An oral history on the Malice at the Palace. Best article I've ever read on it.

my personal favourite quote:
Angel: The only time I felt I was about to get hurt was when a policeman popped his pepper spray container and started shaking it up. Reggie Miller was pleading with him, "Please don't. My suit costs x-hundred dollars."
 
definetely one of those times where you remember exactly where you were and what you were doing.

Friday night. At my buddies house playing halo with 13 other friends
laugh.gif
oh the memories
pimp.gif
 
got back home from school for the weekened. wasnt paying too much attention since it was a blowout. then it happened...what if jermaine o'neal didnt slip on that punch? OMG

O'Neal: Nobody knows this — the Pistons security had just told that man to leave the building before that even happened. Nobody knows that that same guy threatened Yao Ming.[sup]21[/sup] People don't know that. People don't know some of the bad scenarios of the people who were caught up in that situation. But they know everything about the players. That man had been plotting to start fights against players so he could get paid. That's a fact.

http://O'Neal said he learned of this in his court cases. The Detroit News reported in 2005, "One fan who filed a federal suit against the Pacers and two players for assault had a history of alleged incidents at the Palace. He threatened to pour a drink on Houston Rockets star Yao Ming at a game earlier in November. That fan, Charlie Haddad, was banned Dec. 2 from the Palace. He was confronted at half-time during the Nov. 19 game with the Pacers by Palace security officials."
 
Man, Ron Artest was having a MVP type season the first few weeks, averaging like 24 PPG & coming off a year where he had won DPOY...

Anyone remember that 3 he shot over LeBron with like 2 sec. left that year? smh...

04/05 Pacers + 06/07 suns got dicked over a championship....
 
Angel: The only time I felt I was about to get hurt was when a policeman popped his pepper spray container and started shaking it up. Reggie Miller was pleading with him, "Please don't. My suit costs x-hundred dollars."




30t6p3b.gif
laugh.gif


This dude Reggie...
 
I honestly feel that event changed Ron Artest's career and his personality a bit more to the player we see today. Like he cares but in his own crazy way where you think he doesn't care as much anymore.

The whole thing was so surreal. At best it could've simply been a lil brawl amongst players where I feel Ben wouldn't have engaged a whole lot and benches would've cleared and that would've been done with but the way Ron laid out on the announcer's table set some of those drunk dumb fans off. Gotta really blame security for letting that fan waltz on the court during all that.
 
Pollard: Some of the fans, they get down on the court and are saying, "I'm going to go punch this guy. I'm going to go punch this guy." Then they get close and they're like, "Wow. I can't reach his face."1
idiot fans 
roll.gif
roll.gif


O'Neal: Nobody knows this — the Pistons security had just told that man to leave the building before that even happened. Nobody knows that that same guy threatened Yao Ming.[sup]21[/sup] People don't know that. People don't know some of the bad scenarios of the people who were caught up in that situation. But they know everything about the players. That man had been plotting to start fights against players so he could get paid. That's a fact.
stay classy, detroit.  home of t-baby, unemployment, lax gun laws and just trash. 
http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7612311/view/full/an-oral-history-malice-palace#footnote19
 
I firmly believe the Pacers would have won the championship that season had the fight and suspensions not happened.
 
....ive always said Ben Wallace was to blame for that incident escalating to that point.
 
...there used to exist a video of what Ben was doing as Ron laid on the table. he started off throwing rolled up towels at Ron, then he was making a motions to the crowd to get amped up......kinda like in wrestling, while Ron just laid there. then sure enough a fan threw something, just like Ben did and all hell broke loose.
 
 
 
....matter of fact *EDIT*
 
[h3]The Splash[/h3]
A full 90 seconds after Wallace had shoved Artest, Artest remained lying on the scorer's table as Detroit fans yelled obscenities at him. The 10 players who had been playing (O'Neal, Artest, Jackson, Tinsley, and Fred Jones for Indiana; Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, Hamilton, Hunter, and Smush Parker for Detroit) and coaches from both teams huddled at midcourt — the concern was Wallace, who couldn't be calmed down — with everyone else staying near their respective benches. For whatever reason, nobody ever pulled Artest off that table. A fed-up Wallace finally decided to throw an armband in Artest's direction.

Mike Brown: Ben wasn't going toward Ron anymore, but he takes [the armband] and kind of flicks it under my arm at Ron. When that happens, I turn to look and see where it goes and obviously it doesn't hit Ron — but it kind of opens up the floodgates.

 
 
....had Ben not done that, that fan wouldn'y have felt comfortable doing it also. i always felt Ben should have gotten more games.
 
