Lest anyone forget, Scott Foster isn't just any NBA referee. He's the same NBA referee who received 134 phone calls between October 2006 and April 2007 from fellow NBA referee Tim Donaghy. All of these calls were made shortly before or after games Donaghy officiated and gambled on and all of these calls were less than two minutes long. Donaghy would later plead guilty to two federal charges for match fixing in August 2007. Investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a possible co-conspirator, Foster magically - with the intervention of NBA Commissioner David Stern - skated any charges AND went on to remain an NBA referee for another 18 years and counting.
Nicknamed "The Extender" for his uncanny knack of extending playoff series, Foster has done just that this playoffs - particularly so in the case of the Thunder. Over their last three playoff series against Denver, Minnesota and now Indiana, the Thunder are 4-0 in games officiated by Scott Foster (3-0 in games coming off a loss). In all playoff games NOT officiated by Foster, the Thunder are 6-6 this year. Make of all this what you will. Personally, I'm sick of it. The game deserves better than a cloud of doubt that anyone, let alone a referee, drapes over the game, polluting the outcome to the point that we wonder whether what we just witnessed was the equivalent of a professional wrestling match.
