In the Line of Fire: Larry Bird & Stephen Jackson

Okay, so these guys work for a team not in Chicago, but who cares? This story has gun segue written all over it.

What do strippers, Escalades and handguns all have in common? You'll never find a NBA player without them.

Oh, Stephen Jackson. What do you do for an encore? Attend a Philadelphia Eagles game wearing a T.O. jersey? Invite Eddie Griffin over for a screening of Girls Gone Wild #35? Spit in Bill Romanowski's face? Maybe snap Albert Haynesworth in the ass with a towel? Tell your buddy Ron Artest that his latest album sucks? Maybe tell Suge Knight he needs to lose a few pounds?

Stephen Jackson, suspended 25 games for his role in the "Malace at the Palace" brawl between the Indianapolis Pacers and Detroit Pistons on Nov. 19, 2004, was involved in an altercation outside a strip club that included punches being thrown, a vehicular assault and shots fired from a handgun. According to sources, Jackson was punched in the face leading him to retrieve a handgun from his vehicle as his assailant then tried to run over Jackson in a blue Oldsmobile, rolling him onto the hood of the vehicle. Jackson then fired 5 rounds from his 9 mm pistol in self-defense. It's unclear whether any of the rounds found a home or not, but police are investigating the incident and no charges have been filed as of this time.

Also involved were Pacer's players Jamaal Tinsley, Jimmie Hunter, and Marquis Daniels. Police also found handguns in Tinsley's and Daniels' cars, but all three players had proper permits. That other ubiquitous NBA ingrediant, marijuana, was found in one of the players' cars, but no charges were filed for that misdemeanor either.

Now I'm not Lary Bird, but if Stephen Jackson makes it out of training camp as a Pacer, I might start looking for a new line of work. Maybe the Pacers and other NBA teams need to take an NFL/ boot camp approach to training camp cuz I wanna know what the hell those players were doing out at 3 AM with scheduled two-a-day practices filling up most of the players' time. Is Stephen Jackson a just magnet for trouble or does Larry Bird 's management style have a bigger problems?

Bird's recent acquisition was reacquiring Al Harrington from the Atlanta Hawks, a player originally drafted by the Pacers, for a price tag far outta the realm of realism. Think Jon Koncack or Jim McIlvaine. Okay maybe he's a little more skilled than those guys, but under the NBA collective bargaining agreement resigning him would have been less intrusive on the slary cap for the Pacers had they never let him go in the first place.

Bird's head coach, Rick Carlisle, isn't exactly known for his demanding presence, and remember that Larry Bird once had to hire Isaiah Thomas as his head coach.

With the brawl still fresh in everyone's mind, and now this shots fired incident rearing its ugly head, I'd say Larry Bird and Stephen Jackson are on the hot seat in Indianapolis. For Larry Legend, Boston's only a 3 hour flight away where the Celtics fans would welcome him with open arms, but I can't see the Hick from French Lick taking the easy way out. He'll probably be the martyr in this whole scenario, whereas Stephen Jackson and his ever-growing NBA rap-sheet will be the villian.

What I do know is that, the Pacers organization was on the verge of success in recent years with Jermaine O'Neal, Reggie Miller and Austin Croshere playing like troopers. Reggie Miller is retired, Croshere is in Dallas and O'Neal is playing on his last ailing legs. Larry Bird and Stephen Jackson had better get their act together or they'll both be looking for work elsewhere and soon.

By the way, is Reggie available to coach?