Some people questioned me when I began questioning the officiating after I bought the Mavs. They asked why i
was doing it. Didnt I know that there was nothing I could do to change the way the league runs things.
Personally, it wasnt about the officials. Certainly not them individually. They bust their ass to do the best they
can. Like most of us do at work. But as in any business, there are things that can be done to put people in a
position to succeed. When I got to the Mavs, I talked about putting the players in a position to succeed by
hiring more coaches. After all, if we have a multimillion dollar investment in a player, it only made sense to me to
provide that player with whatever individual instruction that was necessary to make them better. To put them in a
position to succeed.
Of course I was ridiculed early and often. To Nellie’s credit, he was supportive of it and I think it has paid
dividends for the orgnization and has since been copied by other teams.
The same was applied to our marketing and sales staff. When i got to the Mavs, I wanted to accomplish as much as
we could. To that end we let some people who werent comfortable with that go. We basically amped up every
interaction that the organization had with fans to a level where we hoped and tried that we would over deliver value
to our customers and fans. We made it clear to everyone that we no longer sold basketball. We sold fun. That few
people can remember jump shots, home runs and touchdowns, but everyone remembers the fun times they had a games and
who they were with. Every parent remembers the first game they tooktheir child(ren) to. Time after time I
get emails about couples that met or went on a first date to a game. People never want to tell me how great a fast
break, jumper or block looked. Its the personal things that they remember. The fact that we didnt let the focus of
our fan experience be only the game, didnt and doesnt sit well with some to this day.
The same desire to see success I expect on and off the court from the Mavs, I expect from the league. Im an
equity partner. IMHO, good partners try to contribute to make things better. They dont just go along to go along.
They raise issues and create discussion. Even if it may not follow tradition or protocol. Im not a
“this is the way its always been, and thats the way it
should be guy“
I have questioned quite a few things about the NBA. Publicly and privately.
To Commissioner Stern’s credit, he has always at least absorbed the commentary from me. Sometimes Im
right, sometimes not. At times, my approach may even be counter productive. Im far from perfect when it comes to
trying to elicit change. And when Im wrong. Im ok with that as well.
As a partner, I would rather offer up a topic for discussion and be told Im wrong, or even ignored, then not
present my perspective. You never knowthe impact if you dont communicate. Its usually just a short and
simple email from me for someone in the NBA to read and respond to, or not.
One of the things I have felt that the league hasnt done as well as it should has been the way it has run the
officiating group. I didnt and dont feel that the league puts officials in a position to succeed.
This isnt about officials and made or missed calls. Its about how the officiating group is organized and managed.
My biggest fine didnt come from criticizing an official. It came from criticing their boss. It took me a couple
years in the league to really get a handle on it, but once you take a close look, its very clear that its not about
the guys or woman blowing the whistles. They bust their butts every single night to do the job the way they think it
should be done.
Recently, starting with Coach Van
Gundy in our Rockets playoff series there have been
multiple coaches accusing me of
influencing the officials in one way or another. Dont I wish I could. But I cant.
The accusations they make have been that I “send emails and video to the league”. Which of course is true. Every
team does it.
We send emails to the league about officiating for three reasons.
1. To make sure we understand certain rules and how they will be called. How certain things are called can evolve
over the course of a season. Knowing how something is being called can be helpful.
2. To understand if maybe an officiating crew just had a bad game, or if we had the wrongexpectations on
certain plays. In other words, did we thinkcertain things were violations and they werent or were they missed
calls. this also can tell you about the tendencies of a given official. This isnt however something you can do
every game. This year we have sent in a list of calls to get confirmation three times. Probably a lot less than other
teams.
3. This is probably the most important reason. When a player appears to be routinely violating a rule and no
call is being made. For instance, two years ago, we sent a long list of tapes showing Chris Weber of the Kings at
that point, dragging his pivot all over the place to create passing lanes. It was never called. The league came
back and said we were right. They would look at it and they did. And they also looked at it for our players and ended
it up calling it more on Antoine Walker that serie than they did on CWebb. And you know what, thats ok with
me.
We did the same thing with Shaq stepping over the free throw line. Which in reality was the real genesis of doing
this. It was so obvious to everyone and anyone that watched a game that he was doing it. No one could answer
why it wasnt being called. So we made a tape and turned it in. Theystarted callingit.
Shaq stared at me a lot when we played them, but he fixed it and it was done with. Thats the important thing to
note. Any of these things can be fixed. The players know when they are doing things that break the rules.
They would stop a pickup game if someone did it.They know how to fix them as well. When it gets called
consistently, they change. I consider that a big win for the NBA. Few things get under my skin more than emails
from kids and parents asking why something so obvious isnt being called. I have no response other than “Im trying to
get that changed”.
Im a purist. The rules is the rules.I dont care if you call it on us. I expect our players to adapt and play
by the rules. I alsoexpect them to take advantage of rules violations that arent being called.
When I decided to do this blog, after reading the comments from
Sam Mitchell in Marc Stein’s article
saying that he agreed with Phil Jacksons comments that officials were nervous nellies in Dallas, I had our guys go
through and do a quick run through of our lastgame and what we thought were calls that we could discuss and
were there any issues we should address.
We are not going to send this into the league. Its just a sample. You canbuy a copy of the game
here, and do your own
analysis and send it to me. If its good, I might even post it. If its great, maybe I will hire you to do these for me
:). And as far as issues that our guys thought we might be worth addressing with the league, we are looking at
carrying the ball on drives to the basket. We want to see if players may be getting an advantage by taking mutiple
steps per dribble while the ball is still on their hand. If we can get enough examples, we will send it in. If we
dont, it means it was in our imagination and we wont.
This is an example of an email we would send to the league. Its just a first pass, so it has some of the comments
we make in reviewand its far from complete. Im sure we have missed a couple. But as i said, we are not turning
it into the league. If someone out there thinks this could turn officials into nervous nellies when they come to
dallas, well, thats an explanation i would be curious to see
1st
8:28 Grey Call – Touch foul on Dirk as Duncan goes to the hoop.
6:30 Missed No Call – Dirk fouls Mohammed.
3:21 Grey Call – Ttouch foul on Dirk LBF over Finley back. There is much more contact at other parts of the game with no calls. Ask if they think this and the first foul should have been called
2:17 Bad Call – Travelling on Duncan, He did not travel.
