Regular readers know I sometimes spout off here about things I know nothing about. Today's topic is sports.

Specifically it's the fight that broke out Friday between players for the Indiana Pacers and fans of the Detroit Pistons.

David Stern was. (Stern, that is.) The first player to jump into the stands, Ron Artest, is gone for the season. Two others -- Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O'Neal -- are gone for nearly a half-season. Another half-dozen drew shorter suspensions.

Is that all? Not by a long shot. The NBA is going to look at separating players from fans, perhaps destroying all the intimacy that makes the game unique. The Pistons will lift the season tickets of any fans it finds were involved. Criminal charges may follow.

Note: If these start showing up in your neighborhood over the next few years, consider moving. That's the jersey of Ron Artest, currently out of stock at The Sports Authority.

Can more be done? You bet:

1. The NBA needs to appoint team psychiatrists, one for each franchise. Many teams already have sports psychologists, but there are many other issues that need to be dealt with. Treat their whole families, make it a new perk. Coaches, too.
   
2. Any incident involving violence, on or off the court, should result in intensive counseling and mandatory treatment. This may mean drug tests to guarantee compliance with a treatment plan.
   
3. In the case at issue Artest's suspension should be open-ended. It ends only when he completes a treatment plan on whatever a doctor diagnoses.
   
4. The fans involved here need to be named, shamed and prosecuted. If the moron who threw beer on Artest finds himself living in very close quarters with some fellows who might call Artest "pipsqueak," say for five-to-ten years, I would not be unhappy.
   
5. In Europe fans found guilty of thuggish behavior, in-or-out of the arena, can be banned for life, even have their travel restricted. Stern needs a little list, and he should share that with his counterparts in other sports.
   

Games should be a respite from the pressure of life, not a pressure cooker. But for those who engage in sports, the games are their lives. They need help. Those fans who use the games as a substitute for life also need help. If you think up a way to get it for them, let me know.