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That has been posted already in all the thread about the fine.And the reason Duncan got fined. "Verbal abuse" of an official.
http://www.nba.com/news/duncan_070417.html
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/c....1bd20a25.html
And the reason Duncan got fined. "Verbal abuse" of an official.
http://www.nba.com/news/duncan_070417.html
That has been posted already in all the thread about the fine.And the reason Duncan got fined. "Verbal abuse" of an official.
http://www.nba.com/news/duncan_070417.html
Sorry. I threw it in here too. It thrills me that the league backed Duncan. I thought it might get lost in the other thread. Should I take it out of here?
No, it's okay.
can you paste them both on here please?
Buck Harvey Mailbag: Will referees take Crawford's suspension out on Spurs?
Web Posted: 04/17/2007 04:29 PM CDT
Buck Harvey
Express-News Sports Columnist
Joey Crawford reacted to Tim Duncan. David Stern reacted to Crawford. And next up are the other referees.
Will they take Crawford's suspension out on Stern? Or on the Spurs?
The refs will want to do something. After all, the National Basketball Referees Association filed a private protest with the NBA when the league announced a short suspension of one of their less respected officials, Rodney Mott.
Mott had allegedly flashed an obscene gesture and used inappropriate language toward a fan in Portland. But the union had his back.
Then there was the group's solidarity over the suspension in 2004 of another ordinary official, Michael Henderson, who had blown a shotclock violation. Some officials turned their jerseys inside out for the next day's games and wrote Henderson's uniform No. 62 on the back.
So how will they react after one of their veterans, Crawford, was suspended? They may like or dislike Crawford, but unions tend to stick together, and they have a beef this time.
Remember, Stern pushed this season to allow officials to gain better control of the game. Crawford took that too far Sunday, but the other refs have to wonder if the so-called "zero tolerance" policy is really about them.
The refs' gripe should be with Stern.
But will one of them, on a tense postseason night, choose to exact some payback on Duncan and the Spurs?
Now to your letters:
I would like to know what it would take for you to simply say Joe Crawford was wrong and anyone with his experience should have known to turn and look the other way. Do you think I want to watch the referee? Do you think the advertisers are paying because of the referees?
Was Duncan on the edge? Of course, but not over. Crawford clearly was. I count this one for the Duncan who, by the way, I am NOT a fan of.
Larry Simmons, Detroit
One line from my column: Crawford is "not always right, and Sunday he was wrong."
Another line: "Crawford should have looked the other way."
Yet another line: "The NBA has tried to rein in the rebel refs of the old days, and that's why Crawford may be suspended or fined."
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No question here. You wrote a great article. Love the Spurs, but Duncan is a crybaby and has been. He always throws his arms up and looks innocent. Maybe your article will help him in the playoffs.
Jerry Poluka, San Antonio
I'm sure he will frame my article and hang it in his locker, always cherishing every word.
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You are ridiculous, Buck Harvey! I'm sure if you were reprimanded at your job for laughing, you would say your boss is a wonderful boss and that it was your fault.
Give me a break. Your lack of support for a wonderful example in patience (Duncan) is a joke. The way you write it, we just need to tell our Spurs to kiss the refs' butt if you want to win the game. And certainly don't laugh because the ref might hear it and think it's about him. Your response is pathetic and cowardly.
Let's ask the refs out for steak and lobster because then they might treat the game fairly. Do you even think about what you write before you write it? Just because Joey says "shut up" doesn't mean anyone has to shut up! He is a referee in the NBA, not Hitler.
Are our players supposed to fear the refs now? Should they bring them an apple before every game?
Jordan, San Antonio
Let me go on record with this: My boss is a great boss and, when I laugh, it is never at him.
And he's not at all like Hitler.
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You may remember my writing to you over the years. I am the old (86 years!) Spurs fan. I am also a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, and I recognize a "teeny-tiny tempie tantrum" when I see one.
Do you have children? If so, no doubt you have said something like this, "Not one more word out of you," or "Don't look at me like that, young man!"
No, the "I was only laughing" does not fly with me. Timmy knew exactly what he was doing and did it anyway. Who knows why?
I agree with you, it was so out of character that it seemed bizarre, especially putting his feet up and down on the floor like a two-year old. He might as well have been lying flat and kicking his feet. I am puzzled by his actions, especially since he certainly knows Joey Crawford's penchant for a heated response.
What makes it even odder is the fact that he is usually so stone-faced and shows little emotion most of the time when on the basketball floor.
Naughty, naughty! Yes, it was a bad call, Timmy. Get over it and play the damn game!