1:04 Missed No Call – Parker Carry the ball.
2nd
10:08 Good Call – exactly 3 sec call on Keith Van Horn. Check to see if they call these as quickly rest of night
9:57 Missed call and then into a bad call. Horry sets an illegal pick on Griffin, but the foul is called on Griffin. Horry is still moving on the pick.
9”40 Missed No call. Horry fouls Stackhouse
9:09 Missed no call. Duncan 3 sec in the lane. In at 9:12 and still in at 9:09. Same as the call on Van Horn.
9:02 Questionable call. Foul on Dampier (Same official makes 3 similar calls vs. Dampier). Has a hand up, does not initiate the contact, ask if these should have been called a foul.
8:45 Missed no call. Horry hits Keith Van Horn to the hoop.
8:32 Missed no call – Mohammed 3 seconds. In at 8:35 and still in the lane at 8:29 when foul called on Dampier.
8:04 Missed no call – Jason Terry steps on the mid court line going for the ball. Is this a violation if ball doesnt cross half court line
7:26-7:17 – Missed no calls. Several re-routes by Bowen on Dirk.
6:40 Missed no call. Defensive 3 seconds on Bowen
6:31 Missed no call Body foul on Bowen vs. Daniels. Bowen is still moving when Daniels picks up the ball going to the hoop.
5:37 Good call contact by bowen vs. Terry to hoop. Jason thought this was a foul when it happened
5:21 Bad Call – Howard reach in foul on Mohammed. Doesnt appear official can see the play with out looking through Mohammed.
4:08 Missed no call. Parker offensive foul. Parker drives baseline and jumps back into Dirk to get the shot off. I believe this was a point of emphasis call on video before the season. Ask if it still applies.
3:25 Missed no call. Lot of contact by Bowen on jumper by Howard
2:58 Missed no call. Offensive foul committed by Daniels on Parker.
7.5 Missed no call. Van Horn tries a three pointer, gets hit by Horry AND is not allowed to come down. If this isn’t a foul, then we should start teaching this defensive method.
3rd Period
8:30 Missed no call – Duncan hits Howard on the way to hoop.
9”04 Missed no call – Duncan takes extra step and travels.
8:39 Questionable no call. – Again, lot of contact by Bowen on Dirk.
8:03 Missed no call. Howard hit going to hoop. Hit by both Ginobli and Mohammed.
7:41 Bad Call – Call is oK, but Corbin calls it a shooting foul.
5:44 Bad call – Offensive foul on Dirk. Dirk is set and Parker just runs into the screen. Once again Bavetta has to look right through Dirk to see the play.
4:20 Missed no call. Jason Terry to hoop is hit from behind by Parker and in front by Mohammed.
3:32 Bad Call – Not a foul by Duncan.
3:13 Bad call. – Parker post up in lane on Terry. Very little contact if any. Less that then no call at 4:20.
2:43 Bad call – No foul on Ginobli vs. Dirk. No contact on the shot.
2:28 Missed no call – On rebound Horry pushes Dampier in the back. If you will note there are three or four times in this game that Horry just pushes people from behind.
1:28 Missed no call. Travel by Mohammed.
47.3 Missed no call. Horry leans into Dirk while setting a screen for a three point shooter.
4th period
9:25 Missed no call. Finley hits Stackhouse on jumper.
8:13 Good call. Howard thought he gets hit on jump shot.
4:01 Bad Call – three second call on Dampier. Wasnt 3 seconds. If he called it on Griffin, it is right at the 3 sec mark. Once again if this is a violation, there were a ton missed tonight.
3:08 Missed no call – Mohammed 3 seconds.
1:14 Missed no call – Duncan 3 seconds. In a 1:17, and still in a 1:11 when the shot is taken.
1:09 Missed no call – Horry hooks and flings Stackhouse’s arm on a rebound. This is the start of the incident.
1:04 Missed no call – Both Horry/Stack- Horry pushes Stackhouse in the back running down the lane. Then Stackhouse goes at him.
26.9 Missed no call – Jason Terry gets hit on elbow during 3 point shot attempt
Comment by Mark Cuban -
I would also like to add that NBA fans should try to catch the show on NBA TV where Ronnie Nunn (head ref on NBA) and others break down controversial calls and explain the rules. Mr. Nunn even admitted that the call on Kobe when he fouled Paul Pierce at the end of the Lakers-Celtics game was wrong.
Comment by runescape money -
I would also like to add that NBA fans should try to catch the show on NBA TV where Ronnie Nunn (head ref on NBA) and others break down controversial calls and explain the rules. Mr. Nunn even admitted that the call on Kobe when he fouled Paul Pierce at the end of the Lakers-Celtics game was wrong.
Comment by wow powerleveling -
The old referee sucks big time. I think NBA can afford young referee who has better eyes. 😀
Comment by Shawn -
Basketball has always been officiated with a certain amount of human error. It would be virtually impossible to catch every infraction be it small or large. I know you have to put a corporate spin on how to you’re looking out for your “employees” and this and that but you also have to know your place in the structure. You have hired a set of coaches to handle matters on the court. This shows a complete lack of faith in their abilities as leaders of this team. You need to know, as an owner, even you have boundaries and expectations. Please conduct yourself as such.
Respectfully Submitted,
Henry G.
Comment by Hank (So. Cal) -
Kobe getting 81 points in one game is insane, but I think the fact he’s averaging 45.5 ppg this month is even more impressive.
Stephon Marbury is saying he wants Kevin Garnett to join him in NYC. He doesn’t seem to realize that the Knicks don’t have anything that Minnesota would want in return. And who *wouldn’t* want KG on their team? He’s debatably the best player in the NBA.
I like that ESPN.com has free video highlights of some games, but I don’t like that it automatically starts playing when you load the page — especially when it’s with audio.
I’m sorry I missed that double-OT Suns-Sonics game.
Regards, Serg
http://dir.nlz.ru
Comment by Dir A -
The most emotional moments come from our anger at the refs!
Comment by whales -
To the 10 Point ref improvement plan in post 2, I’d add #11:
Call the game the same in the final minute as you do in the first, and vice versa.
