Thanks to Bob Young for writing what we all were thinking…
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cheapseats/0527p2main0527.ht…
for more reference…
http://www.blogmaverick.com/entry/7817259725070137/
and to add to the data at the bottom of the above post, in this last game that Bob Young writes about, there were 4 free throws shot in the first half. All by Shaq.
Minnesota didn’t shoot their first non-tech free throw until Wally took 2 with 4:31 to go in the 3rd quarter…
and for a little more…
http://www.blogmaverick.com/entry/6314322554475298/
and Flip Saunders says the crew missed 33 calls in Game 3…
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=knight-tompowerskgneed…
and just for more fun from a previous blog entry, since it is relative to Bob Youngs column….
“The game last night game came down to the final shot. Sac had a foul to give. Their coach tells the players to foul with 3 seconds left. We know it.The players know it.Everyone on our bench knows it. It’s basketball strategy 101. How in the world could the officials not know it? Peja intentionaly fouls Dirk. They don’t call it. “
And not to say thatI was paying attention to this issue before…. but this is from an AP reporter overhearing me referencing a previous conversation I had with our media guys prior to this game starting….
“Frustrated by how the first quarter was called by official Dan Crawford and crew, Mavs owner Mark Cuban screamed to the scorer’s table, “What did I tell about Crawford? Terrible.” Maybe it worked the Kings didn’t have a free throw in the second quarter. … “
Just for clarification, my comments didn’t have an impact, I was referencing my observations of Mr. Crawfords style of officiating and the lack of free throws in the 2nd quarter, regardless of team, confirmed it for this game.
Finally, I do have to give credit where credit is due, and disagree with Bob Young on 1 item in his column. The officials are finally calling travelling. Starting with our game against Sac, they have rediscovered the ability to see players shuffle their feet and switch pivot feet. The world has not collapsed and the players seem to have adjusted nicely. Anddads everywhere are breathing a sigh of relief not having to explain to littly johnny and sally why they can’t do that in their games….
What does this all mean? Not a darn thing because it obviously is complete coincidence…..
I’m also beginning to think that they have separate rules for Olowokandi, too. Watching the TWolves series against the Lakers and the series against the Kings, Kandi would get called for a foul playing normal post defense.
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I have said it for years and I will say it again. NBA officiating is a joke. The officials are calling the games the way David Stern wants them called. The rules mean nothing. The “superstar” system is a load of crap. A foul is a foul, it doesn’t matter who is involved. I can watch a game between any two teams and see that the refs are a joke, it doesn’t have to be the Lakers. The Lakers get most of the calls because of the “superstar” system. When the time comes again that they don’t have the superstars, and it will, they wont get as much help from the refs.
Comment by Kirk -
To the almighy Lakers Bit(hes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Comment by Burgs -
ohhh I get it… the refs have to be perfect… give me a break…
and about the traveling calls.. the refs missed what could have been a huge missed call.. Tim Duncan traveling on his miracle shot….
Comment by Clint Perry -
The games are fixed to extend the series and get more $$$$$$$$$$$$. Open your eyes
Comment by Nick -
Ughh, that last comment has very little to do with the topic.
Let’s forget about Dan Crawford for a second, as well. The game last night shared the same poor officiating of the rest of the playoffs. This time, however, it was the Timberwolves who benifited from some timely calls. I think what happened was the aggressor was getting the calls, which is often the case in professioanl basketball (as some of the earlier posts noted). Which would mkae some of those postwriters ask, “why don’t the teams adjust, and become the agrresors.” It’s a good question, but it may be treating the symptom, and not the desease.
The isue at hand is whether officiating changes games. See, under a perfect system, the plays would not have to change their style of play. The rules are there for everyone to know how to play, and what they can and cannot do. This should not change form game to game or official to official. Players should, from the onset of their professional careers, be allowed to play the same style of basketball, if such is their wish. The great players would grow, and the marginal players would know what to expect.
