Smith: Duncan "miserable character with media"

[zekes]

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/basketball/bulls/askthewriter/cs-070426asksamsmith,1,1025838.story?coll=cs-bulls-headlines

Do you really believe half the things you wrote on the Duncan/Crawford issue? This referee had an agenda and tossed a player for laughing at him. A couple years ago, in a playoff game, he assessed a technical foul to anything that moved. And yet when David Stern cracks down on officiating crews bringing an agenda onto the court, it's somehow a sinister plot on the part of the NBA? Do you honestly believe that? Because, while Duncan is a whiner, at least he's not challenging officials to physical altercations, unlike Crawford on Sunday. Crawford cost the Spurs a chance at a No. 2 seed by ejecting their key player, but David Stern's the villain? Can you justify this by using fact? --Jack, Phoenix

What does fact have to do with opinion? Or as I recall the wonderful columnist Mike Royko telling me when I asked sheepishly about fairness in a column he wrote: "Getting the other side always screws up a good column." I think he was joking. The facts are how you want to see them in this case. Yes, Joey overreacts at times, and perhaps he did somewhat with Duncan. But Duncan clearly was trying to goad him into something by openly laughing from the bench, which often draws technical fouls with referees. Stern has made a point to the referees this season to not let the players show them up.

Joey had no grudge against Duncan. Duncan's had some of his greatest games with Crawford refereeing. I did look that up, including championship games.

Stern was upset because of the dollar. One of his biggest weaknesses is his devotion to the TV money. ABC was steaming that day with a bad Bulls-Wizards matchup in the intro game and then Duncan being ejected, so they ran it over and over to embarrass the NBA, though my TV friends tell me the network roots against the Spurs because they routinely produce low ratings with their vanilla approach and personalities.

Duncan is a player referees this season were privately told to watch because he never stops. And this I do know: Duncan set up Crawford by saying Crawford wanted to fight. Joey said those words but in the context of Duncan not stopping and Joey asking plaintively if he wanted to fight. Ever say to your wife if she wanted a fight? Did you mean fists? I've heard from friends of Joey he regrets what he did and would like to return and you can only hope Stern has the compassion to match his stubbornness.

I think you're wrong about Crawford. Stern had a talk with him, and other officials, over the All-Star break about how they wanted to be more consistent in the application of the decorum T's (per an article on the NBA Web site). I think he is one of the best, but c'mon, did you see it? It was a joke and a travesty. He was mad and called consecutive calls against the Spurs after Duncan was off the court, then ejected Duncan who never left his seat. It is unfortunate that it happened to him, but not totally unwarranted. Now, maybe if they can start T'ing up the guys who argue every call and really try to show up the refs it won't happen again. Eric Snow intentionally fouled Deng on a breakaway, then ran towards the official yelling and he didn't get T'd. --Glen Buckner, Naples, Fla.

That's the point. I know the NBA or pro sports isn't like any other job, but who among us can go to work and everything they disagreed with something make a show of it and show up their supervisors? It's became an embarrassment and Stern said last spring in the playoffs he was going to stop it. I remember him telling me with some emphasis he's never in 30 years seen a call overturned because someone argued. The referees are getting worn out by all this moaning and complaining.

I actually admire Shaq for this. While he does complain after games, he rarely if ever does during games on fouls and no one in the game is fouled more often. Just watch only him in a game and see what happens. The guy can't turn around without being banged constantly.

What also is little known in the public is the hugely explosive temper Stern has and the temper tantrums he's had in the office or on the phone with TV executives he thought were trying to embarrass the league. No, he doesn't do it in public, but sometimes you boil over with people crabbing at you all the time. Joey has some anger management issues and has admitted them. It seems he's done far less than say, Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson, who went into the stands in Auburn Hills to beat up fans. They were admitted back to the NBA. Why not Crawford?

I saw Duncan smirking of the bench and I thought what a jerk. Like you said, he is always complaining. Duncan used to be a likeable guy. I don't have feelings one way or the other for Crawford, who did over react but I'm glad he did. My impulse was to slap Duncan but as a ref, he is paid to control that urge. We can't always act on our thoughts and feelings with out consequence unless we are President of the US. Sorry I said that. I hope there is no consequence. --John Wessel, Grayslake, Ill.

