HEAT-PISTONS NOTEBOOK
AUBURN HILLS – For most of the first half of last night’s Game 6, the Heat and Pistons played under the vise of a bomb threat, with FBI officials alerted to the matter.
Two hours before tip-off, the Palace received a telephone claiming if the game were to be played, a bomb would go off, according to a statement released by Auburn Hills police.
The statement said the alleged suspect, a 42-year-old resident of nearby Lapeer, was arrested two minutes before halftime and taken to Oakland County Jail. The statement said the new security measures implemented after similar incidents earlier in the season were instrumental in identifying the suspect, who never entered the arena.
It’s unclear if he was a Pistons season-ticket holder. The Palace was the site of the Pistons-Pacers brawl in the stands last November.
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After fighting off elimination, Larry Brown fired back at ABC commentator Bill Walton. One day after Walton spewed a three-minute trash job on Brown’s flirtations with the Cavaliers in a radio interview. Brown said Walton’s opinion “changes with the wind.”
Walton said he was “mad as can be” at Brown’s “greediness” for speaking to the Cavs during the Pistons’ playoff run.
“Larry Brown quits on his team and is given the state of Ohio,” Walton said. “He’s doing things he’d never tolerate from his players. All we hear from this guy Larry Brown is doing things the right way. Please Larry. Tell us what is the right way. What you’re doing right now? Coaching one team and running another? It’s the ultimate conflict of interest.”
Though Brown and Walton have UCLA connections, it’s clear this is a hatred brewing for years. “I heard him say what Detroit team is going to show up and what coach is going to show up the other day and that blew me away,” Brown said. “He is what he is. That’s his shtick. Every possession, a different team is going to win. So he changes with the wind.
“I just hope we get to see him again,” Brown added. “We’ll probably be in the Finals. I can’t wait to see him again. I’m that fond of him.”