And, as long as I am on the subject, this idea of star calls is just as rediculous. I know I have been asking for KG to “get the respect he deserves,” but that, too, is unfair. Instead, we should all be yelling to “call the foul” regardless of who has the ball. A star call is just as bad for the game as a no call, or a team’s preferential treatment. I have no doubt in my mind that these stars know how to play the game without getting those calls, and know how to play the game when it if officiated properly. We, as Timberwolves get mad when Kobe gets a touch foul called. We should not be screaming for KG to get the same treatment to even the game, we should be asking for everyone to ge the same treatment: the proper and fair, by the rules, officiating of the game.
Comment by Joshua Page -
Are you making fun of me then? I’m telling you, i speak the truth. I’m as sure as this i am that Kobe Bryant is a rapist, but it doesn’t matter if he gets convicted because if he was he would get probation, a bunch of bullshit community service, or a suspended sentence. But the question is why a white girl would oh, nevermind…… Have a nice night.
Comment by John -
I’m the kind of guy that makes fun of conspiracy-theorists all the time… I watch these games and hear fans say how it’s fixed. My brain says there is no way, but if you watch these games; that thought WILL tug at your brain. I hate the Lakers more than anything.
I hate the lakers b/c of the “calls” Kobe gets
I hate the lakers b/c Shaq’s “game” is one big offensive foul
I hate the lakers b/c their fans are (on the whole) the least knowledgeable group of people in sports.
I hate the lakers b/c Derek Fisher & Rick Fox are wasting oxygen that productive members of society COULD be breathing
I hate the lakers b/c of their stupid little squabbles between players
I hate the lakers b/c of the ridiculous amount of press they get
but
I especially hate the lakers b/c they get more calls than the rest of the nba combined… WHEN IT COUNTS MOST.
– Brian
Comment by Brian Dimm -
Ok. i didn’t read all the comments, but some. YOU GUYS DO KNOW THESE GAMES ARE FIXED, RIGHT? It is very obvious. Thats why whenever I make bets I do it as close to gametime as possible. There have been so many parlays I should have won, but of course I barely lose on some kind of bullshit. I beleive not just the NBA is fixed, but college B-ball as well. I taped alot of NCAA tournament games that I had numerous parlays on. I sited numerous insdtances where a team would all of a sudden go out of the norm of what they would normally do. Since this will be questioned I will site once instance. St. Joe in the first round this year. They were favored by 27. They are up 26 with 6 minutes left in the game. OK, we are well on our way to cover the spread. Not so fast, Martelli takes Nelson, West, and a couple others out with 6 minutes left in the game. Not a poblem, the other teams sucks. Now, it is very obvious the other team can’t score so they start calling handcheck fouls left and right in the backcourst putting St. Joe over the limit and giving the other team free throws. They ended up winning by about 3 points under the spread.
How bout Duke in the first round against Alabam A&M. They are favored by 30 and win by 31. The oddsmakers must be psychics.
Comment by John -
I said a dozen but some meaningless good play late made the final closer than how it felt.
Now time for Stern to sit in row 5 and Dan Crawford to send the Wolves fishing in game 6 at Staples. The Wolves will have to outplay the Lakers by 20-30 pts to win game 6.
Comment by John -
madsen was fouling shaq inside of 2 minutes, which wouldve resulted in one and ball for lakers, not exactly what the wolves would have wanted…
Comment by State Inspector -
Stern and the NBA let a fair game 5 be called and the Wolves take it by about a dozen then send Dan Crawford to Staples for game 6. The league won’t let it get past game 6 though.
We all remember when Portland was on the verge of winning game 7 at Staples behind excellent shooting when the Lakers made a run based on arm slapping defense and touch foul offense to frustrate the Blazers out of their game and let the Lakers pull off an “amazing” fourth quarter comeback of 8 on 5. With the Portland/Indy potential finals scare still fresh on their minds the league won’t let it get past 6 unless the Wolves shoot 20 for 20 from three point range and don’t give the officials a chance (like game 3 at Staples between the Wolves/Lakers last year when they outplayed them by 20 to win in OT).
Comment by John -
Stop watching the games on television so the ratings go down, stop attending the games so ticket sales go down, stop buying the teams merchandise. If there is one thing Stern and the N.B.A. will listen to, it is the all mighty dollar.