I'll give Bill O'Reilly equal time next week. It is interesting with Duncan because he has long been a miserable character with the media. He's not a bad guy and everyone gives him a pass because he is such a great player. He's just a guy you don't talk to much because you can tell when you go over to him he's angry you did. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was like that and it's hurt him. It's been sad to watch such a great figure in the history of the game have to virtually beg to get back. Sure, they all have plenty of money now, but there's a long life to live--if you're lucky--after basketball. Kareem finally realized that, he's alienated so many people they made it hard for him. Same with Rick Barry, who is smart and has been dying for a coaching job. But he was so nasty for so long people have held it against him. I speak occasionally at the NBA rookie orientation, though the media session is last and the players are usually sleeping by then. But I always tell them they have the greatest jobs in the history of the world and this will be the best times of their lives and it never will be better, so to enjoy it. But so many can't seem to and they pay for years. I feel that will be the same with Tim and it's too bad. Have fun with it while you're there because it doesn't last long. Tim is something of a sacred cow in the NBA and protected because they like his image. Coaches around the league cringe at how much complaining he's able to get away with that their players cannot. Even the Spurs coaches have asked him to tone it down. But he has a temper and a sense of entitlement that extends with his refusal to deal with the reporters in a friendly manner. No one criticizes him for it because it's his prerogative and there's always someone who will talk. Bruce Bowen, Robert Horry, Brent Barry and Manu Ginobili are some of the best interviews and people in the NBA in that locker room. You can believe there were plenty of NBA coaches cheering Joey on that one.

[Obstructed_View]

Wow, the above has opened my eyes. What a fucking dick Timmy is. Go Nuggets.

[Buddy Holly]

What the fuck does pissing off the media have to do with burning NBA bridges a la Kareem and Barry?

Is the media that self important, egotistical that they think having Duncan treat them bad is going to scar him forever after his career is over as a player? :lol

[Amuseddaysleeper]

I think duncan's sense of humor is severely underrated. I don't think he's bad with the media at all.

yes, he complains way way way way too much during games, but i really doubt other coaches were ecstatic at his bullshit ejection.

[dbreiden83080]

Yeah this is Sam Smith who was one of the few writers in Chicago that had the BALLS to write a book slamming Jordan during his heyday called The Jordan Rules. Basically the book slammed Jordan for his preferential treatment by the Bulls and the league and focused on his gambling problem. He likes to stir the pot so i am not surprised by this at all.

[Kori Ellis]

It is interesting with Duncan because he has long been a miserable character with the media. He's not a bad guy and everyone gives him a pass because he is such a great player. He's just a guy you don't talk to much because you can tell when you go over to him he's angry you did.

What a weird opinion.

I think when Tim was first in the league, he was uncomfortable around the media. But I've never seen him as a "miserable character with the media" and he's always quite funny and personable with the press. Weird.

[BeerIsGood!]

That's the main reason I like Timmy. If I was a player or coach I'd tell the media to fuck off in not so many words as well.

[braeden0613]

and yet...tim still doesnt care

[timvp]

:lol Sam Smith is a joke.

The day Duncan retires, he'll disappear from sight forever. He'll care less what some hacks do or don't think about him.

[dbreiden83080]

What a weird opinion.

I think when Tim was first in the league, he was uncomfortable around the media. But I've never seen him as a "miserable character with the media" and he's always quite funny and personable with the press. Weird.

There you go, and you Kori are someone who would really know being around him more than any of us.

[SRJ]

though my TV friends tell me the network roots against the Spurs because they routinely produce low ratings with their vanilla approach and personalities.

Consider the source, but this doesn't surprise me at all.

[L.I.T]

Sounds like someone didn't get to play with Tim Duncan's toys.

[Obstructed_View]

Consider the source, but this doesn't surprise me at all.
Seems funny that they would root against a team that they don't promote, rather than promoting a team that's probably going to be on TV a lot. If they can sell polar bears on a tropical island, but they can't sell teamwork and defense? :lol

[aaronstampler]

:lol Sam Smith is a joke.

The day Duncan retires, he'll disappear from sight forever. He'll care less what some hacks do or don't think about him.


Tim has the best deadpan in the NBA. I think he's very funny in the locker room. I love the deadpan as a comic tool and he's excellent at it.

As far as your statement, I fear you are probably correct, but I hope you're not. I think if Tim wanted to be, he could be an excellent head coach. He understands the game at a near genius level tactically, he's very good at keeping an even keel between wins and losses, he'd have the respect of his players, and unlike most superstars, he'd have no problem coaching mediocre players because he never acted like a star in the locker room.

