THE THROWDOWN

The Vibe Awards fiasco? That afternoon tea party ain't got naan on the Pacers players and Detroit's fans.

Forget Young Buck. Ron Artest and Jermaine O'Neal were putting a hurting on what seemed to be half of the Palace.

And no matter how many rational voices will point out that these were isolated, extraordinary events...knee-jerk opportunist pundits (start with GOP leaders and Bill O'Reilly and work down) will blame this on hip hop (believe me, it's already starting). All said, it's been a terrible week for the public image of black men. As my man Kevin Kim pointed out, this could be the NBA equivalnet of Janet's Nipplegate. Let the scapegoating begin!