And I do agree, the officiating in this league has gotten completely out of hand and something has to be done about it. I hope Mr. Cuban can.
I always fall back on a story one of my close friends told me. Back in early 90’s, a friend of his family and made his way through the ranks to become an N.B.A. official. While in training, he was specifically told he was NOT allowed to call fouls against the super stars of the time (Barkley, Jordan, ect). Fortunately, this gentleman had some character, and he said if he could not call the game the way it supposed to be called, he would walk away. And he did, and gave up on his dreams of becoming an N.B.A. official. Sounds to me just like the character todays N.B.A. officials are missing.
Comment by Michael -
4th quarter is Kobes quarter – thanks to the refs that call a foul everytime he drives to the basket with under 5 minutes left. I dont like the Lakers, and now with all the “superstars” there are so many bulljive calls for them in the fourth quarter. It used to be just Bryant, now its still mostly him but the rest of the team get theirs too.
Comment by Scott -
I love it when Lakers fans chime up and suggest that they are not getting the calls. People who have followed the league for the last few years can recall many examples of the Lakers getting undue respect from the officials. The Sacramento series where Bryant elbows Bibby. Game 3 of last years playoffs versus Minnesota was probably the most poorly officiated game in the history of pro sports. When is the last time that a game was so poorly officiated that all the writers (Stein, Burns, Aldridge) actually wrote columns about it? The last two games of the current series also serve as prime examples. Malone has his hands all over KG all night, and the MVP can’t get to the line. Kobe gets to the line every time he gets into the lane, whether there is contact or not. Next time you watch the Lakers, count how many times Bryant gets free throws on drives where he was either not touched, or was taking a ridiculous, out of control shot that does not warrant a foul call. You will be astounded. I always want to think that the league is not fixed, and my brain tells me it’s not, but if you watch what goes on with the Lakers, it is tough to imagine that everything is on the up and up. The only way to beat LA is to blow them out. If the game is tight with a few minutes to go, they will be bailed out by the officials in most cases. It’s too bad that we even have to discuss this topic, because if Cassell and Hudson were healthy, this series would be wrapped up in six for the Wolves.
Comment by Walter Giesbrecht -
This should not become a flame forum, or a he said she said argument forum. It is meant to be a comment section for the topic at hand. I am personally sorry to everyone, Mark Cuban especially, who had to read the comments I made, and the personal attacks I posted.
The topic got turned into a personal fan-driven thing, and that should never happen.
Comment by Joshua Page -
your welcome
Comment by Burgs -
Thanks.
Comment by Joshua Page -
“All I’m saying is if you only look at one side, you will only see that one side. There are certainly many cases where shaq turns into the defender and bowls them over and it is not called. However, there are also many cases in which shaq is repeatedly fouled before he even has a chance to bowl the other guy over.”-Norm
Couldn’t have said it better myself. People are so closed minded its crazy. Being a Lakers fan I would say the officials are trying to get the T-Wolfs to win and not the other way around. (For example them being tech happy when the game was close.) But I am realistic enough to realize that I watch the game differently than Laker haters who bitch about the league being fixed instead of giving credit for their greatness. And for you morons who think O’Neal fouled Hoiberg, look again, Shaq went straight up and down, which he is allowed to do, and Hoiberg simply hit the wall. O and Joshua Page, you are an idiot.
Comment by Burgs -
There are two things at work here. First, it is obvious that officiating theory has gone out of control. You cannot blame one person, or one official. It is a culture now that teaches officials to call advantage/disadvantage and to try to achieve consistency by understanding what their partners have been calling on the floor. This system is what was addressed in the blog entry “Is it Cheating?”. Second is about adjustments. The Lakers are masters at this. They know that players will be allowed to be more physical on defense in the playoffs and they take full advantage. See Rick Fox in 2002 and Karl Malone in 2004 as perfect examples. They use hands, arms, bodies to keep the player they are guarding from going towards the basket. They know they can get away with it. Look at when they complain. It is when they are called for something that they had been doing all game long. A few years ago when Mark got fined so much, I wrote him that they should start a game against the Lakers with Dirk going strong at the basket. If there was a charge called, then that would establish that call early in the game and Shaq might get called for the same thing. His comment was that it is manipulating the game. In a pure sense, maybe it is. But in the current culture, the more aggressive team seems to get more concessions. Finally, on the Hoiberg play. If the officials think Shaq got the ball first, 99.9% of the time they will ignore whatever contact occurred. Again theory, which I learned firsthand a few years ago. I was officiating a game in a camp with an NBA observer. A current NBA player had a breakaway and he clearly traveled prior to a monster dunk. I called the travel and the comment afterwards was “do you think the people up there came to see you?”. Not whether the call was right, but to preserve the spectacular. It’s a culture that has gotten out of control and the only way back is to enforce the rules as written and be willing to go through the rough period as the players adjust and have to listen to the whistle keep blowing. Once that happens, you will see a beautiful, graceful game played in an open court with spectacular plays, and not a game ruled by the most muscular.