Too many refs don’t want to “affect the outcome,” which is a noble goal. Unfortunately, missing a right call is just as influential as making a bad call.
Comment by CH -
With NBA officiating being so suspect its difficult for fans to feel confident that the outcome of a game is valid or just. This is why some extra curicular entertainment is helpful. the side show helps justify the cost of attending games that you can’t be sure will end fairly.
If they can’t play by the real basketball rules, maybe some other changes would help. Since nothing is worse than losing by one in a questionably called game, games should have to be won by several points, let’s say three, if not, go into overtime; or how about a shoot-out; pick your 5 best freethrow shooters and send them to the line for one shot each. Refs can’t screw up a shoot out.
Comment by Walt -
With NBA officiating being so suspect its difficult for fans to feel confident that the outcome of a game is valid or just. This is why some extra curicular entertainment is helpful. the side show helps justify the cost of attending games that you can’t be sure will end fairly.
If they can’t play by the real basketball rules, maybe some other changes would help. Since nothing is worse than losing by one in a questionably called game, games should have to be won by several points, let’s say three, if not, go into overtime; or how about a shoot-out; pick your 5 best freethrow shooters and send them to the line for one shot each. Refs can’t screw up a shoot out.
Comment by Walt -
Mark,
I second the Chicago Cubs comments !!!
Comment by Oscar -
if you dont like anything he is posting, stop reading. i’m one of the people with too much time on my hands and i usually read all comments left, and i enjoy reading comments from people who make valid points and who have good opinions. there is nothing fun about you just getting on here and sounding like charles barkley.
Comment by Tebank -
Hey Mark,
Would you just buy the Chicago Cubs already? We NEED you!!
Comment by tom -
very good!
Comment by 11nong -
I don’t care what anyone says, the Mav’s were out to a 10+ lead on the spurs in the early part of the 1st quarter. Everytime the Mavs would pull away, the refs would change the tempo of the game and let San Antonio back in. Any fool could see what was going on. Do you think a player like Jerry Stackhouse would say what he said if it wasnt true? The man has been in the NBA for a long time. He is no whiny baby, and neither is Mark Cuban. Mark Cuban is a Pro basketball owner GOD !!! Everyone is jealous of how he runs his team, thats all. The refs don’t like him, neither does the commissoner. With the Mavs having to play the refs too in that game, they just said the hell with it. Any team can win when they have the refs on their side, which always seems to be the case when the Mavs play the Spurs.
Comment by David Bridges -
These different “opinions” are quiet silly. Mark Cuban is 100 percent right here. Lets first address the issue of Dallas applying “pressure” on officials. The fact of the matter is that there is pressure on officials from many diverse sources. From the fans in every home game swaring at them, Joe Dumars legitimately lobbying them to lay off Rasheed Wallace, to competition from new maybe more capable talent, etc….. Many Americans show up everyday to work and face pressure. The whole points of being a referree is having the ability to rise above that. This is one of the main challenges of this particular profession.
This is apart from the fact that reviewing a refferee’s work is not only laudable but absolutely necessary if one wants to maintain high standards. Otherwise there is no accountability. What can be more innocent and or reserved about analyzing mistakes made during a past game, just like analyzing a player’s performance. If one is against this, that person is implying that refferrees are above criticism.
Ok enough already. The managers of other teams can employ the same tactics if they want. In a capitalist society networks of accountability and quality assurance are regularly established and people don’t complain. Please don’t mistake Phil Jackson’s hubris and grumpy personality with legitimate criticism.
Comment by david goldberg (lawyer) -
“Posted Mar 6, 2006, 5:55 PM ET by Robert Stevens
Mark, you’re such a freaking whiner. Why don’t you also point out the “missed no calls” that when for the Mavs and against the Spurs? You can’t because you only see things for your team. Sure, you point in a couple of “good calls”, but it’s so obvious you are biased. Can we expect another blog entry or posting on why your guys got pasted by the Suns last night? Or are you just going to blame it on not having Josh Howard, Keith Van Sucks and Devin Harris? Never mind that Phoenix didn’t have Kurt Thomas or Amare, who is better than all three of you missing players put together. I own Mark Cuban! Boo!”
Another ignorant post from a Spurs fan that doesn’t know how to read. I mean Mark said in his blog that he doesn’t care if the refs call things against the mavs, so long as it is done evenly across the board….for all teams. He even said that he’s absolutely okay with that because players should adapt to those things anyways.
Just because you don’t see anything wrong from your perspective, doesn’t mean there isn’t a problem. Just because you are financially independent, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t care about poor people and it doesn’t mean that there isn’t a problem. All Mark is doing here is instituting change for the greater good. If it takes a “whiner” to do that, then so be it. But it is for a better product in the end.
Before you make any accusations such as that post, how about checking your emotions out the door and approach things objectively. Mark Cuban is by no means my here (sorry Mark), but I don’t view any of this as whining. Change has to come from somewhere and I’m glad someone is making a stance.
Comment by DeepMoz -
“Posted Mar 6, 2006, 5:55 PM ET by Robert Stevens
Mark, you’re such a freaking whiner. Why don’t you also point out the “missed no calls” that when for the Mavs and against the Spurs? You can’t because you only see things for your team. Sure, you point in a couple of “good calls”, but it’s so obvious you are biased. Can we expect another blog entry or posting on why your guys got pasted by the Suns last night? Or are you just going to blame it on not having Josh Howard, Keith Van Sucks and Devin Harris? Never mind that Phoenix didn’t have Kurt Thomas or Amare, who is better than all three of you missing players put together. I own Mark Cuban! Boo!”
Another ignorant post from a Spurs fan that doesn’t know how to read. I mean Mark said in his blog that he doesn’t care if the refs call things against the mavs, so long as it is done evenly across the board….for all teams. He even said that he’s absolutely okay with that because players should adapt to those things anyways.
Just because you don’t see anything wrong from your perspective, doesn’t mean there isn’t a problem. Just because you are financially independent, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t care about poor people and it doesn’t mean that there isn’t a problem. All Mark is doing here is instituting change for the greater good. If it takes a “whiner” to do that, then so be it. But it is for a better product in the end.
Before you make any accusations such as that post, how about checking your emotions out the door and approach things objectively. Mark Cuban is by no means my here (sorry Mark), but I don’t view any of this as whining. Change has to come from somewhere and I’m glad someone is making a stance.