 
 
To add to the beginning of the article on how everything happened just right for this to pop off...not only the throwing of the cup, but the odds of the cup actually hitting Artest. If he misses, nothing happens.
Stephen Jackson has the worst logic with "protecting" Artest. You couldnt of tried to break it up? He went in there throwing punches cause he's a thug. He was joining Artest, not protecting him. 

Sheed 
pimp.gif
 
Man I was at a bachelor party that night. The game was playing on a big screen but everyone except for maybe one or two guys was focused on the half dozen or so girls shakin their assets for money. It was about 10 or so dudes in the spot. And then a commotion stirred and we all kinda stared at the screen. And then The Palace erupted. Could not believe what I was seeing. It was surreal. Strippers were looking confused because no one was paying them any attention. Changed the entire mood in the room lol. All we could talk about was how crazy it was and all the little highlights from it. I'll never forget that isht.
 
lol who remembers jermaine o neals sliding punch? they never showed it online after the incident...
laugh.gif
that explains why he slid. he slipped
laugh.gif
my dude still dropped one of the fatty twins. what happend to the fatty twin? did he really try to sue? what a loser...
 
Of course O'Neal slipped. It's pretty obvious. But that's a crazy "what-if" for NBA history: what if O'Neal lands that punch without slipping? That's a TKO from a player to a fan, and at least a shattered face. That's worse than Kermit vs. Rudy T.
 
Originally Posted by langfor5

One of those moments where you remember exactly where you were and what you were doing at the moment it happened.
eek.gif
 followed by 
eek.gif
 all night watching the replay.
haha exactly what I was thinking 
 
I was watching this game live man. After school in my living room. Surreal moment, will never forget it.

This was a great article/piece.
 
Originally Posted by SoHi 23

I was watching this game live man. After school in my living room. Surreal moment, will never forget it.

This was a great article/piece.
Bullcrap, unless you were in night school, or something, back then. That was a Friday night prime time game. Even on the west coast that brawl hit late in the evening.
 
I remember that night. I always thought Ben overreacted a bit when he got fouled and had a lot more to do with the brawl getting started then people want to give him credit for, but when your down 15 at home to your biggest rival at that point in time I understand why he was so mad.

Ya'll remember Ben Wallace's brother beating on Fred Jones in the crowd?
 
Originally Posted by 8PM at MSG

I remember that night. I always thought Ben overreacted a bit when he got fouled and had a lot more to do with the brawl getting started then people want to give him credit for

....in all fairness, at that time Artest was trying to put on his best impression of Dennis Rodman. he had been in trouble so much that he started to try to "do things....without doing things". it got to the point where people didnt want him to guard them like the Malone vs. Rodman days.
 
...i seen it coming. Artest kept trying to get under peoples skin as much as possible to throw them off they game. well, Ben wasnt having it. there were a few times Artest was doing @$#$ and the refs missed it. Ben got fed up.
 
...and this is coming from a BIG Artest supporter. i actually loved him going into Rodman mode. that team could have done great things man
30t6p3b.gif

 
 

  
 
The whole thing started before the actual play.  If you see the play before, there was a dust up just under the rim, a shove or something if I remember that went mostly unnoticed.  (I was lucky to catch it, and knew something was brewing)  They came down to the other end, and when the next foul came, I was already hoppin up and down knowing it was gettin juicy. 

It wasn't all THAT bad inititally, shovin, some fake toughness, etc etc, then Artest went to the table which of course was different, then I seen that cup hit, and.......
eek.gif
 
eek.gif
 
eek.gif
 
eek.gif



By this point I am jumping up and down in my apartment (second floor) and not even giving a @#$% if the downstairs neighbor might have gotten pissed.  I was screaming "Holy @#$%" over and over and just geeking out.  Right at that moment my wife came in the front door and I was yellin at her LOOK LOOK LOOK and pointing.  It was pure chaos and all awesome. 
laugh.gif
laugh.gif
laugh.gif
laugh.gif
laugh.gif
laugh.gif


Every replay had me weak at the knees laughin, and then it came quick, my phone was goin OFF. 
roll.gif
Friends, family members, everybody was like what's goin on, what's happening, are you watching???? 
laugh.gif


Sucks it tore down the Pacers team, I know all the stiff white guys cried and complained, and Stern overreacted like the stupid @#$%^ that he is, but to me that night was outstanding.  Obviously I would sing a different tune if I was in the stands getting swung on, but hey, I was safe in my living room. 
laugh.gif
 
Originally Posted by dmbrhs

Originally Posted by SoHi 23

I was watching this game live man. After school in my living room. Surreal moment, will never forget it.

This was a great article/piece.
Bullcrap, unless you were in night school, or something, back then. That was a Friday night prime time game. Even on the west coast that brawl hit late in the evening.
roll.gif
roll.gif
I was getting ready to say...that was pretty late at night.
 
Back
Top Bottom