Spurs Brazil
10-12-2009, 07:31 PM
Regular season likely to change Cuban's replacement tune
Oct. 12, 2009
By Ken Berger
CBSSports.com Senior Writer
Tell Ken your opinion!
Nearly a month after the NBA formally locked out its referees, we have the strongest evidence yet that the old refs will be back any minute now.
The evidence? Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and bane of David Stern's existence, actually likes the replacement referees. He likes them a lot.
"I hope they get a deal done," Cuban told CBSSports.com. "But I'm fine with the ones we have. I actually like these referees better."
Having Mark Cuban's support isn't the best thing for a referee's job security. (Getty Images)
If I'm a replacement ref, that's the worst possible news. You know what they say ... with friends like Cuban ...
Despite the ramifications of this rare olive branch extended by Cuban, a notorious ref basher who has been fined upwards of $1.5 million over the years for criticizing the league, the net result through more than 40 preseason games has been a win-win for the replacements. The longer the preseason goes on without any major episodes of incompetence, the worse things look for the real guys.
Predictably, there has been a smattering of confusion, including an incident in which the Pistons' Tayshaun Prince had to explain to replacement refs that you can't review whether a shot was a 2-point or 3-point attempt after 24 seconds have elapsed. This forced the crew to deduct a free throw they had erroneously awarded to Ersan Ilyasova. Two nights earlier, a replacement crew had mistakenly put Detroit's Will Bynum on the line for two free throws, both of which he made. When Miami complained, the officials took the points off the scoreboard and put the correct player, Maceo Baston, on the line. Baston missed both.
I don't want to be sitting anywhere near Stan Van Gundy when that happens to the Magic in a regular-season game -- unless I'm wearing a poncho to shield me from the shrapnel of his exploding head.
There also have been a few games with more than 100 free throws, which means preseason games are taking longer. (This is something that real refs, knowing the meaningless nature of preseason games, would never tolerate.) But Cuban, who said the replacement crew in the Mavs' first preseason game graded just as accurately as the traditional refs, isn't fazed in the least by this phenomena.
"Just call the game," Cuban said. "If there's 100 fouls, call 100 fouls. The number of fouls is only an issue if they weren't fouls. ... The crew we had really had their act together. Now that might be the highlight of the preseason, I don't know. But I was truly impressed."
Besides the fact that it's preseason and nobody cares, one NBA front office executive suggested another plausible theory for why the replacement officials have done OK: As opposed to the real refs, who have a history with players and sometimes make calls based on reputation, the replacements are just doing what they're told. Replacement refs, the theory goes, make fewer calls based on the relative star status of the players involved.
"They're calling the game," the official said, "not the number on the jersey."
Whatever the case, if the reasoning behind the referees union rejecting the deal that was agreed to nearly three weeks ago was to wait for the replacements to fall flat on their faces, it hasn't happened. But this wasn't a short-term strategy. Based on experience alone, it goes without saying that the replacements can't possibly be as competent as the real ones. Everybody knows this, including the league.
So just as Cuban's tune will change drastically if the Mavs don't get the calls in a regular-season game that counts, so will the tenor of the negotiations take on a greater sense of urgency for everyone involved. And let's be honest: The unionized refs couldn't have any less leverage than they have right now. Nor could there be any less communication; there has been no contact between the two sides since the refs voted down the handshake agreement on Sept. 27, according to a person familiar with the situation.
But once the real games start on Oct. 27, all bets are off. Fans paying what little disposable income they have to attend games will have little patience for boneheaded officiating. Players and coaches, who've been threatened with fines for criticizing the officials, will most assuredly be more vocal and less concerned about reaching into their bank accounts.
The locked-out refs are hoping that chaos will ensue, thus swinging the negotiating leverage back in their favor. Even those in the upper echelon of the NBA's power structure know this is a very real possibility. League officials have received generally favorable reviews from teams about the replacement refs, according to a person familiar with the situation. But no one at the league is naïve enough to think that'll continue when the games count.
In the post-Tim Donaghy world, dealing with officiating issues -- and the perception thereof –- is a full-time job under the best of circumstances. When the play gets more physical and the crucible of pressure heats up, the calls get more difficult to make. And bad calls by replacement refs, when the pros are sitting at home watching on TV, will be almost impossible to explain away.
That's why I warned Cuban that I would save his quote about how much he likes the replacement refs. I promised to bring it back to him when those same replacements do something to screw the Mavs. I'll insert the quote right beneath the line in the NBA news release that states as follows: "Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has been fined $50,000 for criticizing replacement officials ..."
It's only a matter of time.