Comment by DeepMoz -
“Posted Mar 5, 2006, 8:57 PM ET by Dan G
One thing that coach Pop & A.J. have in common is that they know that focusing on the refs does nothing to improve your team. ”
This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen! Dan G, you must be a Spurs fan to say something like that about “Pop.” He whines at every little thing to the refs and so do his players. In fact, that’s all they do. For you to say that Coach Pop never focuses on the refs is absolutely absurd.
Comment by DeepMoz -
“That few people can remember jump shots, home runs and touchdowns, but everyone remembers the fun times they had a games and who they were with.”
Very good point. When I think back to all the sporting events I’ve ever attended, I can remember the people with me much easier than what actually took place inside the game.
Comment by gadget boy -
Personally I think it’s great that an owner is making changes in the way games are called. I wish my favorite team’s upper level management made as much effort to winning as the Mavs do to theirs.
Comment by drake33 -
I am generally not a rabid fan of any sport and could hardly name players on any team (especially these days) AND can disagree with you on many things 🙂 BUT:
1. Congratulations on how well you have done with the Mavs that used to be the worst team back in 1992 or so when I was introduced to the game.
2. Very pertinent and RATIONAL comments in this blog entry. I agree and respect your point of view.
3. Good to see that people do care to change or improve things that they love. Thanks.
Imran
http://IMRAN.TV
Comment by Imran Anwar -
I am having a hard time with two calls.
1. Does a player like dirk get the same perimeter calls that a smaller guard does? In other words when dirk starts to drive and he gets bumped, held ,impeded are the same calls that are made for guards made?
2. Moving screen. I’m having a heck of a time understanding this one. I see a guy set a screen do a little move and bang moving screen, I see another guy set a screen and then turn right into the defender and continually block his path. ?? I can’t get it and I watch the NBA all of the time.
Comment by danny -
to robert stevens: i’m not sure where you live, but i live here in dallas. one of the local sports radio station is the ticket, http://www.theticket.com, listen online if you like. but during football season on mondays and fridays for one hour from noon to 1, dale hansen goes on the air. he bitches and complains about everything and his opinions are extremely biased. i cant stand him, i have caught myself yelling back to the radio. and one day, a caller came on and stated he felt same way i felt. and dale hansen fired back, well if you dont like it, dont listen! and that was it, i stopped listening. so now to my point, all you do is rip cuban, the mavs, dirk, the mavs fans. you constantly make points then back up by saying, well how many rings do the mavs have. obviously we do not have championships, but neither do a lot of teams, and last time i checked only one team who it last year. so my question to you is this, why do you continue to get on here and posts comments if its seems that everything cuban post bothers you? if you dont like anything he is posting, stop reading. i’m one of the people with too much time on my hands and i usually read all comments left, and i enjoy reading comments from people who make valid points and who have good opinions. there is nothing fun about you just getting on here and sounding like charles barkley. atleast barkley makes a good point every now and then but most of the time he says the same crap over and over and over…kinda like you.
Comment by Luis -
I applaud the mavs for trying to make the league enforce the rules. Did anyone catch the Pacers/Sixers game Sunday night? Stephen Jackson took 5 steps before he made that wide-open dunk to win the game. I’m not a fan of either team and I really didn’t care who won the game, but I wasn’t surprised that the officials let that go. Which demonstrates a bigger problem, everyone becoming immune to some of the basic fundamental of basketball, because the NBA doesn’t enforce many of the rules. NO one even mentioned that he walked all over the court, not the commentators, or even the sportscenter host. The NBA is getting as bad at 3rd and 4th grade basketball at letting traveling go. So I say keep sending in the video, I don’t care if it’s self-serving or not, at least the NBA will know somebody noticed!
Comment by Bryan Shoaf -
Didn’t point out the bad calls against SA? Reread.
1Q
6:30 Missed No Call – Dirk fouls Mohammed.
2:17 Bad Call – Travelling on Duncan, He did not travel.
2Q
10:08 Good Call – exactly 3 sec call on Keith Van Horn. Check to see if they call these as quickly rest of night
8:04 Missed no call – Jason Terry steps on the mid court line going for the ball. Is this a violation if ball doesnt cross half court line
2:58 Missed no call. Offensive foul committed by Daniels on Parker.
3Q
3:32 Bad Call – Not a foul by Duncan.
2:43 Bad call – No foul on Ginobli vs. Dirk. No contact on the shot.
4Q
1:04 Missed no call – Both Horry/Stack- Horry pushes Stackhouse in the back running down the lane. Then Stackhouse goes at him.
Now – that’s just to explain how little you are reading – as always – Robert. Now here’s the thing: it’s SAN ANTONIO’S JOB to report their problems to the league office. It’s not Mark’s job! Do you really, seriously report yourself to your boss for being late again this week? Do you really, seriously expect anyone to not see that you’ve replied at least 3 times to this one post? Obsessed with bashing Mark much? 🙂
Get some sun – at least once spring hits.
M
Comment by Matt -
Mavs fans (including Cuban) wouldn’t complain so much about the refs if their seven foot superstar had any semblence of a post game.
I suggest a two week trip to SA for Dirk this offseason.
Week One:
Non-stop breakfast tacos, enchiladas, and carne guisada. Time to put a little meat on that 7ft German frame.
Week Two:
Hang out with David Robinson, do some charity work, then head to the gym for some tips on how to play with your back to the basket.
Comment by Chris -
As long as everything is kept pretty even with the officiating until the last 3 minutes you have some real entertainment value. YOu speak about the rules being the rules but what do you call that massive leaning/contact by the big guys in the middle if not a foul. What is a foul? It’s a lot different in 2nd grade than the basic football that goes on in the paint that is called whenever…most the times never but sometimes here and there. Fact is, there is no way to use replays because fouls are happening every second basically. Just like pulling a foot off the base on a double play in pro baseball, Officiating is kindof a game in itself. It’s a flow. The real upset is when the flow seems to flow all one direction. Why do coaches need to be off the bench constantly bickering at every call to the officials? Why do players? A junior high kid would get thrown out. How are the rules so different at the pro level. And by the way, who would ever want to be an official anyway and get yelled at constantly? Perfection is expected and anything less deserves a good browbeating is what it has become. I mean really, what is a foul? and how can a whistle go off on a drive and then the guy with the bb quits the dribble takes another step and half and does a layup and the foul was committed somewhere around the freethrow line but that’s called continuation and basket counts? HA! IMO it’s an unspoken flow that has to prevail and the rules are just technicalities that are there for someone to read if they have to write a high school term paper on it.
