Joey Crawford, still a do*che

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Props to our favorite ref. That was the epitome of officiating excellence tonight when you called a foul on Dwight Howard where he got all ball (two hands worth) on a Kobe drive late, and you called it from the outside position forty freakin' feet away from the play.

Chrome dome needs to go the way of Violet Palmer :td

[braeden0613]

He seems to be an okay ref until the last few minutes when it really counts...I think he enjoys being a factor in the game.

[SouthTexasRancher]

Why is this dirtbag still working in the NBA?

[Lakers999]

dwight grabbed kobe pinky therefore its a foul

[Thompson]

Chrome dome needs to go the way of Violet Palmer :td

Why? Was she fired or something?

[spurscenter]

Props to our favorite ref. That was the epitome of officiating excellence tonight when you called a foul on Dwight Howard where he got all ball (two hands worth) on a Kobe drive late, and you called it from the outside position forty freakin' feet away from the play.

Chrome dome needs to go the way of Violet Palmer :td



I think the refs were trying to even out the box score so they hide their agendas. But we all know the last 6 minutes are all Lakers calls

[Fabbs]

Props to our favorite ref. That was the epitome of officiating excellence tonight when you called a foul on Dwight Howard where he got all ball (two hands worth) on a Kobe drive late, and you called it from the outside position forty freakin' feet away from the play.

Chrome dome needs to go the way of Violet Palmer :td
Anybody got a gif or photo of this?
Classic Laker Marketing b.s. with El Douche doing his job for them.

spurscenter
But we all know the last 6 minutes are all Lakers calls
end of Laker games are not basketball. Sometimes start and middle too. :lol

[MoSpur]

It never ceases to amaze me. How do they keep giving this guy games to call?

[temujin]

He never gets to officiate Games 1 or finishing Games 5 with a team up 3-1.

What's the probability of that happening by chance?

[draft87]

Why? Was she fired or something?

no she was not fired. i think they were just using an example of an official that wouldn't suck as bad as joey crawford.

she was actually just promoted to something like wnba western conference officiating coordinator. she will still be in the nba but she 'only' has 12 years tenure. the playoffs are scheduled based on seniority and performance, right? i think she only has a handful of playoff games on her resume and joey crawford for some reason has managed to work for something like 25 years.

wasn't his return from suspenion very low key? for as much as i heard that he would not apologize to david stern for treating duncan like dirt, i didn't hear a word about him actually admitting he was wrong and therefore being reinstated.

he really gives philadelphia a bad name.

[Mel_13]

Props to our favorite ref. That was the epitome of officiating excellence tonight when you called a foul on Dwight Howard where he got all ball (two hands worth) on a Kobe drive late, and you called it from the outside position forty freakin' feet away from the play.

Chrome dome needs to go the way of Violet Palmer :td

At least Tim Duncan's 2nd most loved official has finally retired. 72 yr old Jack Nies, along with two other over-60 refs, retired this week.
http://sev.prnewswire.com/sports/20090608/PH2924808062009-1.html

Violet Palmer, however, will unfortunately continue to work as an NBA official.
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-40-160/When-Young-Girls-Watch-the-NBA.html

[DPG21920]

At least Tim Duncan's 2nd most loved official has finally retired. 72 yr old Jack Nies, along with two other over-60 refs, retired this week.
http://sev.prnewswire.com/sports/20090608/PH2924808062009-1.html

Violet Palmer, however, will unfortunately continue to work as an NBA official.
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-40-160/When-Young-Girls-Watch-the-NBA.html

I guess the AP was wrong about Violet.

[Mel_13]

I guess the AP was wrong about Violet.

All the initial reports assumed that taking the college job meant she was giving up the NBA job. Corrections came out a day or two later.

[manufan10]

I like what the Sports Guy said on this issue. The NBA needs to let the old guys go out to pasture and start bringing in some fresh young guys. Seriously, my dad is younger than these guys, and he has a hard time seeing things. How can a 72 year old really see everything that's going on in a game? He can't. That's why there is so many missed calls. The Sports Guy also mentioned that there is no school or academy to try and bring in new fresh refs. I think it would benefit the League for them to open one up. Train some young guys to bring in. I think there should be an age requirement to become a ref and when you HAVE to retire.