I've always said that of the big three that Tim would make the best coach, Manu would make the best GM and Tony would make the best owner.

[dbreiden83080]

Tim has the best deadpan in the NBA. I think he's very funny in the locker room. I love the deadpan as a comic tool and he's excellent at it.

As far as your statement, I fear you are probably correct, but I hope you're not. I think if Tim wanted to be, he could be an excellent head coach. He understands the game at a near genius level tactically, he's very good at keeping an even keel between wins and losses, he'd have the respect of his players, and unlike most superstars, he'd have no problem coaching mediocre players because he never acted like a star in the locker room.

I've always said that of the big three that Tim would make the best coach, Manu would make the best GM and Tony would make the best owner.

Tim would be a great coach he is so smart and you are right even tempered. His players would love and respect the hell out of him because he was so great yet so modest.

[milkyway21]

Wow, the above has opened my eyes. What a fucking dick Timmy is. Go Nuggets.


WTF, go to hell, Obstructed_View. :cooldevil

:lol

[ShoogarBear]

If Michael Jordan didn't play for the Bulls, Sam Smith would be about as well known as Kevin O'Keefe.

Except O'Keefe was by far a better writer.

[The Truth #6]

Tim is a great player but I think he would be a horrible coach. I can't see him motivating and communicating with players. He would be well liked because he's cool but I'm not sure that would be enough.

[sprrs]

Ever say to your wife if she wanted a fight? Did you mean fists?
So he thinks someone with an admitted anger management problem couldn't have said that with hostile intentions?


I've heard from friends of Joey he regrets what he did and would like to return and you can only hope Stern has the compassion to match his stubbornness.
umm........no?

[duncan2k5]

thats crap. when duncan comes down here, he is always...ALWAYS open to people. ANYONE can juss walk up to him and ask for a pic, autograph, whatever. he is just a regular dude. maybe there was this one time after a bad game he tried to interview duncan, and duncan was annoyed, but im pretty sure its not anywhere in the area code of what this guy is talking about. he is a no-name witer with a bad opinion. nba players and commentators, who have more experiences with duncan than that guy, all say different. oh well, cant please everyone

[Texas_Ranger]

:lol. This guy is crazy.

[samikeyp]

Ever say to your wife if she wanted a fight? Did you mean fists?

Um...no.

Who says that? What a tool.

[FromWayDowntown]

I'd hope that the San Antonio media contingent, at least, would happily line up and call Sam Smith out for this nonsense. I've never personally been around Tim, whether in a media setting or otherwise, but he's never come off as a miserable character to me. Tim is probably too vanilla for the national media guys and some jackass like Smith sees this as an opportunity to pile on and, perhaps, sway regional/national opinions to his view that a guy who doesn't create controversy is somehow not worthy of any respect. Smith certainly writes with agendas and this would seem to be still more evidence of that.

[picnroll]

Funny, seemed to me Duncan was always very much liked and highly respected by opposing coaches and players. Wonder what they think of Sam?

[exstatic]

I think one of Sam's major problems with Tim is that he didn't fulfill Chicago's pipe dream and bolt SA in 2000 for the frozen north to shorten what turned into an almost decade long rebuild, thereby consigning Sam to basketball oblivion.

[Crookshanks]

Maybe someone should mail Smith this month's copy of Score Magazine - he'd see what an absolutely wonderful guy Tim is and what players and coaches around the league think of him.

Smith sounds like a bitter, spurned, ex-lover - I guess Timmy didn't give him enough attention! :p:

[ponky]

i don't care about all that, duncan seems alright but it was kind of funny how people really wanted to think that joey crawford was asking duncan if he wanted to fight (fisticuffs)...there was no need for duncan to act like that's what crawford meant when it obviously wasn't but then again, he shouldn't have been ejected just because he chooses to act puerile while sitting on the bench, that's his own business

[50 cent]

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/basketball/bulls/askthewriter/cs-070426asksamsmith,1,1025838.story?coll=cs-bulls-headlines
but who among us can go to work and everything they disagreed with something make a show of it and show up their supervisors?.
WTF? When did the Players start working for the Refs?

[Cry Havoc]

Leeeet's see here:


That's the point. I know the NBA or pro sports isn't like any other job, but who among us can go to work and everything they disagreed with something make a show of it and show up their supervisors?

