start the riot

so a few of us went to bw3 in broad ripple for drbmd's birthday. as far as sportsbar-type establishments go, bw3 isn't too bad... the place is swarming with tv screens, but they have quite the beer selection (and woodchuck cider on tap, a huge plus for me), & last night i discovered the joy of wings with thai sauce... today i'm already craving some more thai wings and another 23oz glass of draft cider. but anyway...

bw3 was chosen in part because drbmd wanted to watch the pacers/pistons game. i generally don't like sports, but it was his birthday after all, & i think we made a good choice of places to go. what a game it was! people are already calling it one of the worst moments in nba history... and i actually saw it live. to drbmd: happy birthday. love: the nba.

pacers were up the whole game, by as much as 19 at some points, so it seemed like it would be an uneventful game, but then things went crazy. pacers were still up 15 points. ron artest (pacers) fouled ben wallace (pistons), who flew off the handle, shoved & charged at artest. things seemed to be over, and artest was actually lying down giving an interview, when drunken pistons fans started throwing shit, and artest got hit by a flying beer. that sent him over the line and he charged into the stands. then everything went fucking nuts. lots of footage of fans throwing shit, angry ballers bringing the smackdown.

i thought pistons fans waited until after the game to riot! last night they couldn't wait, & the game was called with 45 seconds still on the clock.

this story, and its repercussions (including long suspensions and possible criminal charges against players and fans) will probably dominate sports news for several cycles. there's a lot of outrage over what happened, but realistically this will probably fuel interest in the nba (and especially the pacers/pistons rivalry). americans like violent sports: football, hockey, war, etc.

so there you have it: an actual sports entry. don't get used to it, because there might never be another.