Comment by Mark -
Straight from ESPN.com “Shaq had yet another strong game on the boards, bullying the Timberwolves big men underneath. The officials ignored Flip Saunders’ pleas for more fouls – and though it left Garnett and Saunders steamed, Shaq was in his element. I’m the NBA’s best player O’Neal said. It’s clear because I’m playing football out there.” The last time i checked this was basketball not football. If O’Neal is out there tackling people then why isn’t he getting fouls called on him. He said it himself, he’s playing football.
Comment by Steve -
yes, I did play highschool basketball. Good response, except for not adressing anything I said, beyond using a tu quoque fallacy.
In addition “all I am saying is if you look at one side, you will only see that one side” is, again, glib at best. You are first assuming that is what everyone complaining is doing (or at elast asserting that-falsely), and secondly characetrizing it as false. Again, it could be that people are looking at this, and seeing it for what it is, and YOU are the one focusing on the other side (or playing Devil’s advocate, perhaps)
As for Dan, I am sorry, I misread your comments. I thought you were saying virtually the same thing. But I agree, even with poor officiating, the players should adjust. However, is there a time when officiating becomes so insurmountable as to turn the tides of the game? And is that happening/has that happened in the Lakers Wolves series?
Comment by Joshua Page -
I saw that too and thought the exact same thing. The only thing I don’t understand that if the fix really is in, how is having a superstar that’s about to withstand a rape trial on your league’s championship team a good thing for the NBA?
Comment by JP -
>First, Norm. That is a glib analysis with no >representation of fact.
As opposed to all of the facts you listed in your response?
> The truth is, whether you are an LA fan or a >Timberwolves fan, you want to see a game >officiated properly. Equate it to watching a >highschool game, when you think it must be >pure basketball. Clearly, in that light, the >past few games have not been pure.
Have you ever played high school basketball? The game is certainly not pure at that level either. The officials have even less training and less accountability. I never claimed that the game is called purely. At this point, I’d be happy if it was at least consistently called poorly rather than called differenly at various points of the game and depending on the participant.
> I tis easy to say “people see what they want” >But the begs the question, “What if they are >seeing what is there?”
All I’m saying is if you only look at one side, you will only see that one side. There are certainly many cases where shaq turns into the defender and bowls them over and it is not called. However, there are also many cases in which shaq is repeatedly fouled before he even has a chance to bowl the other guy over.
Mr Cuban seems to be to only one who did call it fairly. If the game was called the way the rules are written, shaq would go to the line many more times than he currently does. He would also foul out many more times than he does currently.
Pointing out just the calls that didn’t go for your team while ignoring the many calls that did go in your favor shows ignorance and blindness to reality.
How’s that for glib? 😉
Comment by norm -
I’m watching last night. Hoiberg drives the lane. Shaq blocks his shot, but then procedes to /plow/ Hoiberg to the ground. He flattened him with a total body-to-body contact/tackle. Hoiberg is totalled. Laying on the deck. Replays clearly show that Shaq completely ran over the guy. Everyone can see this.
No foul.
The fix is in.
Comment by Nick Hodges -
Of course every person calls games differently, in every sport. The problem I have with all this is to me it sounds like constant crying about something he has no control over.
Last night I watched the Stanley Cup and it was noted that TB was getting more penalties than Calgary was. The coach was barking at the officials left and right. That was the first period.