First of all, the referees are NOT considered superior to the players, they are just there to regulate the game, not run the show. But you make an incredibly horrible analogy, so congrats on that.


Joey said those words but in the context of Duncan not stopping and Joey asking plaintively if he wanted to fight. Ever say to your wife if she wanted a fight? Did you mean fists?

So Duncan is at fault for backtalking to "supervisors" because it's unprofessional, but Crawford is exonerated because he was speaking to Duncan as a husband would to his wife.

You can't fault Sam for not laying things out in a professional, unbiased manner. :lol

[ploto]

I find it interesting how people are only focusing on one part of the article and are avoiding the part of any real content:


Duncan is a player referees this season were privately told to watch because he never stops.


Coaches around the league cringe at how much complaining he's able to get away with that their players cannot. Even the Spurs coaches have asked him to tone it down.

[Cry Havoc]

I find it interesting how people are only focusing on one part of the article and are avoiding the part of any real content:


I'm pretty sure that of the 1,000s of things a coach says to a player per day, 99% of them hear something along those lines. Even in high school my coach said, "Let the refs make bad calls and let the coaches get thrown out for arguing them, but don't take yourself off the floor."

I mean, seriously. This hasn't been an issue in the San Antonio media, and it hasn't been an issue between Duncan and the coaching staff, so I'm guessing whatever they said to him was en passe.

[spursfan09]

Some people will do anything for a story....Thats because everyone knows that in general Tim is a good guy. It is a shame that they are trying to tear his image with these whole "Tim Duncan complains too much" articles...Ok so he does? So what? People will attack anything for a story. If he complains to much, then why doesn't he lead the league in T's, why wasn't he thrown out of more games? Yeah exactly... I think Tim probably learned to keep control after this last ejection anyways. I imagine he will not whine as much. Besides all that Tim Duncan will go down as the greatest power forward ever, and a 3 time champ who was a winner all the way through his career. I'm sure he doesn't care that he is viewed as a miserable character with the media.

[ploto]

I mean, seriously. This hasn't been an issue in the San Antonio media, and it hasn't been an issue between Duncan and the coaching staff, so I'm guessing whatever they said to him was en passe.
Sorry, but it has been an issue with Duncan. The Spurs do not like how much he has complained and he is doing it less than he did the previous season, but he does have that reputation.

[WalterBenitez]

Duncan > Crawford

[easjer]

What a hack article. Of course the guy in entitled to his opinions about the Crawford/Duncan episode and beyond. But his assertions about Duncan's character are unfounded and at least circumstationally unsupported. I've read numerous articles and seen numerous interviews, quotes, etc. from Duncan, where he is pleasant, funny and on point. Just because this guy doesn't get his humor . . . what a fucking joke of an article.

[T Park]

Ploto

take your fucking agenda somehwere else trick.

[Sec24Row7]

Tim has let the refs and their calls get in his head and has worried too much about them before...

THAT's what the coaches talked to him about... Stop bitching to the refs because it takes away from your PLAYING... It certainly wasnt for the refs sake...

Tim works the refs pretty well... I Like his Delay of Game warning protests... or his "intentional frustration foul" protests...

those are pretty funny..

[Zarko]

Sorry, but it has been an issue with Duncan. The Spurs do not like how much he has complained and he is doing it less than he did the previous season, but he does have that reputation.

Kind of like Rasho's reputation for being a pussy bitch in the middle.

[Cry Havoc]

Sorry, but it has been an issue with Duncan. The Spurs do not like how much he has complained and he is doing it less than he did the previous season, but he does have that reputation.

The Raptors coaches also told Bosh that he's the worst player in the history of the league. If I said it, it's obviously credible. :rolleyes

Until you provide a link, evidence, or even a reference to your sources, you really shouldn't talk. 99% of all coaches talk to their players about interacting less with the officials, so the fact that you're pointing it out that it's happened with Duncan is slightly inconsequential.

[CubanMustGo]

WTF, did Sam ask Timmay for a blow job only to be told to go fvck himself? Because that's exactly how this reads.

[sprrs]

I find it interesting how people are only focusing on one part of the article and are avoiding the part of any real content:


though my TV friends tell me the network roots against the Spurs because they routinely produce low ratings with their vanilla approach and personalities.

Duncan is a player referees this season were privately told to watch because he never stops.

