Referee Matters......

[Banks2Pierce]

How about Jeff Van Gundy? He got a call from an official that told him that there was an alert being put on Yao Ming and to monitor his defense better than they had. That is blatant discrimination and very unfair. Van Gundy got fined 100k for bringing this up. Did he make it up? Why would he? And to get fined 100k for reporting something he had heard is just a horrible disservice by the employer.

I also know of a few people that have made a ton of money this year just betting on the home team when Dick Bavetta is reffing. Yea, they hired this new drill sargeant or whatever a few months ago, but what has he done? If anything, it looks like it has gotten worse.

Yes, Jammer. A meeting before every game. I wonder what is said there. Do the rules of the game change on a day to day basis?

[MyInsatiableOne]

^Now that you bring it up I remember the whole uproar over Van Gundy's admission...clearly why would he make such a thing up, just to get slapped with a HUGE fine, which he knew he would. That was 100% true and probably only the tiny tip of the iceberg...

The hiring of this Army guy is nothing more than window dressing for the NBA...if Stern and Stu Jackson and the rest of their cronies were really serious in cleaning up the cesspool of horrid NBA refs, they'd hold them accountable, review them, fine them, fire them...but they don't...what does that tell you?

The NBA is closer on the scale to entertainment than it is to sport...

[sully00]

The problem with this discussion is that it always strays from the reality, NBA officials suck and something needs to be done about, too the absurd conspiracy thinking.

I mean if the league is in the tank for the Knicks so much why don't they make Dolan fire his half assed loser brother and get someone in there who knows what is up? Why isn't Derrick Rose or Beasley a Knick? Why didn't they stop them from trading Nene and Camby for a one legged Antonio McDyess?

While Dwayne Wade gets to the line a lot part of that is because he exploits the rules of the game that are in his favor. The dude is an absolute beast off the dribble and nobody can keep him in between their knees and ask the porn industry penetration sells.

I think the issues are far more subconscious than conspiracy. The issue is also certainly not getting rid of the old refs, with a few exceptions, Bennet the fixer and Bavetta who was once great and is just really old, they are the competent ones, but better training and evaluation for the younger ones. On top of that some sort of accountability, if the league doesn't want coaches bitching then do something about it without them bitching but it never happens.

There are studies out about NCAA officials and how there is a consistent bias towards home teams and teams that are playing from behind specifically relating to foul calls. Historically this has been less relevant in the NBA but my guess that has changed. Obviously two major changes have impacted the NBA game TIVO and the jumbotron. There is no way that an arena screaming and growning at a replay doesn't have an impact on an official even if he himself doesn't watch the replay. The make up of a team's fan base specifically in an arena are also telling, that is why Sacramento back in the day, and Utah and Cleveland are such distinct home court advantages, because they are universally loyal to the home team and the team knows it. It is also why it helps to have a crazy Irish homer yelling at the refs from the TV booth.

[MyInsatiableOne]

^while there may not be a full-out conspiracy, it is rather fishy and a lot of these minor reports and details do point to something a little more than just incompetent refs...

[giambijuice]

donaghy was not some rogue ref. he was a sacrificial lamb.

[MyInsatiableOne]

donaghy was not some rogue ref. he was a sacrificial lamb.

Absolutely. The reaction of Stern and the NBA when he threatened to name names was (Please Use More Appropriate Word)...exactly what one would expect of someone who was guilty as hell and wants to deflect the attention away...