It was a busy day for the NBA head office yesterday with news filtering that the league had handed down suspensions totalling 11 games.

Ron Artest of the Indiana Pacers was suspended for four games for his actions during the Pacers-Heat game, the official charge reading "confronting and making physical contact with Miami coach Pat Riley, taunting the Heat bench, committing a flagrant foul on Miami's Caron Butler and making an obscene gesture," according to Mark Monteith of the Indianapolis Star.  He is set to lose $84,000 of his $1.9 million salary and will return after All-Star break.  It is the second time Artest has been suspended this season, the defensively talented forward already missing three games after smashing a high definition tv camera at Madison Square Garden after a loss to the Knicks.

"I'm very disappointed," Artest said in a prepared statement. "I don't think the suspension comes close to going with my actions. I thought I might get a fine, but not a (suspension). I don't think four games is fair at all."

Pacers President Donnie Walsh said the penalty "kind of kicked me in the stomach."

Pat Riley, who was appauled at Artest's actions at the time of the incident, hinted he too thought that punishment might be slightly on the excessive side.

"I don't want to say it was excessive or not. But if I was them, I would be absolutely beside myself," said Riley.

Stu Jackson's other victim was Jerry Sloan, the head coach of the Utah Jazz.  Sloan was suspended for seven games after shoving a referee during Utah's victory over Sacramento on Tuesday night.  It was not the first time Sloan has been involved in such an incident, the ex-Bull committing an identical offense earlier in his coaching tenture.

Jazz players believe that Sloan's situation was two-sided, and videotape seemed to support that Sloan acted as if being provoked.  

"That's the reason this league is falling apart," center Greg Ostertag said. "Jerry protested the call and the official came and got in Jerry's face. I'm going to get fined if I keep talking."

"I doubt you can get a reaction from someone that much without doing anything to him. Even Jerry," Jazz forward Matt Harpring said. "There's got to be an action to set off the reaction, you just don't go off without something happening."

Sloan was not available for comment after the game but reports on ESPN.com state that he is expected to talk about his suspension today.  Jackson, however, defended the league's stance on the length of the suspension, stating that the punishment fitted the crime.

"Obviously his behavior was out of line, and the message is clear that that type of behavior cannot be tolerated" Jackson said.

"The level of the suspension is in line with the behavior."