[FromWayDowntown]

Just get ready. If this series goes 7, Joey's certainly got either Game 6 or Game 7. I'm guessing he's got Game 7 and probably with Salvatore.

[draft87]

Just get ready. If this series goes 7, Joey's certainly got either Game 6 or Game 7. I'm guessing he's got Game 7 and probably with Salvatore.


+steve javie

[Mel_13]

I like what the Sports Guy said on this issue. The NBA needs to let the old guys go out to pasture and start bringing in some fresh young guys. Seriously, my dad is younger than these guys, and he has a hard time seeing things. How can a 72 year old really see everything that's going on in a game? He can't. That's why there is so many missed calls. The Sports Guy also mentioned that there is no school or academy to try and bring in new fresh refs. I think it would benefit the League for them to open one up. Train some young guys to bring in. I think there should be an age requirement to become a ref and when you HAVE to retire.

They may actually be doing this. Nies (72), Clark (66), and Grillo (60) just retired and Bavetta (69) looks like he is out of the rotation for the NBA Finals.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Damn, thought Violet was out completely with the collegiate officiating thing. Now she's working two jobs? She sucked as an NBA ref and now some of her time is going to be devoted to being a supervisor? Epic fail...

Agree with FWD though, somehow I suspect we see this sorry sack of dogcrap call another game in the Finals if we get to a game 6-7 situation.

[FromWayDowntown]

+steve javie

Since Javie worked Game 2, it's possible -- even probable -- that he will be the crew chief for a Game 6.

There are only 4 crew chiefs in the Finals and that's then weeded down to 3 for the last 3 games. Dan Crawford, Steve Javie, and Joe Crawford have been the crew chiefs in Games 1, 2, and 3. My hunch is that Salvatore is the chief for Game 4 and that his crew will include Scott Foster and either Dick Bavetta or Mike Callahan. I also think that Salvatore will be the guy who isn't a chief in the last 3 games. (I say that because he's twice worked games this post season in which he wasn't the crew chief (Game 7 of Atlanta/Miami and Game 6 of Orlando/Cleveland)).

Left to guess how the assignments will go from here, I'm thinking it might look like this:

Game 4 -- Salvatore, Callahan, Foster
Game 5 -- D. Crawford (worked Gm. 1), Derosa (Gm. 1), Mauer (Gm. 1)
Game 6 -- Javie (Gm. 2), McCutchen (Gm. 2), Wunderlich (Gm. 3)
Game 7 -- J. Crawford (Gm. 3), Salvatore (Gm. 4), Foster (Gm. 4)

The league was much more predictable from 1999-2006 in the Game 5, 6, and 7 assignments. It used to be that the Game 5 crew was some combination of the Game 1 and Game 2 crews, that the Game 6 crew was some combination of the Game 2 and Game 3 crews, and that the Game 7 crew was some combination of the Game 3 and Game 4 crews. For instance, here were the assignments for the 2005 Finals:

Game 1: Javie, Callahan, Garretson
Game 2: D. Crawford, Fryer, Nies
Game 3: J. Crawford, Delaney, Salvatore
Game 4: Bavetta, Derosa, Rush
Game 5: Javie (Gm. 1), Callahan (Gm. 1), Garretson (Gm. 1)
Game 6: D. Crawford (Gm. 2), Fryer (Gm. 2), Salvatore (Gm. 3)
Game 7: J. Crawford (Gm. 3), Bavetta (Gm. 4), Rush (Gm. 4)

The same holds up over other years that featured long Finals series. In 2006 the rotation looked like this:

Game 1: J. Crawford, Derosa, Salvatore
Game 2: Javie, Delaney, Rush
Game 3: D. Crawford, Mauer, Nies
Game 4: Bavetta, Callahan, Fryer
Game 5: J. Crawford (Gm. 1), Derosa (Gm. 1), Salvatore (Gm. 1)
Game 6: D. Crawford (Gm. 3), Javie (Gm. 2), Rush (Gm. 2)

In 2003 it went this way:

Game 1: Bavetta, J. Crawford, Derosa
Game 2: D. Crawford, Delaney, Salvatore
Game 3: Javie, Garretson, Nies
Game 4: Fryer, Callahan, Rush
Game 5: Bavetta (Gm. 1), J. Crawford (Gm. 1), Salvatore (Gm. 2)
Game 6: D. Crawford (Gm. 2), Delaney (Gm. 2), Garretson (Gm. 3)

An in 2000 it followed form as well:

Game 1: D. Crawford, Nies, Durham
Game 2: J. Crawford, Salvatore, Rush
Game 3: Fryer, Garretson, Evans
Game 4: Bavetta, Javie, Nunn
Game 5: D. Crawford (Gm. 1), Nies (Gm. 1), Salvatore (Gm. 2)
Game 6: J. Crawford (Gm. 2), Evans (Gm. 3), Garretson (Gm. 3)

With all of that said, last year, the Game 5 crew followed form -- Bavetta and Foster worked Game 1 and Game 5 and Ken Mauer worked Game 2 and Game 5. But Game 6 did not -- J. Crawford and Salvatore worked Game 3 and Game 6, but Ed Rush worked Game 1 and Game 6. Working backwards from what was left, I think the Game 7 crew last year would have been Steve Javie, Dan Crawford, and Bob Delaney (since I don't think Wunderlich, Derosa, or Washington was going to get the nod for Game 7), but that would have also broken from the tradition since Javie worked Game 4, but D. Crawford and Delaney each worked Game 2.

Ugh. Not as easy as it used to be.

[FromWayDowntown]

They may actually be doing this. Nies (72), Clark (66), and Grillo (60) just retired and Bavetta (69) looks like he is out of the rotation for the NBA Finals.

I'm not yet sure about Bavetta -- we'll see tomorrow morning. Dickie B hasn't worked since Game 2 of the WCF. But what I'm not sure about is whether he was in line to get Game 7 of the ECF had there been one, given that he didn't work a single ECF game this year.

It's a bit odd to have dropped him that early from the roster, given that he began the playoffs as one of the 8 crew chiefs in Round 1. It strikes me as somewhat unlikely that one of the 8 officials elite enough to be crew chiefs at any point in these playoffs would get surpassed by a non-chief for the Finals.

So far, we've seen 5 of those crew chiefs work the Finals (D. Crawford, Javie, McCutchen, J. Crawford, and Wunderlich) and, as I noted, it seems quite probable that the another 2 (Salvatore and Foster) are working Game 4. The 4 non-chiefs who got the Finals assignment are Joe Derosa, Ken Mauer, Tom Washington, and Derrick Stafford. Since there seems to be 1 spot open for Game 4, I think it's either going to go to Bavetta, based on his merit in being a crew chief in these playoffs, or to Mike Callahan (though it could also be someone like Ron Garretson or Bill Spooner, I guess).

[Rain318]

I think the refs were trying to even out the box score so they hide their agendas. But we all know the last 6 minutes are all Lakers calls

Kobe "Man ill give u 5 grand a whistle"

[Mel_13]

I'm not yet sure about Bavetta -- we'll see tomorrow morning. Dickie B hasn't worked since Game 2 of the WCF. But what I'm not sure about is whether he was in line to get Game 7 of the ECF had there been one, given that he didn't work a single ECF game this year.

It's a bit odd to have dropped him that early from the roster, given that he began the playoffs as one of the 8 crew chiefs in Round 1. It strikes me as somewhat unlikely that one of the 8 officials elite enough to be crew chiefs at any point in these playoffs would get surpassed by a non-chief for the Finals.

So far, we've seen 5 of those crew chiefs work the Finals (D. Crawford, Javie, McCutchen, J. Crawford, and Wunderlich) and, as I noted, it seems quite probable that the another 2 (Salvatore and Foster) are working Game 4. The 4 non-chiefs who got the Finals assignment are Joe Derosa, Ken Mauer, Tom Washington, and Derrick Stafford. Since there seems to be 1 spot open for Game 4, I think it's either going to go to Bavetta, based on his merit in being a crew chief in these playoffs, or to Mike Callahan (though it could also be someone like Ron Garretson or Bill Spooner, I guess).

