the Knicks and Nuggets - is a clear message to players and teams around the league: Don't mess with the NBA's image. The problem for Anthony, of course, is that not only did he taint the league's image, but he tarnished his own, too. It's as if he climbed all the way up the ladder, only to fall just as he was getting to his destination.

And now he has to start climbing all over again.
 

[PLANT]

Melos on my fantasy team, he fucked up bigtime!  He looked like such a pussy when he threw that punch and ran away.  Im not at all suprised he got 15 games, I thought he may even get more.  I think Nate Robinson should have got 15 tho, he was the one jumping around, pumping his chest and getting everyone fired up.  Definatly tryin to bring the Rukus.