The NBA has announced that an eclipse will limit the Suns power in Game 5. It remains to be seen whether this Phoenix will be able to regenerate now that the league has muffled its brightest Stars. After the Suns have already been victim to countless ?inadvertent? knees and legs from the San Antonio Spurs over the first three games of the series, the Spurs finally took it to the highest level of absurdity - and will somehow inexplicably come out of it as winners once again.

All-NBA First-teamer Amare Stoudemire and 2005-06 Most Improved Player Boris Diaw are both suspended for Game 5 of the series for leaving the ?immediate vicinity of their bench,? while Robert Horry is suspended for Games 5 and 6 after his disgraceful unsportsmanlike clash with the two-time MVP.

In the final minute of a series-shifting victory by Phoenix, ?Big?or rather: Cheap Shot Rob? decided to hip-check Steve Nash violently into the scorer's table. Suns teammates Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw both got up off of the bench to come to the rescue of their miniature team leader and superstar. Despite team officials trying desperately to contain the Phoenix big men on the sidelines, it was too late. On a night where Phoenix finally thought they had won the battle, it was really San Antonio who won the war.

Despite already suffering on the receiving end of multiple controversial calls that warranted league review, the Suns were unable to seek any retribution for the inexcusable kicking and kneeing fouls administered by Bruce Bowen. That, along with the constant and infamous whining, complaining, and everlasting pleas of innocence by tear-specialists Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, has made it hard to watch this series without morphing into a temporary Suns fan. Don't forget that Duncan's golden tissues have already gotten longtime NBA referee Joe Crawford suspended ?indefinitely? from the job he earned and performed respectfully since 1977.

However, the league and it's ?leave the bench rule? has now officially reached new heights of ridiculous proportions. With two key weapons critical to the success of the Phoenix attack now out for the pivotal Game 5 in the desert, it is very likely the Spurs will be able to benefit colossally from the lack of case-by-case situational reasoning in the league's rulebook. A mere step or two onto the court in attempt to protect your teammate shouldn't be directly punishable by the league without a panel of officials collaborating whether or not there was an explicit intent to harm an opponent.

It will be a dark day in the Valley of the Sun when one of the top game-breakers in the league will have to sit and watch his mates from his couch at home; despite the fact he was nowhere near the immediate scene of the fracas. Meanwhile, Bruce Bowen is free to sprain the ankle of whichever Suns player decides to elevate for a shot.

Phoenix Suns fans are now left to worry if recent history will now doom them. Will this series face the same momentum swing that resulted from the last time the league used it's out-of-bounds line as the determining factor in a team's fate in a Conference Semi-finals playoff series?

The 1996-97 New York Knicks were leading their second round series against the hated Miami Heat three-games-to-one when Heat forward P.J. Brown decided to body slam Knick point guard Charlie Ward into the first row of spectators. A group of concerned Knick players left the bench area to watch the m?l?e from the opposite side of the court. As a result, they were then severely shorthanded by similar league suspensions for the remainder of the series. The Knicks eventually went on to lose the series in seven games, after being forced to play without Patrick Ewing, Allan Houston, Larry Johnson, John Starks, and Charlie Ward.

Incredibly, that Knicks versus Heat conflict occurred May 14, 1997. Who knew that exactly ten years later to the day, the same type of disgustingly inappropriate altercation would ensue? And even worse, who knew that the team that escalated the situation and caused the outbreak would once again be the benefactor. The Knicks were dismantled by the league ten years ago. Hopefully, the Suns aren't extinguished by the league today.

Do you think the league needs to reevaluate its rules for leaving the bench area? Feel free to contact Jason M. Williams with your thoughts. He can be reached at [email protected] for comments or questions.