The World Peace Elbow

On Sunday, April 22nd, the Oklahoma City Thunder played the Los Angeles Lakers in a game with large playoff implications.  Tempers and emotion were high the entire game, and Metta World Peace got caught up in the fervor.  After a particularly invigorating dunk, World Peace celebrated--extra hard.  He "accidentally" caught James Harden in the side of the head with an elbow that could easily have been a knockout blow in an MMA fight.  Harden was taken to the locker room and has been diagnosed with a concussion.  His availability is uncertain for now.  After the game, World Peace claimed that he did not see Harden, and apologized.  I, for one, do not believe World Peace, as the elbow was just too vicious.  The only question that remains is if World Peace will be suspended, and for how long.  In my opinion, he should be out for at least the first playoff series, if not more.  There is no room for that type of play in the NBA, and David Stern needs to make sure that is clear.

Bounty Out

Head coach of the New Orleans Saints, Sean Payton, along with defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, have been recently punished for running a bounty program against opposing players in 2009.  One aspect of sporting deviance is violence.  This bounty program offers a clear example of violence in football.  The extent to which the NFL went to punish those involved with this program shows their desire to eliminate unnecessary violence from the game.  Sean Payton was suspended for one year without pay, while Williams has been suspended indefinitely.  In addition, the Saints organization has been fined $500,000 and has had two second round draft picks taken away.  The severity of these punishments hopefully will lead to the reduction of deviant violence in football.