Comment by JT -
For the half of the people who come here and bitch about every single entry, why even read the blog? Mark said himself that he wants the calls to be right. I would even go as far to say that he would rather lose a fairly officiated game than win a game in which the officials blew a game-deciding call in the Mavericks’ favor.
There is no corporate conspiracy with regards to the Lakers or Knicks or any other team. Any “bias” granted to given players is subconscious at best. That being said, in a time where everyone else watching the game has the chance to know exactly what transpired why do the NBA and MLB put their officials in a position to be constantly villified? Most sports fans agree that getting crucial calls correct is ultimately more important than expedience.
Comment by Ryan Glasspiegel -
Mark,
This is my first time visiting your blog and I appreciate your comment, “We made it clear to everyone that we no longer sold basketball. We sold fun.” I’m happy to see that you think about the fans and you acknowledge the fact that a referee’s job is more difficult than it looks. I know I wouldn’t be able to handle it 🙂
Keep up the great work with the Mavs!
~Maria Palma
Comment by Maria Palma -
I have a bunch of questions for Mark on this topic. On the three occasions where you contacted the league about specific bad calls/non-calls in a game, what kind of response did you get from the league? If, for example, their response admits that an official made a bad call, is there any feedback or other indication that the official is informed of the league’s opinion and tasked with improving his judgement and consistency? What about a case where an official’s close calls are consistently against a team and might be interpreted as bias? Does the league ever question the official for an explanation of why so many calls went one way? Does the league take disciplinary action against officials that, for reasons of bias or incompetence, have given the appearance of not being fair in the way they called a game? I recall an incident in the mid-90’s where there was some well-known past animosity between a particular ref and Clyde Drexler, and the ref tossed Drexler in a playoff game for apparently unjust reasons. I believe the league responded by suspending the ref for the remainder of the playoffs. Has anything like this been documented in recent years? What about technicals & ejections? Are refs required to explain and defend in detail their decisions in this area? Who in the league reviews and passes judgement on such calls? How is the ref scheduling set during playoffs? Given that the win/loss record of each team with each official is public information, the league can have a subtle but critical influence on the outcome of games by how they schedule the refs. [I have to believe that Joey Crawford was scheduled in game 2 of the Mavs/Spurs series in 2003 for a reason!] Does the league allow “strikes” wherein a playoff team can ask that a specific ref not be scheduled for any of their games? [If so, please strike Dan Crawford!!!]
Comment by J. King -
Thanks to my dvr I often rewind plays that were spectacular. But I am surprised that I often rewind plays where a player (usually a superstar) took as many as four or five very fast steps to the basket! Look into this!!
Comment by James Vaughn -
Sam Mitchell’s team blows a 24 point lead and it was the official’s fault. It was the PA announcer’s fault. Anyone except his own team, and his coaching, was to blame.
Here’s one Bucks fan hoping that this excuse machine never lands a job in Milwaukee.
If I were you Mark, I would just fart into a tape recorder and mail the tape to Mitchell. People who obsessively whine don’t deserve anything more than that.
Comment by Adam in Racine WI -
who is breedlove (post 30) talking about, derek? to say derek is not mentally tough when it counts is unfair. how can you even make that claim, is just by your personal opinion of how he looks? i’m sure some one has this data, this season dirk was one of the best at scoring in the 4th quarter and in the last 3 minutes. please do a little research (and maybe proof reading). just a little.
Comment by Luis -
Great perspective on what people get out of a game. You know the product that you’re selling. I can remember many first dates at a Raptors game (but unfortunately not too many second dates). Oh yeah, even though people won’t remember the dunks, picks, and j’s, they will remember seeing Kobe scoring 62 against the Mavs in 3 quarters! (or 81 against the Raps)
Comment by Jay -
Hi Mark,
There’s an interesting resonance between your status as a maverick entrepeneur and the name of your basketball team.
I play basketball, but I don’t follow the NBA closely anymore. The officials tore my heart out when they sacrificed the Kings and handed the western confernce finals to the Lakers again.
They did it to Portland for the first (Shaq/Kobe era) Laker championship, they did it Philly for the second, and they did it to Sacramento for the third. I’d say it was a corporate conspiracy, like the Bush presidential elections.
Regarding the issue of coaching – My biggest mantra about basketball is this:
Players are individualists. It’s about breaking their egos and making them into Marxists when they’re on the court. The team is always more important than the primadonnas that always want to suck the morale out of your team.
Basic skills are also lacking. Symmetry in ball-handling, generalized skills, interchangeable roles.
If you do this, the officials will pick on you anyway, because they’ll favor the individualistic star player over your team-players.
The officials will treat your players like second-class citizens and protect the aristocrat players with favorable calls.
They don’t let other big centers touch a hair on Shaq’s head. Better stay away from Michael Jordan and Kobe. Maybe it’s different now that Kobe’s been diminished by the rape scandal, but there is an aristocracy among players and the officials enforce it.
So your team would have to be very strong minded to overcome the class warfare waged by officials to protect the golden-boy spokesmen for, Mcdonalds, Burgerking, Nike, Adidas, Coke, Pepsi.
If they can overcome that and their own American-individualist egos, they can win in an unconventional way.
On a side note, check out my animation:
Brokeback Bush Wears a Burka
http://brokebackbush.cf.huffingtonpost.com
Comment by Balzac -
Derek is a great talent, but suffers from intimidation from other players just not tuff enough for the challenge or doesnt think that he is noticed lot’s of improvement with his game this season just lacks the mental tuffness as a team leader especially doing playoffs. Michael Finley lacked that assertiveness, as well as the energy, and mental tuffiness to influence his team to greatness. Derek is over played in the paint, does not follow up on blocks even with little Nash he would not forcefully bat the ball out of Steves range although he stood a mile over his head.
Here’s what I believe he needs for the playoff’s; agressive training as well as motivational teaching and hypnosis to believe in himself.
