BASKETBALL: Out of Control Weekend

Daniel Drezner puts the Pistons-Pacers brawl in perspective, noting that it pales in comparison to European soccer hooliganism. Which is fine, but that doesn�t mean it isn�t inexcusable, as was the ugly South Carolina brawl yesterday in Lou Holtz�s final game.
I�m not sure if I agree with Mannix (Chris, that is) that Ron Artest should be kicked out of the NBA for good, but a suspension for the rest of the season may be in order, in light of his repeated involvement in this kind of thing. And I do think the NBA has a major league-wide cultural problem, the roots of which I would blame on its addiction to ever younger, unschooled players. Back when most NBA players had three or four years of college and relative maturity behind them, things like this seemed a lot less common.
Of course, sports-related riots aren�t anything new. Remember the �Nickel Beer Night� fiasco?
Anyway, it was an ugly fighting weekend, with even President Bush and the Secret Service involved in a scrum down in Chile.
UPDATE: I stand corrected. Though I�ve always liked the sound of �Nickel Beer Night�, it appears that the ill-fated promotion of June 4, 1974 was actually �10-Cent Beer Night.� I guess I failed to account for inflation.