For more from Ken Berger, check him out on Twitter: @KBerg_CBS
http://www.cbssports.com/nba/story/12352591
Oct. 12, 2009
By Ken Berger
CBSSports.com Senior Writer
Tell Ken your opinion!
Nearly a month after the NBA formally locked out its referees, we have the strongest evidence yet that the old refs will be back any minute now.
The evidence? Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and bane of David Stern's existence, actually likes the replacement referees. He likes them a lot.
"I hope they get a deal done," Cuban told CBSSports.com. "But I'm fine with the ones we have. I actually like these referees better."
Having Mark Cuban's support isn't the best thing for a referee's job security. (Getty Images)
If I'm a replacement ref, that's the worst possible news. You know what they say ... with friends like Cuban ...
Despite the ramifications of this rare olive branch extended by Cuban, a notorious ref basher who has been fined upwards of $1.5 million over the years for criticizing the league, the net result through more than 40 preseason games has been a win-win for the replacements. The longer the preseason goes on without any major episodes of incompetence, the worse things look for the real guys.
Predictably, there has been a smattering of confusion, including an incident in which the Pistons' Tayshaun Prince had to explain to replacement refs that you can't review whether a shot was a 2-point or 3-point attempt after 24 seconds have elapsed. This forced the crew to deduct a free throw they had erroneously awarded to Ersan Ilyasova. Two nights earlier, a replacement crew had mistakenly put Detroit's Will Bynum on the line for two free throws, both of which he made. When Miami complained, the officials took the points off the scoreboard and put the correct player, Maceo Baston, on the line. Baston missed both.
I don't want to be sitting anywhere near Stan Van Gundy when that happens to the Magic in a regular-season game -- unless I'm wearing a poncho to shield me from the shrapnel of his exploding head.
There also have been a few games with more than 100 free throws, which means preseason games are taking longer. (This is something that real refs, knowing the meaningless nature of preseason games, would never tolerate.) But Cuban, who said the replacement crew in the Mavs' first preseason game graded just as accurately as the traditional refs, isn't fazed in the least by this phenomena.
"Just call the game," Cuban said. "If there's 100 fouls, call 100 fouls. The number of fouls is only an issue if they weren't fouls. ... The crew we had really had their act together. Now that might be the highlight of the preseason, I don't know. But I was truly impressed."
Besides the fact that it's preseason and nobody cares, one NBA front office executive suggested another plausible theory for why the replacement officials have done OK: As opposed to the real refs, who have a history with players and sometimes make calls based on reputation, the replacements are just doing what they're told. Replacement refs, the theory goes, make fewer calls based on the relative star status of the players involved.
"They're calling the game," the official said, "not the number on the jersey."
Whatever the case, if the reasoning behind the referees union rejecting the deal that was agreed to nearly three weeks ago was to wait for the replacements to fall flat on their faces, it hasn't happened. But this wasn't a short-term strategy. Based on experience alone, it goes without saying that the replacements can't possibly be as competent as the real ones. Everybody knows this, including the league.
So just as Cuban's tune will change drastically if the Mavs don't get the calls in a regular-season game that counts, so will the tenor of the negotiations take on a greater sense of urgency for everyone involved. And let's be honest: The unionized refs couldn't have any less leverage than they have right now. Nor could there be any less communication; there has been no contact between the two sides since the refs voted down the handshake agreement on Sept. 27, according to a person familiar with the situation.
But once the real games start on Oct. 27, all bets are off. Fans paying what little disposable income they have to attend games will have little patience for boneheaded officiating. Players and coaches, who've been threatened with fines for criticizing the officials, will most assuredly be more vocal and less concerned about reaching into their bank accounts.
The locked-out refs are hoping that chaos will ensue, thus swinging the negotiating leverage back in their favor. Even those in the upper echelon of the NBA's power structure know this is a very real possibility. League officials have received generally favorable reviews from teams about the replacement refs, according to a person familiar with the situation. But no one at the league is naïve enough to think that'll continue when the games count.
In the post-Tim Donaghy world, dealing with officiating issues -- and the perception thereof –- is a full-time job under the best of circumstances. When the play gets more physical and the crucible of pressure heats up, the calls get more difficult to make. And bad calls by replacement refs, when the pros are sitting at home watching on TV, will be almost impossible to explain away.
That's why I warned Cuban that I would save his quote about how much he likes the replacement refs. I promised to bring it back to him when those same replacements do something to screw the Mavs. I'll insert the quote right beneath the line in the NBA news release that states as follows: "Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has been fined $50,000 for criticizing replacement officials ..."
It's only a matter of time.
For more from Ken Berger, check him out on Twitter: @KBerg_CBS
http://www.cbssports.com/nba/story/12352591