Peter Vecsey is not the most reliable source of NBA information, but in a column published after Game 1 he reported the 12 primary and 4 alternate Finals refs as if it was set in stone and came directly from Bernie Fryer (Vescey doesn't have a very high opinion of Bernie).

The 12 primary:

Danny Crawford, Joe DeRosa, Ken Mauer (last night's Game 1 crew), Joe Crawford, Mike Callahan, Scott Foster, Steve Javie, Bennett Salvatore, Derrick Stafford, Tom Washington, Mark Wunderlich and Monty McCutchen.

The 4 alternates:

The Finals' four alternates -- James Capers, Marc Davis, Bill Kennedy, Bill Spooner


http://www.nypost.com/seven/06052009/sports/moresports/official_ly__finals_a_joke_172692.htm

[FromWayDowntown]

Peter Vecsey is not the most reliable source of NBA information, but in a column published after Game 1 he reported the 12 primary and 4 alternate Finals refs as if it was set in stone and came directly from Bernie Fryer (Vescey doesn't have a very high opinion of Bernie).

The 12 primary:

Danny Crawford, Joe DeRosa, Ken Mauer (last night's Game 1 crew), Joe Crawford, Mike Callahan, Scott Foster, Steve Javie, Bennett Salvatore, Derrick Stafford, Tom Washington, Mark Wunderlich and Monty McCutchen.

The 4 alternates:

The Finals' four alternates -- James Capers, Marc Davis, Bill Kennedy, Bill Spooner


http://www.nypost.com/seven/06052009/sports/moresports/official_ly__finals_a_joke_172692.htm

I went looking for that very information right before the Finals started and couldn't find it. It makes sense that Callahan is the 12th official, since he worked Game 7 of Lakers/Rockets and Game 6 of Lakers/Nuggets -- both high-end games that get Finals-level officials on the call.

I said before (in Round 2) that we might be seeing the slow end of Bavetta and this would appear to further prove that point.

Thanks for the heads-up.

[FromWayDowntown]

What's fascinating to me about Vecsey's piece is that as fans are bitching that the older officials are getting more and more big games, and as the league is starting to respond to those concerns by infusing younger officials into the cadre of the elite whistleblowers, Vecsey is bent that the old guys are being phased out.

For all of the crap he takes, Bavetta is a great official from a technical standpoint. He most certainly manipulates games by choosing what to call and what not to call, but in general, he's good enough to make sure that those choices come on borderline plays and not on obvious ones.

For whatever it's worth, removing Bavetta from the ranks of Finals officials makes all of those guys under 60 and makes Salvatore the oldest official in that group:

59 -- Salvatore
57 -- J. Crawford
55 -- D. Crawford
54 -- Javie, Mauer
52 -- Derosa, Stafford, Spooner
51 -- Washington, Wunderlich
50 -- Callahan
48 -- Capers
43 -- McCutchen
42 -- Foster, Kennedy
41 -- Davis

[Behrooz24]

Werd. That foul was BS.

[galvatron3000]

dwight grabbed kobe pinky therefore its a foul
lol:wakeup

[exstatic]

What's fascinating to me about Vecsey's piece is that as fans are bitching that the older officials are getting more and more big games, and as the league is starting to respond to those concerns by infusing younger officials into the cadre of the elite whistleblowers, Vecsey is bent that the old guys are being phased out.

For all of the crap he takes, Bavetta is a great official from a technical standpoint. He most certainly manipulates games by choosing what to call and what not to call, but in general, he's good enough to make sure that those choices come on borderline plays and not on obvious ones.

For whatever it's worth, removing Bavetta from the ranks of Finals officials makes all of those guys under 60 and makes Salvatore the oldest official in that group:

59 -- Salvatore
57 -- J. Crawford
55 -- D. Crawford
54 -- Javie, Mauer
52 -- Derosa, Stafford, Spooner
51 -- Washington, Wunderlich
50 -- Callahan
48 -- Capers
43 -- McCutchen
42 -- Foster, Kennedy
41 -- Davis

If they lopped off the top 2 from that list, I'd only call Palmer an awful official in entire remaining corps. JCrawford, Salvatore and Bavetta are also the only remaining "ticketgate" scandal refs, I believe.

