Video - Songaila punches James, suspension necessary?

• chimprage

  +4

  Yea, ya know, i dont think it was a punch.  Lebron hammed it up as much as he possibly could. 

  Posted 5/1/2008 [reply] [flag]

• truthaboutit

  +3

  I wish someone could get the video from Comcast in DC......they have an angle from the baseline and it's clear that this was an accident.

  I really am shocked that so many people are adimant that it was an intentional forearm shiver.

  Marv Albert and Reggie Miller are horrendous.  

  Posted 5/1/2008 [reply] [flag]

  • And One

    +1

    Glad to hear your side. The angle I saw watching on television looked like a punch. If even the refs have trouble deciding and they are right there when it happens, what chance do the rest of us have to make a fair and balanced judgment call?

    Posted 5/1/2008 [reply] [flag]

• gmoney2577

  +1

  The way I see this is that had he been ejected, he would not have been suspended.  So he stuck around and helped get a win, now he pays the price tonight.

  Posted 5/2/2008 [reply] [flag]

• LABallTalk

  +1

  I thought it was a bad call. I've thought the refs have done a horrible job in general these playoffs so far. It's been really ridiculous... to not hit Garnett with anything in the mix up with Zaza, for this ridiculous call when their arms got tangled, and even the flagrant foul called against Jason Kidd when Pargo went down was ridiculous.

  Posted 5/3/2008 [reply] [flag]

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Links (15)

Songaila punches James, suspension necessary?
Published 4/30/2008 by Ryne Nelson at Odenized
Odenized video clip on YouTube | Download Darius Songaila gives LeBron James a Matrix punch, but somehow gets only a technical foul. Have the referees gone soft?

NBA Playoffs: Darius Songaila punches LeBron James
Published 4/30/2008 by Tobias at Ball in Europe
I know, the Euroleague Final Four is right around the corner - but since Darius Songaila is Lithuanian, I think we should talk about this: As the Cleveland Cavaliers are playing the Washington Wizards right now (Cleveland is leading the series 3-1) Darius Songaila kind of punched the King of Kings, LeBron James. Thanks to ballhype and a great NBA blog (Odenized), I just stumbled upon this and was wondering if this was a hit at all and what LeBron James was doing after he got “hit”. It looks kind of funny to me what LeBron does but I guess it was ...

Darious Songaila Unaware of His Position in Life, Punches LeBron James
Published 5/1/2008 by Matt Moore at FanHouse
Filed under: Cavaliers, Wizards, Eastern, NBA Playoffs, Cleveland, Washington, DCSo apparently someone forgot to tell Darius Songaila that a. no one punches LeBron James, and b. if someone were able to punch LeBron James, it's certainly not him. But that's just what the 6-8 Lithuanian forward did tonight. While Songaila was only given a technical foul for this, it's likely (read: certain) that he'll be suspended for Game 6 in Washington. And a series that has already been brutally dirty just got nastier. (Video HT: ...

Darius Songaila is Lithuanian, but he's NOT a Lithuanian gangster
Published 5/1/2008 by JakeTheSnake at Bullets Forever: Front Page Posts
Clearly, a big win tonight.  Sadly, a lot of the focus for the next few games will be over Darius Songaila's punch/slap/whatever you want to call it.  There's a few people who think he will end up getting suspended for Game 6, but before Stu Jackson puts down his ruling, hopefully he considers the following evidence... ...

Darius Songaila give LeBron James a left hook
Published 5/1/2008 by houroc at SportFiends
Ok so how the refs let Darius Songaila get away with this I don’t know. With tensions already high in this series, Songaila punched LeBron James and the refs only gave him a technical foul…. What?! If that were Rasheed Wallace he would be suspended for like 5 games. Tags: rasheed wallace, darius songaila, lebron james

Songalia v James
Published 5/1/2008 by Scott at WaitingForNextYear
Given the end of the game, this seems to be an overlooked portion.  Possibly because it was at the beginning, or possibly because there were plenty of other things to worry about.  But I figured it was something that we should rehash a bit. A few things of mention: - Brendan Haywood fouled out with a few minutes left in the fourth quarter.  Had Songalia been ejected, the final defensive set for the Wizards would have been altered. - Songalia had a few key free throws at the end.  He’s a significantly better shooter from the line than both Haywood and Andray Blatche. - It wouldn’t surprise me if this is revisited by the league before Friday’s game. (video via ...