The talent is there but the personal fortitude is missing and he needs to be able to influence his team as the leader instead they all seem to carry him doing this important period.
I also find problem with the substitution an the part of Avery, and this poor substitution stradigy begin with Nelly, Nelly has trained Avery in this poor substitution practice.
My proposal is to do less substitutions and go with a set, only substituting to rest the players. In my opion this should be an important part of establishing a rythm and when other players come in they would need to get in sink as it is the rythm just isn’t established. Derek needs to come up defensively.
Jeri
Comment by Jeri Breedlove -
Be honest, Mark. No one works the refs like you. Your “bucket boy” is absolutely right.
Comment by Paul White -
Just get some college refs. They call games pretty tight.
I think most people who don’t like the NBA (there’s a lot) are turned off by the sloppy play due to the uneven officiating.
Paul
Comment by Paul Pate -
i think NBA officiating is the worst of the 4 major sports. everybody sees the same thing, how can a player like bowen push, shove and body dirk and there be no call. then you stick manu on dirk and he touches his wrist and then they call a foul. the refs are human. they know bowen is a great defender but that doesnt mean he can get away with that. bowen shut dirk down. i admit that and thats fine but i want consistency in the calls. its very fustrating to see, and yes i’m a mavs fan so its more fustrating to watch when it effects your favorite team.
good night and good luck…
luis
http://www.miaspartyrentals.com
Comment by Luis -
I have always had issues with the officiating in the NBA. And while there are little things in the regular season that happen regularly (traveling, 3-seconds, touch fouls on some, not on others, etc…) what absolutely drives me insane is watching playoff basketball. The bias of the referees shows like no other at this time of the year. If you are Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, etc… you have it made. Because of who you are, the Refs are going to give you the call 95% of the time. And this even extends to teams… they might as well give San Antonio the first two rounds of the playoffs because the officials will be calling it that way from the get-go. As a former official myself, it drives me crazy to watch NBA games sometimes. An official is not supposed to be “visible”. They should call the game, consistently for both sides, and certainly not be part of the “show”. Anyway, that my .02, sorry to ramble.
Comment by Andy -
If you’re such a great and active owner how come you haven’t won a championship yet?
If you take away from the game of basketball which you admit to – “who remembers a jumpshot” then why go to the game at all? I can get “fun” a whole bunch of different places – I go through the hassles of going to a game (parking, cost, idiot fans sitting next to me) because the product is the most important, not some stupid rap/rock jingle being played.
The officiating or human element of officiating is part of the essence of the game.
Focus on that, focus on stopping the interchangeability (I know, not a word)of players and reduce the # of games and then you’ll start seeing basketball fans (that’s right “basketball fans” and not purveyors of fun) come to the game.
You really have no clue.
Comment by Stanislaw -
Thanks, James.
Don’t get me wrong, I believe that NBA officiating is in need of a LOT reforming… it is just too much of a stretch to believe Mark Cuban champions reform from a purely non-partisan position.
Comment by Tom Pittman -
Great Post Tom.
Comment by James -
Mark Cuban wrote, “I’m a purist. The rules is the rules. I don’t care if you call it on us. ”
That would be a little easier to believe if we hadn’t watched your jubilation at and after the three point contest. Dirk Nowitski should not have even advanced to the second round much less won the three point shootout, had the officials done their job as you claim you want them to.
Since we haven’t read that you have sent tapes to the league office about it, forgive us for concluding that the only time you want officiating to be spot on is when it is to your advantage.
Of course, it would be blatantly self-serving to claim that the time really didn’t matter. If it doesn’t matter that the time ran out when Dirk’s last two points of the first round were still in his hand, then why even time the three point shootout at all? Why not just let them launch five racks of balls and see how they do? Obviously, the timer is a big part of the three point competition.
Despite the articulate overtures of noble purity, your actions — and inactions — speak so loudly that it can be hard to hear what you say.
Want to leave a noble legacy? Why not redirect the considerable intelligence and financial resources from reforming officiating and put it into something meaningful like reforming the injustices of our legal system.
Comment by Tom Pittman -
The only way to fix the officiating is to quit playing hockey on the basketball court. Basketball is supposed to be a non contact sport!
In the end, the refs end up deciding the outcome of every game because they could call a foul(or wrestling)or, traveling(or palming) on practically every play!
We watch sports for the drama. The most emotional moments come from our anger at the refs!
Comment by Don -
Excellent post. You are in a perfect position to influence how officiating and how the game in general is run. Don’t let your entrepenurial spirit be swayed!
Peace.
Comment by Chris -
Great Job Mark, you Mavs fans and team thinking that when we lose we can blame it on missed calls. You see that is now the only time you complain and you only complain about calls not being made. Those same missed calls happen also in games that you win. What if other owners picked upon on the fact that Dirk travels most times when he makes his move to the middle, do we want them looking for that also, you see each team can point out something, Phil did it and you said he was crazy. Today! what was the reason.
Comment by James -
I’m surprised that it took you thais long to post about the Spurs game.
One thing that coach Pop & A.J. have in common is that they know that focusing on the refs does nothing to improve your team. All it does is facilitate excuse making. It’s the same thing coaches tell 7 yr. olds the first time they get a bad call.
The refs didn’t cause Dirk to miss so many point-blank shots. Truth is that your team is not quite championship ready. However, you have your best chance to get there with the ferocious coach you had the sense to promote.
Love the blog.
Dan
Comment by Dan G -
Mr. Cuban writes: “When I got to the Mavs, I talked about putting the players in a position to succeed by hiring more coaches. After all, if we have a multimillion dollar investment in a player, it only made sense to me to provide that player with whatever individual instruction that was necessary to make them better. To put them in a position to succeed.”
Relatedly, in discussion of former Braves pitching coach Leo Mazzone, there have been “Moneyball”-oriented assertions of how assistant coaches are underpaid– http://baseballanalysts.com/archives/2005/03/the_mazzone_eff_1.php.
Returning to the subject of how referee calls are perceived, there’s obviously a huge confirmation bias (e.g. see http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/29/AR2006012900642.html) at work most of the time. I’ve sat in the upper deck at NFL games where fans fervently criticized any seemingly close call that went against whichever team they were rooting for, as if the view from the upper deck was sufficient.