[sammy]

That sounds like all the refs when any team is playing the Lakers. Look at Game 2..Kobe gets stuffed no body contact and they call a foul on Petrus, Kobe slips and falls, foul of Petrus..Hedo using his off arm (which they allowed him to do all game until the end) here comes another whistle, and lets not forget the goal tend at the end of regulation when Bitch Gasol hit the rim when Lee went for the layup...and what do you know all these calls were with less than 4 min left in the game. It happens almost every game for these guys...if anyone deserves an asterik it's this team. They ALWAYS, ALWAYS get the benefit of calls, yet smaller market teams like SA and Detroit actually have to win the series and the title w/o the ref's help. It should be 2-1 Magic, but D Stern and his mindless zebras will never let that happen.:bang

Agreed! Not to mention the foul on Kobe when he grabbed Lee as he was going for the shot at the end of regulation, but of course the crooked zebras swallow the whistle! I wrote to the NBA and they responded that they take the fans concerns very seriously and that they watch and scrutinize all calls the refs make and want to make sure the game is officiated correctly! Bunch of BS, as they still do the same crap!:bang

[FromWayDowntown]

JCrawford, Salvatore and Bavetta are also the only remaining "ticketgate" scandal refs, I believe.

Pretty sure that Mauer was one as well. I know Mauer had some legal problem in his past.

[FromWayDowntown]

Here's an old column on Mauer's prosecution and conviction, some details about the "ticketgate" scandal for those who don't remember it, and a few more names; I had forgotten that Steve Javie refused a plea and ended up beating the IRS.

http://static.espn.go.com/nba/columns/hughes/1141856.html

Mauer stood tall -- and pays the price

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Frank Hughes
Special to ESPN.com

When do you abandon your principles?

When do you compromise what you know is right, forsake what you have been taught your entire life, cede who and what you are, the foundation upon which you live from day to day?

When it's convenient? In the name of your family? Your livelihood? Whenever you feel like it? If so, are they really principles, or are they simply guidelines?

Or, are your principles of such value that you never relinquish them?

That's what Ken Mauer believes.

And he is paying for it.

Dearly.

Mauer is one of the 45 NBA officials who have been lynched -- fairly or unfairly is up for debate -- by the Internal Revenue Service for an airline ticket scam that netted them additional income.

Mauer, however, is one of only two men -- the other was Steve Javie -- who chose not to plea bargain his case, who chose to fight for what he believed to be an injustice against him, against his good name.

"I'm not saying a mistake wasn't made," Mauer said. "I'm not saying I've never made a mistake. But I never intended to commit a criminal act. I stood up for what I believe in. That is the only way I know how to live my life."

And in what could only be considered an unfair fight, Mauer lost.

While Javie was found not guilty, Mauer was convicted of a felony, three counts of tax evasion and one count of obstruction of justice, and unless an appeal reverses the decision, he will forever be considered a felon.

He can never vote again. Cannot hold a government job. His freedom to travel is restricted.

Worse, while the other 43 referees who chose to plea bargain and wanted their jobs back got them back, Mauer possibly may not be reinstated by the NBA, depending on what the outcome of his sentencing hearing -- yet to be scheduled -- is.

And that is the true irony of this story.

Mauer is a man of his principles who stood by his beliefs, who chose to fight the system that was, he felt, unfairly persecuting him.

You would think, from the NBA's point of view, that is exactly the type of man they would want to represent them as a referee, a position that is supposed to be the standardbearer of integrity and honor.

At a time when the league is taking a public relations hit for wife-beating and drunk driving and drug use, the league needs more Ken Mauers, not less.

"I'm from a referee family," Mauer said. "My father reffed 35 years. All four of my brothers ref. My priorities are in line, there are more important things my life, but I want to get back to what I love. I want my job back."

But he is a convicted felon, the league would argue.

But honestly, Mauer has not done anything more than Jess Kersey or Mike Mathis or Joey Crawford, all men who plea bargained and are back on the court presiding over basketball games.

