Kudos to the NBA commish!
I bet the NBA woud lost much more in ticket sales and other revenues if they hadn't come down hard on these thugs. Their revenues have been declining steadily since Michael Jordan ritired from the Bulls.
I don't see how the NBA loses ticket sales over this. People aren't spending $50+ to see millionaires shoot 50% from the free throw line. They're paying the money to see a show. They want it to be outrageous, they want to see lots of "attitude" and "in your face" match-ups. This game provided a show they won't soon forget!
I assume tickets for their December rematch are already being scalped over on ebay. That will be a very tough ticket to get. And the network will no doubt be looking at playoff type ratings for that game.
We're all having fun wringing our hands and acting shocked about the horror of it all, but we'll get over it. It's an expensive lesson (in the short term) for Artest and friends but the NBA can't be too distraught about this. When was the last time anybody talked about the NBA before the playoff season?