Nowhere is it mentioned prior to this section that Duncan is a whiner. The other quote you mentioned is towards the end of the article. How could anyone justifiably make the connection you did?

[ploto]

Until you provide a link, evidence, or even a reference to your sources, you really shouldn't talk. 99% of all coaches talk to their players about interacting less with the officials, so the fact that you're pointing it out that it's happened with Duncan is slightly inconsequential.
Ask Kori. Anyone who has been around the Spurs knows that Duncan whines to the refs too much and Pop gets tired of it. Like I said, he is better this year, but the previous year was awful. He will miss defensive assignments because he is too busy whining to the refs. I just don't get how people think this is anything new. Have you not been watching??


Tim has let the refs and their calls get in his head and has worried too much about them before...

THAT's what the coaches talked to him about... Stop bitching to the refs because it takes away from your PLAYING...

See- the guy in section 24 knows it. Why doesn't he get attacked for saying the exact same thing that I did?

[THE SIXTH MAN]

Ask Kori. Anyone who has been around the Spurs knows that Duncan whines to the refs too much and Pop gets tired of it. Like I said, he is better this year, but the previous year was awful. He will miss defensive assignments because he is too busy whining to the refs. I just don't get how people think this is anything new. Have you not been watching??
Every star player on every team whines.

[Tek_XX]

Interesting to read, if it's true and not just made up bullshit from a hack writer, that Joey C. regrets what he did and wants to come back.

[judaspriestess]

Read like a shout out to shaq but hey thats just my twisted view :toast

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Tim has the best deadpan in the NBA. I think he's very funny in the locker room. I love the deadpan as a comic tool and he's excellent at it.

As far as your statement, I fear you are probably correct, but I hope you're not. I think if Tim wanted to be, he could be an excellent head coach. He understands the game at a near genius level tactically, he's very good at keeping an even keel between wins and losses, he'd have the respect of his players, and unlike most superstars, he'd have no problem coaching mediocre players because he never acted like a star in the locker room.

I've always said that of the big three that Tim would make the best coach, Manu would make the best GM and Tony would make the best owner.

Nice post. I liked your article the other day, too. Your star is rising... ;) :lol

However, I agree with timvp that Tim may just disappear into 'real' life away from basketball. He strikes me as a very intelligent man who will want to achieve something in the greater world - I don't know his cause or specific interest (for David it is ministry and Carver, obviously), but I'm sure he has one or more, and, along with the needs of his family, that's what he'll pursue. However, if he does coach, I think he'd be a very good one.

On the other point, the American mainstream media mostly doesn't understand Tim Duncan. He is much smarter than they are (by in large), and their LCD (lowest common denominator) questions piss him off, but he knows he has to answer them so he is either flat, or ironic/sardonic/whimsical, none of which the media can use as a 3 second soundbite, so they in turn don't like him much. It's a communication disjunction caused by the dumb-it-down mass media, which is in turn caused by the extreme pace of life driven by economic realities and cultural phenomena... a human ecology perspective. (I am studying hard right now and thinking way too much! :lol ).

So there ya go. :fro

[LakerLanny]

WTF? When did the Players start working for the Refs?

^Great point. When I read that, I was like WTF is he talking about?

But a lot of refs think that is the case or are jealous of the players money, women and lifestyle. You don't think Joey Crawford and Bernie Fryer are attracting the kind of talent a guy like Baron "B Diddy" Davis is do you?

The officiating is horrible. As I have posted before, the answer is to take it out of the NBAs hands entirely to remove the perception of bias.

Fire every single existing official. Tell them they can re-apply through the new process, then hire none of them.

Have an independent company provide trained officials (that they poach from the college ranks and elsewhere) and actually supervise, critique and most importantly....assign randomly to games with a public view to the proof that such assignments are random.

No official gets to ref more than 8 years, just like the president.

At age 50, mandatory retirement....if you refuse, they put you into the exploding body chamber like in "Logan's Run"

End of the year comprehensive statistical and video review of all officials, also taking into acct player and team survey input.

Then train each official accordingly on areas they need to improve in and pay the highest graded 25% more and let them be the ones in line for playoff random assignments.

Instead, we have this murky process where a bunch of old men with personal agendas (or maybe even corrupted by organized crime or gambling interests) are assigned UNrandomly from a shady league office in New York controlled by old Eastern interests that seem to not be conducive to fair, unbiased rules interpretation and officiating.