The Most Liberal Interpretation of a Punch in the History of Hand-to-Hand Combat
Published 5/1/2008 at The Sporting Blog
Shoals, who does his NBA Playoffs recaps in this slot every morning, was traveling from the west coast to the best east coast overnight, so he s in some sort of jetlagged-induced coma right now. So, in his stead, here s your recap of last night s playoffs: The Celtics realized they re much better than the Hawks, and the Wizards realized they re much better without Agent Zero. Oversimplification is fun! But of course, what would a Wiz-Cavs game be without giving LeBron something to cry about. Here s Darius Songaila punching James: Listen, Marv and Reggie, just calm the hell down. That was not even in the same ballpark as a punch. Just ask Kermit ...

YouTube of the Day: Songalia and LeBron get tangled up
Published 5/1/2008 at Ball Don't Lie
I noticed this last year and spoke of it on an old TBJ podcast, but Marv Albert's play-by-play is sadly on the decline. (Old age sucks.) Now, don't get me wrong, Marv's still a broadcasting legend — one of the greatest of all-time — but more and more frequently he botches a routine call or overreacts to something that he never would have in the past. For example: A punch? Seriously, Marv? Seriously, Reg? Seriously, bloggers? Um, no. This is completely accidental. They get tangled up, LeBron tries to free his arm, Darius Songalia flails a bit, and ...

Worst of the Nights: Featuring April 30 and May 1, 2008
Published 5/2/2008 by Basketbawful at Basketbawful
Hey folks. Sorry for the delay on yesterday's WotN. Unforseen circumstances and all that. The trade gang: Oh, if only they had Larry Hughes back. Cleveland's big mid-season trade continues to be a big-time failure. Delonte West was decent (12 points, 8 assists, zero turnovers), but he shot 4-for-11. Wally World shot 1-for-6 and had just as many turnovers as points (4). Ben Wallace had 2 points, 2 missed freethrows, 6 rebounds, and 3 fouls. Joe Smith scored 1 point, shot 0-for-6, and grabbed 4 rebounds (which means he was outrebounded by both of Washington's starting guards). When a blockbuster trade can't ...

NBA Playoffs: No Punching, Darius Songaila
Published 5/2/2008 by Chris at Intentional Foul
When the Washington Wizards try to stave off elimination tonight against the Cleveland LeBrons, they’ll have do so without one of their key reserves, Darius Songaila, who received a one-game suspension — without pay — for smacking James in the gob the last time they played. In case you forgot, the uploading skills of Odenized can help: Now, now. Who needs a refresher course in playing well with others? Actually, while his suspension is probably warranted, it’s a little surprising it took this long for the NBA front-office guys to put their ...

Darius Songaila Suspended - Updated
Published 5/2/2008 by Carolyn at And One - cleveland.com
Darius Songaila Suspended - Updated Posted by Carolyn May 02, 2008 13:20PM

LeBron James Punches Himself In His Face - Gets A Wizard Suspended
Published 5/2/2008 by Beast Mode at Beast Mode
Now technically he did not punch himself in the face, but I was pretty much LeBron’s arm flail that caused the punch to the face, and the suits in the NBA office were too dumb and or purposely ignored that fact.  After all, they don’t want to have LeBron James complaining about the physical play again.  Ill let you examine the video for ...

Darius Songaila Suspended for Cavs-Wizards Game 6
Published 5/2/2008 at FanIQ Blog
The "Jordan Rules" was dubbed by the Detroit Pistons for their aggressive defensive strategy against Michael Jordan, however, many also referred to the "Rules" as a very liberal approach to calling fouls. Conspiracy theorists were all over the NBA for its preferential treatment to help ratings, etc. Well, it appears David Stern has effectively transitioned to the "King Rules." Darius Songaila has been suspended for tonight's Game 6 for what appeared to be a punch thrown in Game 5. Upon second and third glance, it looks like an inadvertent reaction ...

Refs Ruin Basketball
Published 5/3/2008 by Daniel Sagal at LABallTalk.com
The 2008 NBA Playoffs have been full of exciting match ups and great come backs. In the West, the higher seeded teams have played strong and made it to the 2nd round. In the East, the teams least expected to struggle are the ones that have been challenged. Unfortunately, I feel as though every game could’ve been even better had the referees not made so many poor calls. Allow me to review a few plays that I don’t agree with. Jason Kidd flagrant foul on Jannero Pargo : As you watch Pargo run to the basket, Jason Kidd makes a clear attempt to go for the ball. As the ball is obviously hidden, Kidd has no choice but to foul and prevent the easy lay up. While ...

Assorted Thoughts on the 2008 NBA Playoffs
Published 24 days ago by Jim at Green Bandwagon: Front Page Posts
The Guy I Underrated the Most Prior to the Playoffs Honorable Mention - Rip Hamilton. Man he's an assassin. On top of that he cared throughout the Celtics series, which did not appear to be the case for some of his teammates. Now on to the winner. Even after he made the All Star team and dropped 37 points on the Celtics I still felt ...