Comment by John -
You would have more credibility if your blogs weren’t critiques where you claim the Mavs are being abused by the refs 99% of the time. I find your critiques highly biased and self serving.
Comment by Tom -
http://www.deadspin.com/sports/oscars/mark-cuban-is-keeping-busy-158478.php
Comment by penxv -
You are getting some good ink from http://www.deadspin.com
Comment by penxv -
I think all this protesting is hilarious, because it’s top tier teams like the Mavs that reap the ridiculous benefits of favored calls. I strongly suggest watching a team like the clippers(who carry a much different reputation), and compare the calls to what the Mavs receive.
Comment by Daniel -
Great comments Mark. It would be very interesting to see your analysis about each game. I am watching the Mavs/Suns game right now and saw the official miss a charging call on Marion against Marquis.
Is there any way me and other fans of the best team in the NBA can convince you to post your analysis somewhere?
Thanks,
Brian
Comment by Brian -
Great comments Mark. It would be very interesting to see your analysis about each game. I am watching the Mavs/Suns game right now and saw the official miss a charging call on Marion against Marquis.
Is there any way me and other fans of the best team in the NBA can convince you to post your analysis somewhere?
Thanks,
Brian
Comment by Brian -
Mark,
First, thanks for recognizing the officials as having a difficult job. It’s hard enough for the laymen to distinguish a call on a TV replay. I think most fans and TV analysts agree with you, however, it appears that the “cool thing” is to bash Cuban.
I would also like to add that NBA fans should try to catch the show on NBA TV where Ronnie Nunn (head ref on NBA) and others break down controversial calls and explain the rules. Mr. Nunn even admitted that the call on Kobe when he fouled Paul Pierce at the end of the Lakers-Celtics game was wrong. Wow. Humility. Admition of an error. I hardly think this kind of open honesty would have transpired had Mark Cuban never taken the innitiative to get the league to study and review games & refs performances.
Great job, keep it up…
greg
http://www.boxscorebasketball.com
Comment by greg -
I know nothing about basketball.
I took a class once in social change, and the concept I took away from that class is that people are always uncomfortable with change, even if the change is actually beneficial. It’s human nature to object, and try to reinstate the original state of things, no matter how bad the original state of things might be. Seems to be an emotional response that few people can override. Could be a survival mechanism throwback, from caveman days when any change could have been very serious.
The comment “You never know the impact if you don’t communicate.” is so true.
Sometimes… “Status Quo is Latin for the mess we’re in”.
I noticed in Portland there was discussion on the news that PDX is about to lose one of their sports teams because the team is not breaking even. I don’t know the real cause of that, but something must be wrong. There are worse things than change. If the methods are working, then how bad could they be?
Comment by bland response -
What amazes me is that the league has the gall to fine anyone who questions officials or officiating. Its a “you’ll like getting screwed and you’ll keep your mouth shut” philosophy. NFL works the same way.
Comment by Daniel Childress -
Mark, I appreciate your efforts to make officiating better. To me, it is the single biggest flaw of the NBA. If you ask people why they don’t like the NBA, they almost invariably say it’s because they don’t call the game right, i.e. they don’t call traveling, they let some guys (Bowen) get away with fouls while calling touch fouls on other players (Ginobili, Dampier). It’s the inconsistencies between officials as well as between one player and the next with a single ref that creates confusion and discontent among fans. Really? How many times in a game do you say, “How can they call that after what they didn’t call the last time?”
It’s simply a question of fairness. The Mavs have benefitted from this star status structure, especially this year. That is, until they play the Spurs. Obviously, being last year’s champs provides additional benefits, beyond the rings and the money, for the following season.
Good luck with your quest to bring integrity to NBA officials, but as long as you have guys like Steve Javie carrying a whistle, you will be fighting an uphill battle.
Comment by John -
Bowen was not slapping Dirk around, he got up on him and tried to deny him the ball, tried to make it hard for him to shoot from his spots, and stayed with him. Dirk could have remedied this by taking him into the post and shooting fadeaways, but for some reason he didn’t. Bruce is not a bully. I thought Dallas had more than a few calls go their way. Good teams don’t let the refs get to them, they play their game and the rest works itself out.
Comment by Lee Majors -
Mark,
Thanks for the breakdown of the calls. On the small TV I was forced to watch the game on, it looked like I could see the no calls, but it was seldom commented on by the commentators.
(Interjection here: Jason, a sore loser by definition must first be a loser, which Mark/Mavs isn’t/aren’t)
I had the epithany after the game that Charles Barkley and nearly the entire upper office of the NBA want the Mavs to win it all. You see, Charles names you “Sue” to make you tougher. The refs decide to let the Bowen slap Dirk around in front of his friends on the playground, and no one in authority comes to pull the bully aside. All to toughen us up to be able take it all.
Next time Galloway interviews you, Mark, just say, “My name is SUE, HOW DO YOU DO?!”
Comment by Gary -
Loosely related to this post, a very intriguing speech from another sports iconoclast– http://sportsforum.ws/printthread.html?t=131041. Paul DePodesta, one of the protagonists of “Moneyball,” also resists the notion of doing something only “because that’s the way we have always done it.” … And Michael Lewis’ recent NY Times magazine cover story on Texas Tech was a good example of how doing the same thing as everyone else can be strategically suboptimal– http://www.gomeangreen.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=25589.
More directly related to this post, I remember reading something about the arbitrary enforcement of rules in sports. Golf was compared with college football, specifically the custom of a golfer calling a penalty on himself relative to Colorado accepting 5 downs to beat Missouri in 1990.
Comment by John -
mark
sorry, can’t help. i have found google video
to be a rip off. seems a lot of content cannot
be played unless you are connected to the web.
why would i pay $4 for a game, then only watch
it from my laptop while connected to the web?
ever look at your invoice from google?
it has a bogus return email address!
just like ebay, they are too big to care.
PLEASE SWITCH TO iTUNES.
i would then be happy to tell the whole world
how great you and the Mavs are! {grin}
-ski
Comment by ski -
Here is a good article I found earlier today on http://www.mavtalk.com about referees.