What happened? TB won the game. They adjusted their style of play.
To me to constantly point out referees, one especially, shows me that this is nothing more than a personal grudge, or a failure to admit that the team cannot adjust to the way the game is being called.
Look, I am a Mavericks fan, and I do get upset when I think a call is unfair. But I do not sit there and constantly bark at all the officials for the entire game. If my team fails to adjust, and they lose. Then its on them and the coaches.
Funny how there were no calls on Shaq being fouled but the Lakers still won the game. You take whats given to you and you work with it.
All I really want is for Mark to have as much passion for building a real championship team, than he does for calling out the officiating.
I remember the days of Donald Hodge and Mike Izzulino(sp). I do not want to go back to those anytime soon.
Comment by Dan -
In the LA-Sacramento Western Conf. Finals when Kobe elbowed Bibby in the nose and they called the foul on Bibby. LA wins the game, the series and the championship. David Stern has the league scripted, pretty much, almost like the WCW.
I dislike the Kings almost as much as I dislike the Lakers, and I couldn’t believe what I saw.
Comment by JP -
Mark-
I love your blog, first time am posting a comment. It was undeniably crazy how that foul was not called and the league will not even comment on it.
From basically the top of the key to the low post, Madsen was grabbing Shaq’s arms (he didn’t want to hurt the guy) and both of them are looking at the ref and yelling at him.
What does he do? He claps at them and tells them to play ball.
Madsen intentionally fouled Shaq the previous 2 possessions. He wanted to again. Madsen wanted it. Shaq wanted it. No one got it. It blew my mind.
And it could have 100% altered the game. Lakers never got into an offensive set, poor shot to avoid the TO lead to a transition 3. If the foul was called, that last 1:30 plays out differently, for either team.
Comment by Manu Narayan -
First, Norm. That is a glib analysis with no representation of fact. The truth is, whether you are an LA fan or a Timberwolves fan, you want to see a game officiated properly. Equate it to watching a highschool game, when you think it must be pure basketball. Clearly, in that light, the past few games have not been pure. I tis easy to say “people see what they want” But the begs the question, “What if they are seeing what is there?”
Dan. Comparing two or more sports with one another works only in so far as they are all competition. The comparison stops there. League rules, unions, fans, markets, and officials are all different. as a result, the games are played and officiated differently. What has happened in basketball this year has been commented on by almost all the announcers and analyists, and is one of the worst examples of lopsided officiating ever. This has even been seen by Charles Barkley, who for everythign else, calls games like he sees them. He, as a TNT analyist, is supposed to be impartial, yet he saw the disparity. That could point to this being more than irate fan talk, as you suppose it to be. Hell, even Magic had soemthign to say on the subject, and he owns part of the Lakers.
Mark, can you make the records for each game public somewhere, so the fans who want to see teh stats you have collected on the officials can see them, reference them, and work to improve the situation?
Comment by Joshua Page -
Dude the refs seem to have their picks of who should win the game. The called fouls that weren’t fouls, they didn’t call fouls when there was. Another thing the commentators are weiners. When Kobe Bryant makes a lay up they go crazy and call it a spactacular move but when Ginobili (or any other player) does such a move they go Another Lay Up For San Antonio, dude wheres the excitement, they suck.
Comment by Vale -
Mark, I obviously know there are plenty of haters out there and you must be used to it as far as you’ve come, but I can’t believe I just read a couple of the last comments I just read. Keep up the good work. People can yap about officials not being computers, but they darn well should be. I’m from MN so I don’t even have to say anything for all to know how I feel about this stuff, I just wanted to say the people who care about REAL basketball love you standing up for the game. KG’s silence is real and respectful to the game, he shouldn’t have to be the one whining, it definately has to start with where the money comes from.
