Not that I ever thought there was a chance he would be, but the NBA ruled that Rip Hamilton would not be suspended for his actions on Wednesday. From Chris McCosky in the Detroit News:
Pistons guard Richard Hamilton will not be suspended for his actions Wednesday night against the Bulls.
NBA spokesman Tim Frank said in an e-mail Thursday that the ejection would be the only action taken. Hamilton continued to stalk and have words with Bulls forward Tyrus Thomas after being ejected by referee Joey Crawford.
Hamilton has 15 technical fouls, one shy of a mandatory one-game suspension.
Between McCosky and the clowns in Blog-A-Bull's comment section, that's the third or fourth time I heard the word "stalked." Do we have to make it seem to predatory? Is this really the first time we've seen players get mad and instigate something?
I hate the fact Rip is so close to having the league activate the Sheed Rule on him (and I don't doubt it'll happen before the end of the year), but if he's going to get techs, I'd rather they come with altercations with the opposing team. I've never really bought in to the talk about the Pistons getting "fired up" after getting a tech for complaining too much ("Oh, you think I whine too much? I'll show you by hitting this three!"), but there's no doubt that the intensity picks up when players need to be separated.
(Disclaimer: this doesn't make Wednesday's techs any less stupid -- getting tossed in the fourth quarter when you're already down 23 is pointless, especially when it puts you one away from 16 on the season.)
Rivalry = entertaining.
Whining = boring.