Today marks one of the darker days in professional sports.
Someone needs to build a Hall of Fame for Jaw-Dropping TV Nights. My original induction class would include O.J.'s Bronco Chase -- the Babe Ruth of this idea -- the second Tyson-Holyfield fight, Lady Di's accident and the night Gordon Jump tried to molest Dudley and Arnold on Diff'rent Strokes. Those were always the Big Four, at least for me.
Now I have a Big Five.
It was just another NBA fight, until someone offered Ron Artest their beverage.
The Pistons-Pacers melee nailed every category on the Hall of Fame checklist. Will you always remember where you watched it? (Check.) Did you know history was being made? (Check.) Would you have fought anyone who tried to change the channel? (Check.) Did your head start to ache after a while? (Check.) Did your stomach feel funny? (Check.) Did you end up watching about four hours too long? (Check.) Were there a few can-you-believe-this-type phone calls along the way? (Check.) Did you say, "I can't believe this," at least 50 times? (Check.)http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/041123http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/cowbell/041122I remember being in a hotel in rural Indiana watching this.
Grantland wrote an extensive article last February on this. It's worth a read.
http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7612311/view/full/an-oral-history-malice-palace