NBA all star weekend in Vegas: Thug city!

Sports: Bill Simmons hit on this in his recap.

After initial reports that the weekend was relatively quiet, more and more information about shootings, arrests and brawls keeps trickling out. (Check out this story on Channel 8's Web site that carries the headline, "Violence Erupts During All-Star Weekend," or another story on the same Web site about the poor behavior of some of the NBA "fans"). I know for a fact that the Strip was closed twice on Friday night because of shooting incidents (saw it myself), that there was a 20-person brawl outside the Mirage's cab line at 5 a.m. that same night (my friend Marty saw it), that paramedics were covering up something that looked to be a corpse in front of the MGM Grand on Saturday morning (Sully saw it), and that I threw myself into the spirit of the weekend and shot somebody outside of Treasure Island because they were wearing a Yankees cap (fortunately, no witnesses). Who knows what else happened? Was it in Vegas' best interest to report every unflattering crime or brawl that happened? Probably not. Here's the lingering question: Since Vegas' ultimate goal was to win everyone over and prove its worth as an NBA city, and since All-Star Weekend has previously proven itself as a destination spot for every gangbanger and troublemaker within a 750-mile radius, why not import extra policemen and National Guardsmen like New Orleans did before Super Bowl XXXVI, just to make sure everyone felt totally safe? Why would they want visitors saying stuff like "I don't care how long this cab line is, there's no way I'm walking the Strip" and "I wonder if we'll have the biggest riot in the history of sports this weekend?" In my opinion, Vegas dodged a major bullet this weekend. No pun intended.

Now Jason Whitlock slams the NBA and David Stern for attracting a thug element to the game that will only get worse and he can't get rid of anytime soon. The all-star game in New Orleans next year, you are taking a huge risk of something horrendous happening.

I'm serious. Stern has spent the past three years trying to move his league and players past the thug image Ron Artest's fan brawl stamped on the NBA. After this weekend, I'm convinced he's losing the battle. All-Star Weekend Vegas screamed that the NBA is aligned too closely with thugs. Stern is going to have to take drastic measures to break that perception/reality. All-Star Weekend can no longer remain the Woodstock for parolees, wannabe rap artists and baby's mamas on tax-refund vacations. This was not a byproduct of the game being held in Vegas. All-Star Weekend has been on this path for the past five or six years. Every year the event becomes more and more a destination for troublemakers. If something isn't done, next year's All-Star Weekend will surpass the deceased Freaknik, a weekend-long party in Atlanta, in terms of lawlessness. Wide-spread looting and a rape killed the Freaknik in 1999. The NBA's image cannot survive bedlam in the French Quarter. And I'm not sure it can survive the embarrassment of a New Orleans standoff between its fans and the National Guard, either. If Stern wants to continue to strengthen the international appeal of his game, he has the perfect excuse to move the All-Star Game to Germany, China, England or anywhere Suge Knight's posse can't find it.