Comment by Dave -
about football is the officiating is exceptional. The playing field is level. This is because people watch the NFL regardless of what market is excelling. They watch with such consistency that LA doesn’t even need a franchise for the league to prosper. Compare and contrast for yourself on the variety of outcomes and the size of markets of championship participants. MLB is not comparable because of the lack of salary cap makes the playing field uneven from the start.
http://www.nba.com/history/awards_finalschampsmvp.html
http://www.superbowl.com/history/recaps
Comment by John Foster -
Okay Mark answer me this…
Define what the strike zone is…
Show me what the definition of holding is…
What is the real act of roughing…
I never hear of any owners in any other sports complaining constantly of the officials. Why? Because they know that it is all about adjustments.
Im sorry but quit trying to fix something that a majority of people do not care anything about. You are dealing with human beings, not computers.
If you want to fix something, fix that 1 and done team we had this year that plays no defense at all.
Comment by Dan -
It’s amazing how you see what you look for…
Comment by norm -
The Wolves were extremely aggressive going to the basket last night and still no help from officials. I counted three “and ones” missed on Garnett as well as four drives by KG alone with fouls to the body from Shaq or Malone. Spree gets bodied by Shaq on a drive — no call. Hoiberg gets mauled to the body by Shaq — no call. Kandi gets thrown to the floor by Shaq — no call. Kobe gets bumped on the perimeter and gets two freebies. Medvendenko played half as physical on KG in 12 minutes as Malone in 43 minutes but both players had two fouls. To call a player that was 5-18 on layups a “star” is nonsense. Cuban could hold KG to 28 if they let him bear hug all game.
If rules aren’t consistent they might as well take down the hoop and turn it into figure skating where the big names win on repuatation and “judgement” rather than playing the game on a level playing field with consistent rules. Under this system Dominique Wilkins would have ten titles and Larry Bird zero.
While the new salary cap has improved the league the nonsense for “stars” and “nonstars” or “bitching” versus “quiet” leading to whistles is nonsense. It creates an environment where every missed shot you have to watch Kobe attack the ref (14 times last night) and a player like Malone gets rewarded for poor defense while Trenton Hassel gets punished for staying on his man with touch fouls.
It’s no wonder the Apprentice is so popular. At least Trump calls ’em as he sees ’em.
Comment by John Foster -
I agree. Shaq is the best player in the world, and still would
be if they called the game according to the rulebook. Last night
I couldn’t believe how Shaq would turn, swing his elbow, knock
Kevin Garnett to the ground, then step to the free throw line.
He is a huge man, he can use that strength to obtain any spot
on the floor that he wants, but he doesn’t have to right to push
someone else out of their position. On the other hand, if they
called a foul every time the defender puts two hands in his back, the game would never end.
And by they way, is it just me or does Garnett get no
respect from the refs, especially for an MVP.
Comment by Robbie Barton -
Does the NBA have a separate rulebook for Shaq? I ask because the officials do not call the same rules for Shaq. I hear all the time that “Shaq is the hardest player in the NBA to oficiate”. But it seems to me that when he turns and throws his shoulder and elbow into the defender, thats an offensive foul. SOMEHOW on these plays fouls are called on the defender. I saw Shaq shove Madsen to the floor and a foul was called on Madsen!!! The refs call a foul everytime Shaq touches the ball regardless of whether a foul actually occured.
Come to think of it, the rulebook must be for the Lakers. Malone seems to just throw his massive elbows around and only gets called for it if he almost kills the opponent (when he leveled Darrick Martin who was just trying to set a screen).
I’m also beginning to think that they have separate rules for Olowokandi, too. Watching the TWolves series against the Lakers and the series against the Kings, Kandi would get called for a foul playing normal post defense. They seem to call a foul on him for entering the game. Also, in one game against the Kings, Kandi got a rebound and the Kings gaurds were sticking tight to the Wolves gaurds, so Kandi started dribbling up the floor. The refs called palming on him. They NEVER call palming. He may have actually done this, but Bibby was palming the entire game. Palming is out of control in the NBA, but they call in on Kandi.
Don’t give Kandi a hard time for only playing well a little bit of the time (or not playing well at all). He was injured most of the year (some people seem to forget this) and the refs won’t let him play. He comes in the game, 5 minutes later has to come out because they gave him 3 fouls. I wouldn’t be surprised if they give him a foul for entering the arena.
I just needed to let of some steam.
