Let's see, what happened this week? Well, Houston lost to Atlanta so a fine is pending against the Rockets. Vince Carter was listening to his IPod in the layup line. The Bulls and Hornets have already been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. It seems like I'm forgetting something..........OH! That's right! Planet Ron declared war on Auburn Hills.

Seriously though, can you believe what you saw on Friday, November 19th at the Palace? I happened to be watching the game live when that fight broke out and my reaction was much like everyone else's, "PLEASE, someone hit Bill Laimbeer!" Unfortunately though Bill was not on the broadcast that night for Detroit so he got away unscathed. Okay, so maybe that's not what EVERYONE was thinking about, but it's certainly what Larry Bird and I were hoping for.

I've gone back and forth on who I blame for this altercation, is it Ron for the hard foul? Ben for overreacting? Security for calling in sick to work that night? Or the fans for thinking they were at a Manchester United soccer game? I still can't say who I blame, so I'll lay out the scenario as I see it and let you make the decision. Let's start with Ron. We KNOW the guy is not playing with a full deck to begin with. He has a history of hard fouls and cheap shots, yet he's allowed to play this game night in and night out. He's been fined and suspended multiple times throughout his career for those very things. WE SHOULD NOT BE SURPRISED when Artest acts in this manner. "Your Honor, I plead insanity for my client". Before each and every game the Pacers play, there should be a disclaimer over the loud speaker (much like the one the Magic give me at the bottom of this article), "The actions of Ron Artest in this game do not necessarily reflect those of the Indiana Pacers." Given Artest's past history how can we say we didn't see this coming? Now, it doesn't make it right, I'm just saying we allow him to play so we have to live with the consequences.

Commissioner David Stern should have made an example out of Artest two years ago when Dennis Rodman missed the left turn to Mars and landed on Planet Ron. Instead, it was allowed to fester and this is the result. Ron is what he is, he's a loose cannon so when a situation results, corral him and get him the heck off the court. INSTEAD, Stephen Jackson turns into Roy Jones Jr., wanting to swing at LINDSEY HUNTER. His name is LINDSEY hasn't he suffered enough? I don't think Hunter's ego could survive a menacing blow to the cranium on National TV. Bottom line, we know Artest is capable of snapping at any second, yet the NBA allows him to play. Well, guess what, he snapped and now he's paying the price, unfortunately it's too late the damage has been done.

So, do we blame Ben Wallace for overreacting? Before we cast judgement, let's remember where Ben was the week leading up to this. He was playing only his second game back after attending the funeral of his brother. Now, after having the privilege of speaking with Ben regularly during the Heart and Hustle year here in Orlando, I learned very quickly how loyal Ben is and how much his family means to him. The guy was crushed and probably shouldn't even have been on the court given his emotional state. Ben is always under control, he's not a dirty player, in fact, Ben is everything that is RIGHT with this league. He works hard, never takes nights off, he is the backbone of that team and he understands and appreciates what it means to be in this league given the difficult road he's taken to get here. Ben is not a dirty player, he's emotional and the single best teammate a guy could have out there, and for him to react that way means he was pushed to the limit and he knows he shouldn't have reacted that way, but in the heat of the battle for a guy to make a mistake like that, I can certainly forgive him........even though his action resulted in Armageddon.

So, do we blame security? Well, this is hard to determine seeing as I couldn't find any security TO blame! During Orlando Magic games security is visible. They sit behind the team benches, and then stand during play stoppages there is certainly a presence at the TD Waterhouse Centre. I'm not saying they didn't have any security at The Palace, I'm just asking WHERE WERE THEY? Did they sprint off during the melee? There were plenty of people in blue shirts, but they appeared to be vendors and aside from asking people if they have a ticket, they really aren't responsible for much. They CERTAINLY aren't responsible to bring down a 6'7" 250 pound madman who's wildly unleashing haymakers. The only semblance of order I saw was a security official who was about to pepper spray a Pacer Assistant Coach. I know you can never prepare for something like this to happen but to be so utterly inept is unexcusable. If it weren't for Pacer Assistants HOLDING BACK their players, there would be 1500 fans STILL down and out at the Palace of Auburn Hills, INSTEAD the one cop who was there wants to shower pepper spray on the ONLY peace maker. All the security that was on hand should be exiled to Wally World alongside John Candy. That was a disgrace.

Lastly, do we blame the fans? Let me start by saying there was a huge part of me that wanted Artest to get ahold of each and every fan that threw something in that game. How cowardly are those fans, standing high above the players as they're being escorted out of the game, and pour the remnants of their drink out on top of them. That's something we'd watch during an International soccer game and be appauled at it. Those fans did that because they knew they could get away with it. They were high up and there was no way for those players to get at them. Well ya know what? There were a few other fans who thought the same thing and ended up paying the penalty for their stupidity as they were leveled by Artest, Jermaine O'Neal and Stephen Jackson. First of all, what does it say about a person's mental capacity to throw an object at Ron Artest? The person that's picking that sort of fight isn't one that should be operating a motor vehicle, or voting in an election or allowed anywhere near fire, they're not safe. This isn't The Coliseum of Ancient Rome people it's the Palace of Auburn Hills, well, I guess you can be the judge of that now.

It's unacceptable, it shouldn't happen, but I can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing if I were in their shoes. I already have a problem with fans yelling personal things at players because I don't feel buying a ticket allows them to say ANYTHING they want. As fans you have the right to cheer and maybe even insult a player's game...or lack thereof, but personal matters should be left out, and throwing debris is completely unacceptable. We have the video tape and I hope each and every fan that was involved gets prosecuted to the full extent of the law. The people I feel bad for are the innocent fans who honestly were caught in the fray and had nowhere to go and got hurt, but don't worry, they'll be fully compensated. The ones I don't feel bad for are people like the two clowns in Pistons jerseys who came onto the court swinging. One got hit by Artest and the other by Jermaine O'Neal, who got a running head start from the visitor's locker room. The entire incident was a black mark on the NBA, and it was unacceptable no matter how you look at it or who you blame. The suspensions certainly fit the crime, I don't think anyone can argue that. And see, none of this would have happened if Larry Bird got his wish in the first place, and traded Ron Artest to Finland.

Dante welcomes your comments, questions and alternative opinions. E-mail him here.

Dante’s Speak is solely the opinion of Dante Marchitelli and does not reflect the views of the Orlando Magic or the NBA. Marchitelli has served as radio producer in the Orlando Magic's Broadcast department for six seasons.