"Has the whole world gone crazy?! Am I the only one who gives a shit about the rules?!"

From the story Bonds' Brother Bothered By Baseball Snub:

Bobby Bonds Jr. does not know for certain if his famous older brother took steroids, but he believes Barry deserves better treatment from Major League Baseball as he approaches Henry Aaron's career home run record.

In an interview with the Newark Star-Ledger, Bobby Bonds Jr. says he's bothered that commissioner Bud Selig has not committed to being present when Barry hits home run Nos. 755 and 756 -- and that Aaron has said he'll be elsewhere playing golf when the moment comes.

"Especially Hank Aaron," Bonds Jr., whose late father played in the same era as Aaron, told the newspaper. "Hank Aaron does not even want to support Barry. Being a black man going through what he went through in the past and not supporting my brother, it kind of makes me look at him like, 'Are you serious, brother? Are you serious?' "

Oh I get it now...Hank Aaron is supposed to show up to Barry's games because they're both Black. Of course! Riiiight.....because Aaron dealt with outward racism and death threats in his breaking of a White man's record so, of course, he should support Barry's quest to break that very record whilst enduring the oppression of his private Lay-Z-Boy and flatscreen TV in the locker room and, oh yeah, the Commissioner's inattention! Are YOU serious, brother? Are YOU serious? P.S. Your brother is a giant asshole, which just might have something to do with it.

"Cut the steroids out, just look at my brother as a human being. He stole bases, he ran, he caught the ball," Bonds Jr. told the Star-Ledger. "It's so hard to justify what's going on with baseball and how they're treating him."

Okay, let's cut the steroids out. Consider it done. Unfortunately, we're also gonna have to cut out a large number of those homeruns. They appear to be somehow attached to one another. Sorry.

From the story whose headline should have read Suns continue to cry about being punished for breaking the rules or The Only Time I Have Liked David Stern:

In an interview with Dan Patrick on ESPN Radio, David Stern defended the suspensions, saying that Stoudemire and Diaw brought the punishment upon themselves. He also scoffed at Patrick's insistence that Horry will decide the outcome of the series with his foul on Nash.

"It's being decided because two Phoenix Suns who knew about the rule, forgot about, couldn't control themselves or had coaches who couldn't control them," Stern said.

A-FREAKIN' MEN, PAPA STERN!!

Stern said if the owners would like to change the rule in the offseason, he'd be happy to do it. But he also predicted there wouldn't be a repeat of this in the playoffs because of the punishment Stoudemire and Diaw received.

I agree, if you want to change the rule IN THE OFFSEASON, that's fine and dandy. You can't expect them to change it on the fly just to serve your team's interests.

Suns coach Mike D'Antoni ripped the NBA's decision on Wednesday.

"You know we do have the most powerful microscopes and telescopes in the world in Arizona," Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni said after the Suns' morning shootaround. "You could use those instruments and not find a shred of fairness or common sense in that decision."

Mike, the rule says if you leave the bench you get suspended for 1 game. They left the bench and got suspended for 1 game. That's the textbook definition of "fairness" and "common sense." Put your microscope away and go find a dictionary.

The rule, strictly enforced in the past, is aimed at preventing a fight from escalating into a full-scale brawl.

"I know for a fact that Boris Diaw would never, ever be in a fight," D'Antoni said.

Diaw IS French so he might actually have a point here.

"I know that. To suspend him for going to Steve Nash, for looking and curiosity, that's a little harsh."

Again, Mike, the rule doesn't say "if you join in the fight," the rule is in regards to LEAVING THE BENCH. The rule is set up the way it is precisely for this reason, so that the league is not left to judge who left the bench to fight and who went out of "curiosity." Nor should psychological profiles ascertained by the player's coach be needed.

The Frenchman Diaw said he could not remember being in a fight, even as a kid.

Very relevant information.

"I've been in the NBA for four years and I haven't got even one technical foul," Diaw said. "I was just looking to see that Steve was all right."

Monsieur Diaw, see above about what the rule does and does not say.

But he agreed he should have known better than to walk toward Nash.

"You fight against your instincts, but you've got to overcome that," Diaw said. "That was my mistake to walk a few feet toward Steve."

SO YOU ADMIT THAT YOU BROKE THE FUCKING RULE THEN! Why are we still talking then?!

Stoudemire abandoned his excuse that he was trying to check in to the game.

"I know you can't step on the court and at that time it was a natural reaction," he said.

SO YOU TOO ADMIT YOU BROKE THE RULE! Tell your damn coach!

"I was more concerned about Steve's health, and I got penalized for it."

Translation: "Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa." The rules don't give a shit about your intentions, Amare. They only care about your actions.

Ya know what really chaps my ass? The way I have been hearing for a couple years now that "if you're not a fan of the Phoenix Suns, then you're not a fan of basketball." Talk about a load of bullshit. I happen to love basketball and you can mark this post down as reason number 257 why I hate the Suns. Bravo, NBA! Spurs, in the words of Sensei John Creese, "Finish Him!" I hope you have better luck than the Cobra Kai did.

P.S. I realize how angry this post reads, but I'm in a great mood today. No, really. :-)