Comment by Josh -
I wish the NHL had someone like you to shake up the refs and push for accountability. There’s not much that fans can do other than taunt a ref with a thickly shellacked head of alleged hair.
…but, no you are the King that presides over the NBA court. Long live the “Cuban the Great”! You’ve got BALLS!
Comment by Mary Winser -
They are horrible. I am a Lakers fan and must say that they make me sick. I seriously have considered not watching the NBA anymore because the refs are so inconsistant. My only question is-Why is Mark the only one with big enough balls to challenge the refs?
Comment by Burgs -
Perhaps the worst part about this whole idea, from a fans perspective, is we have no options. WE can complain all we want, yell at the TV, tell our friends the conspiracy stories, and all of it counts for naught. I have watched all the Lakers Twolves games, andI cannot understand how it can be so poorly officiated. Yet, all I can do is say that, and it does nothing. What can a fan do, Mark?
Comment by Joshua Page -
I’ve been saying it, the NBA uses refs to affect the outcome and in this case, get the Lakers to the finals. They screwed up last year and wont let it happen again. I could NOT believe they were blatantly ignoring Madsen’s foul. It was just mind boggling.
Comment by Sherwin Noorian -
What cuban dosen’t seem to understand is that what the adelman told the kings was that they COULD take a foul. Not that they HAD to. This means peja could take a chance and swipe at the ball. Which he did, but HE GOT ALL BALL.
The ref should’nt call a foul just because the defensive player was aggresive and they had a foul to give.
Comment by Manuel -
Dude, Minnesota was intentionally fouling Shaq AND other lakers during game 3, that’s why the FT deferential was so huge. I have the whole game taped, come argue with me.
Comment by Nate -
Mark – the officials are calling travelling to SAVE FOULS on the superstars so they could stay in the game longer. I’m surprised that you haven’t noticed that if they have a choice between calling a foul and a turnover, they’ll call the turnover in the playoffs.
Comment by Will -
PLEASE DONT TRADE FOR GREG OSTERTAG , I WOULD LIKE TO ENJOY THE 2004-05 SEASON, IF YOUR LOOKING AT HIM YOU MIGHT ASWELL GET SOMEONE AS BAD AS DIVAC
Comment by david -
yes, i have agreed with you on this topic ever since u posted it, and now u have found some ppl who finally agree with you to write about it in newspapers across the country. maybe now the league can be more aware of these things and not let them go unnoticed.
i liked the part in the first article where it said that you had been fined enough for a third world country’s GDP. hahaha (not making fun of those countries but about how much you’ve had to pay) its ridiculous!
how do they pick the refs for each game anyways?
Comment by cali -
I had just finished reading Flips comments
on another site and was going to post them under the last blog entry.
I should have know better.
While breaking down his videotape of the Lakers’ victory,
Saunders said he catalogued 33 instances
“that were either fouls we didn’t deserve, or calls they deserved that weren’t made.
Something has got to change.”
And it has nothing to do with the point spread?
Another “complete coincidence?..”
Pleeeaaase.
Comment by Deep T -
Cuban and Maverick haters that read this blog will most likely conclude here that Mark Cuban is making excuses for losing in the playoffs (which I have read before around these parts.
But I have news for you. Mark Cuban is about fixing the “broken” ref situation in the NBA. His ideas have already made a difference in the league. Fixing the ref problem will be his greatest contribution to the league (among many). And for those who think he is simply crying “foul”, send him an email and ask him yourself if he would not mind a ref calling traveling on Dirk when he indeed travels, or if a ref misses a hack by Fortson on Duncan when the Mavs are up by 2 with a foul to give against the Spurs and trying to use that foul on Duncan with a handfull of seconds left.
Mark is not “crying foul”. He is wanting FAIR. And so are we.
Keep it up, Mark.
MFFL
Comment by greg -
I asked this on my blog yesterday, why wasn’t Madsen’s intentional fouling of Shaq called an intentional foul?? Or am I interpreting the definition of intentional foul too literaly.
Comment by Matt -
Hmmm…according to your last post Crawford’s worth about 11 points against Minnesota and of course the spread of the game was
11 points
Unreal.
Comment by Chris -