A 10-point plan to make officiating better
Kevin Hench / FOXSports.com
Make no mistake, when both the NFL and Major League Baseball playoffs are tainted by a rash of indefensible calls, the sports world is suffering an officiating crisis.In the wake of several controversial and intensely scrutinized calls in high-profile events, FOXSports.com examines the quality of officiating in pro sports:
Does this mean the refs and umps are getting worse? No, but as television coverage gets better and better, their mistakes are just more clearly visible. And, therefore, more clearly correctable.
So why are sports fans being asked to live with bad calls that are costing their teams championships? Surely, something can be done. Though I’m not above complaining without offering solutions, here are 10 suggestions for leading us all — refs, coaches, fans, commissioners — out of this sad situation.
1. Replay, replay, a thousand times replay!
Sports that don’t use replay need to start using it, and sports that use replay need to use more replay. Those TV cameras are our salvation.
Over the course of a baseball season, how many hundreds — possibly thousands – of judgment calls do umpires routinely miss that could be rectified by replay? The most vexing of these is the fair-foul call on home runs down the line. While it can be extremely difficult for an ump looking into a sea of fans to tell on which side of the pole a ball has passed, this is one that replay always shows conclusively. The ball either disappears on one side of the pole or stays visible. This leads to that ridiculous spectacle of managers and umpires engaging in heated, speculative arguments while viewers at home are privy to the right answer. Baseball needs to adopt football’s equivalent of the red flag for challenges before a World Series is lost on this call.
Football, meanwhile, needs to open up more replays to review. The big argument against this seems to be slowing down the game, but given that the whole enterprise is designed to sell cars and beer, would the league really care if it had to show more commercials? I’ve never met a fan who would rather be at the mercy of a bad call than a bad commercial (though I haven’t canvassed the people since Diet Pepsi’s “Brown and Bubbly” spot). It’s just absurd that a coach cannot challenge a game-turning 40-yard pass interference penalty, particularly since PI seems to be the most frequently missed call in football.
After a slew of missed calls on buzzer-beaters in the playoffs a few years back, the NBA finally came to its senses and began subjecting those calls to review. That was a good start, but the league also needs to open up other calls for review. Does any call in sports require as much guesswork as the block-charge decision when a defender’s heels are near the restricted area around the basket? Replays show the refs constantly missing this one. It’s easily and quickly reviewable and coaches should have the option of throwing the challenge flag — or perhaps the challenge Nerf — when their starting center has just picked up his sixth foul in Game 7 of a playoff series.
The NFL should also abandon its prejudice toward upholding the call on the field. The referee should watch the replay with an open mind, not with a bias toward upholding the suspect call of his back judge. If he’s 75 percent sure it was a mistake, he should overturn it. The call on the field — made at full speed with bodies flying around — should not be given any weight once we indulge the luxuries of Super Slo-Mo, zoom and freeze frame.
2. Over-officiating must be punished
Is there anything worse in sports than an official who really wants to put his stamp on the game?In the Super Bowl, for instance, the stripes seemed to be looking for any reason to throw their flags. How else to explain that call on Matt Hasselbeck for blocking below the waist?
Perhaps the NFL should consider opening up more plays for review. (Doug Pensinger / Getty Images) In the NBA, veteran ref Steve Javie often conducts himself as if the 10 phenomenal athletes surrounding him are just there as extras to help him better show off his officiating. He recently ejected Morris Peterson from a game after Peterson and Vince Carter — good friends — exchanged playful slaps. Javie missed Carter’s slap, saw Mo-Pete’s benign response and did the gravest thing a ref can do: removing a player from the game. It was the worst call of the NBA season, and, sadly, not atypical.
Over-officiating is worse, some would say much worse, in college basketball, where for some idiotic reason, a technical foul counts as personal foul. The combination of this bad rule coupled with a bad call helped give Duke a victory over Florida State a couple of weeks ago. On the plus side, the ACC suspended the offending official, a move that one hopes will deter future over-officiating.
3. Conference calls
While their huddles might not make for thrilling television — as salaried announcers will always remind us — officials more concerned with getting the call right than upholding the mistake of their crewmate is a hugely encouraging sign.
In Game 6 of the 2004 American League Championship Series, not once but twice, the umps came together and overruled a bad call with the right one. After Jim Joyce mistakenly ruled Mark Bellhorn’s obvious home run a ground-rule double, his fellow blues saved him considerable embarrassment by conferencing and getting the call right. Later, when Randy Marsh was screened on Alex Rodriguez’s pathetic slap of Bronson Arroyo and ruled him safe, Joe West stepped in and got the call right. Without these two mistakes being corrected, the Greatest Comeback (and Collapse) in Sports History likely wouldn’t have happened.
That’s the good news.
The fact that the refs in the Super Bowl couldn’t get together and pick up the flag on the embarrassing call on Hasselbeck’s tackle is very bad news indeed.But more and more officials appear to be understanding that overruling your crewmate’s erroneous call is having his back not stabbing him in it.
4. Pride goes before a fall
Sports officials need to abandon their egos.
How many times have we seen this sequence? Ref makes bad call, which he immediately suspects is wrong, thereby spiking his insecurity. Player argues bad call. Insecure, embarrassed official compounds his mistake by ejecting player.
This is precisely the scenario that played out in Game 4 of last year’s NLCS when plate ump Phil Cuzzi tossed Jim Edmonds after calling a strike on a ball that almost hit Edmonds in the throat. It was a pivotal moment in a 2-1 Cardinals loss that may have cost them the series.Seriously, guys, just walk away. Again, no one is paying to watch you.
5. Just a little patience
There is this compulsion in sports officiating to make an immediate and decisive call, lest someone doubt the conviction of the ruling. But haste often leads to bad calls, including the dreaded premature “down-by-contact” whistle.
After several years of improvement in this area, the NFL seemed to take a step back this season as more and more plays were blown dead with knees hovering above the ground. Because fumbles can be reviewed and overturned, the officials have been encouraged to hold their whistles as long as possible, but some guys still toot prematurely. What’s the rush?
The officials also need to be empowered to do something about this spectacle of teams sprinting to the line of scrimmage — or scrambling the extra point unit onto the field — in hopes of getting the ball snapped before a play can be reviewed. How outright goofy is it that games can come down to how quickly the definitive replay is provided?
In the college football national championship game, the mere fact Texas sent its kicking team barreling onto the field to quickly boot the PAT — which they botche
Comment by Kyle -