Kevin,

Basically what you say is that Stern should've done is ignore the rule to suite the Suns, the rule is quite clear about the penalty, so changing it just for Stoudamire was not able to keep his cool and because the Suns play nice and are good and everyone likes them is ok? What if they do not respect the rules and then the Spurs lose? Wouldn't then the Suns run be tarnished too?

[Update]
By the way, this is the rule

c. During an altercation, all players not participating in the game must remain in the
immediate vicinity of their bench. Violators will be suspended, without pay, for a minimum of
one game and fined up to $50,000.
The suspensions will commence prior to the start of their next game.

From http://www.nba.com/media/rule_book_2006-07.pdf