Sekou Smith of the Indianapolis Tribune reports that arbitrator Roger Kaplan heard six hours of closed-door testimony Thursday in Manhattan during a grievance hearing in which the NBA players' union requested specific, "significant" reductions in the suspensions of Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson, Jermaine O'Neal and Anthony Johnson.

No decision is expected to be made for a week, and even when a decision is made and even when they are it is unlikely to be the end of the topic.  The NBA, who were not present at the hearing, maintain that commissioner David Stern, who handed down the penalties, has sole authority over on-court discipline and that Kaplan has no jurisdiction to hear the case.

If Kaplan rules in favor of the players, the case is expected to move to federal court, where the NBA has already sued the union and the suspended players for filing a grievance with an arbitrator it says has no jurisdiction.

"When you actually examine the film, and use Artest as the standard, it doesn't support the decision that the commissioner arrived at," player union director Billy Hunter said.