duncan228
01-04-2009, 01:12 AM
NBA refs find spotlight for wrong reasons (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/NBA_fefs_find_spotlight__for_wrong_reasons.html)
Mike Monroe
It was a bad week for the zebras.
NBA referees do a remarkable job of getting the calls right and maintaining professionalism in a heated environment, but there are exceptions. Last week produced two regrettable examples.
First, the Trail Blazers were allowed a basket when they had six men on the court.
Then, a veteran referee engaged in some ugly name-calling with a veteran player.
The league, which has promised greater transparency where its referees are concerned, was tepid in its response to both incidents.
Portland scored on a dunk with three seconds left in the first half of a Dec. 26 game, and no wonder Travis Outlaw was uncovered for the dunk. The Blazers had six players on the court after a 20-second timeout.
Hard to know which is more unbelievable: that play continued for 7.2 seconds without the extra player being detected (by the refs, at least; several Celtics were trying to bring it to their attention), or that the crew chief was Mike Callahan, a veteran of 18 seasons and 79 playoff games, including six Finals games.
Once detected, the unfair advantage in Portland resulted in a technical foul on the Blazers, but the basket by Outlaw was allowed to stand. The NBA insists the referees were right in stating they were not allowed to take away the basket because their error was not correctable.
Celtics guard Ray Allen called the whole situation “disgraceful.”
Hard to argue with Allen, which leaves us at a loss about what to call veteran ref Derrick Stafford’s use of the term “boy” in his run-in with the Nets’ Vince Carter. Stafford “expressed regret” about using the term, and no action was taken against Carter, who appeared to bump Stafford as he left the court.
Disgusting seems an appropriate way to characterize that incident.
Mike Monroe
It was a bad week for the zebras.
NBA referees do a remarkable job of getting the calls right and maintaining professionalism in a heated environment, but there are exceptions. Last week produced two regrettable examples.
First, the Trail Blazers were allowed a basket when they had six men on the court.
Then, a veteran referee engaged in some ugly name-calling with a veteran player.
The league, which has promised greater transparency where its referees are concerned, was tepid in its response to both incidents.
Portland scored on a dunk with three seconds left in the first half of a Dec. 26 game, and no wonder Travis Outlaw was uncovered for the dunk. The Blazers had six players on the court after a 20-second timeout.
Hard to know which is more unbelievable: that play continued for 7.2 seconds without the extra player being detected (by the refs, at least; several Celtics were trying to bring it to their attention), or that the crew chief was Mike Callahan, a veteran of 18 seasons and 79 playoff games, including six Finals games.
Once detected, the unfair advantage in Portland resulted in a technical foul on the Blazers, but the basket by Outlaw was allowed to stand. The NBA insists the referees were right in stating they were not allowed to take away the basket because their error was not correctable.
Celtics guard Ray Allen called the whole situation “disgraceful.”
Hard to argue with Allen, which leaves us at a loss about what to call veteran ref Derrick Stafford’s use of the term “boy” in his run-in with the Nets’ Vince Carter. Stafford “expressed regret” about using the term, and no action was taken against Carter, who appeared to bump Stafford as he left the court.
Disgusting seems an appropriate way to characterize that incident.