The only difference is, Mauer stood up for himself, while those other men caved to the pressures being placed upon them.

"When he decided to do this," Joey Crawford said, "I said, 'Kenny, are you sure this is what you want to do?' I tried to talk him out of it. He said, 'Joe, I can't do it. I didn't do anything wrong.' I said, 'I didn't either. But the system is so corrupt and so screwed up, just get it over with.' And he said, 'Nope. I can't do it.

Hey, I'm not blaming Crawford, or any of the other officials who chose to plea bargain. I probably would have done the exact same thing, given their circumstances.

But Mauer should not be punished by the league when those men who failed to stand up for what they believe -- and believe me, they ALL think they are innocent -- are being rewarded by being permitted to resume their positions. Particularly when you look at the way in which Mauer was convicted.

He, like all the referees, would take their first class airline tickets, downgrade them to economy class, and take the difference as additional income. That they didn't claim the difference on their income tax was questionable, to be sure, but when the practice began decades ago, it was part of the referee's collective bargaining agreement between the officials and the NBA.

All the officials will admit their mistakes, but when you take into account the amount of money that was being made, it is negligible by most standards. Over a three-year period, Mauer was taxed $26,500 on the additional income he made, an average of $8,800 a year.

I'll say it again: $8,800 a year.

Perhaps the real story here is why is the IRS spending so much money to prosecute a guy who did not pay them $8,800 a year?

According to a source with the IRS, "Generally speaking, I would say that prosecuting him was a bit excessive. Normally, he would have gotten a penalty for a late payment, a fine, he would have to pay his back taxes with interest. It would be a pretty substantial amount."

When you take into account their investigation, their prosecution, the fact they had to fly their lawyers from Washington D.C. to Minneapolis to conduct a trial, you can bet it cost the taxpayers well over $8,800 to nail Mauer.

This time of year, there are all sorts of articles about how understaffed the IRS is, what the odds of getting audited are, how to cheat on your taxes because the IRS does not have nearly the manpower to keep up with all the returns.

And yet, it spent who knows how many hours of manpower and financial backing to go after a guy who did not pay $26,500 over three years.

When his accountants told him it was OK.

That's right, Mauer's own accountants, who signed his tax returns, told him that his income from his downgrades was not taxable, that he was OK. Go ahead and file the way he had.

Didn't matter. Not to the IRS. Not to the jury who was given only half truths. For instance, Mauer bought his dream tract of land overlooking a river outside St. Paul, Minn., then with the help of his family built his own house after getting a loan from the bank as the general contractor.

During his trial, the prosecutors went through his bank accounts and showed large deposits of cash -- which were construction loans for his house -- then showed pictures of his finished house, and insinuated to the jury that he was a drug dealer and a money launderer.

In essence, they smeared his name badly enough in the courtroom that a jury was distracted from the real issues at hand.

"The whole thing was a joke," said Crawford, who attended the trial. "You watch this stuff and it is like surreal. You can't believe your friend is going through this. You can't believe it, and you watch it, and how the government goes about it. They made this guy out to be a bad person, an ogre. And it fascinated me they could get away with this. And they did. You lose respect for the whole system."

When it came down to it, Mauer has spent in excess of $230,000 in attorneys fees defending his name.

And if that is not an indication of his feelings about right and wrong, nothing is. A man who could have gotten off had he simply agreed to say "I'm guilty" gave up his life savings, borrowed from friends and family, is on the verge of losing his house and, possibly, his job forever, has spent $230,000 to defend a $26,500 mistake. And that is before he even has to pay his civil penalty, which could total as much as $100,000.

Before all this happened, Mauer was rated as one of the NBA's top referees, among the top 25, despite being one of its youngest.

Part of the reason for that is because of the type of person he is, what he stands for.

The NBA should cherish its employees like Ken Mauer, welcome him back, celebrate his return.

Not kick him out to the curb.

"I'm just hoping that David Stern rights the wrong," Crawford said.

[FromWayDowntown]

Peter Vecsey is not the most reliable source of NBA information,

But his list was correct.

Game 4's crew is Salvatore (chief), Callahan, and Foster