Is this really so hard? Just do it already. Then Stern never has to answer a question again about the refs and the players know that it truly is random and on the up and up. College seems to be officiated decently, there is no reason the NBA needs guys like Joey Crawford, Bernie Fryer, Bob Delaney, Steve Javie, Jack Nies, Bennett Salvatore and Ken Maurer out there for years and years and years randomly fixing and extreme biasing playoff games.

Of course, none of this will ever happen. Stern controls that thing tighter than Tony Soprano in Season 2 or 3.

[exstatic]

At age 50, mandatory retirement....if you refuse, they put you into the exploding body chamber like in "Logan's Run"
RENEW!!!
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/red.sky/logan/carousel.jpg

[LakerLanny]

RENEW!!!
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/red.sky/logan/carousel.jpg

That is awesome.

I thought I was the only one old enough to remember that one!

Farrah was in that! Also, the young girl who goes on the run with the cop who didn't wish to "renew" was pretty hot too! :smokin

[easjer]

Have an independent company provide trained officials (that they poach from the college ranks and elsewhere) and actually supervise, critique and most importantly....assign randomly to games with a public view to the proof that such assignments are random.


Weeeeeellllll, sort of? I think that's kind of a good idea. But there is a lot of value in assigning crews and having experienced refs guiding younger refs. So, in the purely theoretical context in which this discussion is taking place, I would think it a good idea to pull two refs out of a pile at random and assign a random crew chief.

But, yeah, it'll never happen.

[wildbill2u]

Any sportswriter who depends on interviews for a living is going to be hacked off at someone who doesn't give interviews or who makes them very short and uninteresting.

And Tim may be less forthcoming with Smith than with some others for reasons of his own which might include previous sports columns which criticized him. You don't HAVE to be cordial and forthcoming with every hack that approaches you.

[LakerLanny]

Weeeeeellllll, sort of? I think that's kind of a good idea. But there is a lot of value in assigning crews and having experienced refs guiding younger refs. So, in the purely theoretical context in which this discussion is taking place, I would think it a good idea to pull two refs out of a pile at random and assign a random crew chief.

But, yeah, it'll never happen.

Inexperienced officials don't bother me.

Is anyone really missing Joey Crawford's "experience" in these playoffs? Well, maybe anyone other than DWhistle Wade?

I would love to see randomly assigned ping pong balls blowing up into some tube determing the officials even now. Give me a very bad official like Violet Palmer over a supposed good fixer like Bernie Fryer any day of the week. Palmer blows every 2nd or 3rd call, but she is so bad it is seemingly random.

Fryer will just call everything for one team the whole game and is ridiculous in allowing the flop.

The NBAs current officiating method has pretty much ruined the sport for a vast majority of the non-diehard sporting public. It has a tainted perception as something that is potentially rigged or biased, unlike say the NFL playoffs.

[howbouthemspurs]

Some people are idiots,. that article shows that...Duncan knows what hes doing, he doesnt buy into all the media hoopla because he doesnt have to. Hes too smart for that.

[Clutch20]

Hmmmm.......tapping my fingers on the desk here :rolleyes ......how many times has Clutch20 spurstalked about media-influence :rolleyes....... how networks like ABC get mad if marquee players are tossed :greedy ........how it's so easy to perpetuate misconceptions about Tim Duncan when it suits your needs :p: .........about how the league is going to hell in a handbasket because it promotes an unbalanced, one dimensional style of hoops :smokin....... and how viewership numbers determine which teams get the lions share of exposure not to mention the varied sports advertising that runs the gamut from sports drinks to cell phones, adnauseum :(
Tim Duncan is the sacred cow? Why make him one? Because deep down, in the NBA front office amongst those that make policy and run the entire league, there is a frantic, anxious dread-filled fear of losing the integrity of the game altogether, and therefore Stern is not so stern when interpreting policy. That's the atmosphere he engenders.
In his workplace.
To save the league by promoting those few players that he and others feel represent basketball played fullcourt (instead of a saccharine-filled repetition exhibitions of lobs, dunks, chest thumping and Daytona 500 races.)
I would not like to have DStern's job. He is in a precarious position, if you ask me.
But then, who ever asks Clutch20 anyway! :lol

[sa21]

this is look Tim gave smith when asked for an interview. :blah http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/sp/getty/fe/fullj.getty-73920282bb007_san_antonio_s_9_54_57_pm.jpg