Muriel Johnston
I've never had to call a tech on my daughter, but adolescence could change that.
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Your opinion of this situation is totally biased. You have got to be a Dallas fan. It is too obvious. You blame Duncan!
There are systems of checks and balances everywhere in America. You are supporting police brutality. You are the guy, that when you saw the Rodney King beating said, "He must have done something!" White America at its best, take care of the people who protect y'all. With a name like Buck, what should I expect?
Victor, Cordele
Speaking for Bucks everywhere (technically, in my case, Buchanan), can't we all just get along?
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When did the NBA start ejecting marquee players? During the Magic/Bird era the best players were never thrown out unless involved in a fight. Now a marquee player can be ejected for laughing?
Tim Duncan is someone that you pay that high-priced ticket price to see.
Roland Chinn, Texas City
When Gregg Popovich screams at Duncan the way he screams at the other Spurs, he's lauded for treating everyone the same. Shouldn't refs treat players the same way, too?
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This is nonsense. Joey Crawford has acted unprofessionally for years, and praising him for his what? moral toughness? is idiotic.
"When Joey Crawford says shut up..." What a crock. Nobody ever paid a dime to see Joey Crawford, and we can all only hope that this is the final straw that gets him canned.
Joe, San Antonio
I never praised Crawford for moral anything. I originally wrote that "shut up" line after Crawford ejected Don Nelson in 2003, and I don't remember any Spurs fans objecting to it then.
As for the final straw: You got your wish.
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Joey Crawford, Violet Palmer, Steve Javie, etc. That's the problem right there, the fact that I even know who these people are. I can't name an NFL or MLB official to save my life.
Jason, San Antonio
Good point, and their visibility goes further than that.
What most newspaper writers do before an NBA playoff game: Match the ref with any possible issues each might have with either team.
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Are kidding us with this load of crap? A ref is supposed to call a game by the rules, not by emotion. Crawford is like a cop, but not a good one. He's like the cowards that become cops to feel powerful.
Since when did the refs become more famous than the players, or since when did sorry writers like yourselves take their side against a two-time MVP? You and your writings have become nothing more than a pitiful joke.
Steve Martinez, San Antonio
Pitiful joke? That suggests there will be no laughing, and thus no ejection.
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Wow! You're sure to hear a lot of crap from the Homers in this town over such an objective, two-sided piece, but I applaud you for it nonetheless. I've long thought Duncan, as top notch of a player as he is, was second only to Gary Payton with regard to disbelief after being whistled for a foul.
Chris Baecker, San Antonio
Working the refs is a time-honored NBA tradition. Only Michael Jordan didn't have to stoop that low; he got every call anyway.
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Where do you work, Buck? Remember that!
Crawford was over the line, you know as well as anyone out there that he had a vendetta against Tim and took it out on him with disgust. Last year's Game 3 idiotic call in favor of Dirk effectively sealed the series for Dallas, not to mention that Dirk quite clearly held Duncan's arm on the regulation ending potential put-back in Game 7 that would have sealed the victory for the Spurs.
To sit there and support Crawford is absolutely an atrocious move on your part, it was clear he lost his cool and felt he could seal up the No. 2 spot for Phoenix when he found out he would be handling that game. What a joke!
Nate, San Antonio
Where do I work? A newspaper.
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Let me start with saying that I am a casual Spurs fan and have enjoyed reading your columns. I am also a Division 1 basketball official.
With that said, your column got this situation wrong. Maybe entertaining and provocative, but I will guess that you will get killed with email from the crazy Spurs fans.
This was unacceptable because he is Joey Crawford. He is a senior official in the NBA making around $400K/yr to officiate. He was on the court with two junior officials. He should be expected to act better and counsel the younger officials when they do something as stupid as this.
I applauded, as did most basketball officials, the stance the NBA took against chronic complainers on the court. This does not fall into that category. Crawford saw Duncan's reaction after the offensive call against him by one of the other officials. Duncan then was on the bench when the first technical was made. Whether or not Duncan said anything to deserve that one, Crawford was right there and could justify the first one however he wants to.
The second technical came after Crawford made a horrible call. He was in the worst possible position to see the play. Then he has to walk from the opposite side of the floor towards the scorer's table to report the foul. That puts him on the same side of the court as the bench without a clear view of the players sitting down.
Duncan never stood or said anything. For him to have seen Duncan's reaction to the call, he would have had to look through multiple players and coaches and be staring directly at him. He was head-hunting a player. That is abusing his authority as a referee and contrary to what officials are supposed to be about.
What he did warrants an immediate suspension from on-court work. "Joey being Joey" doesn't cut it now.
Mark McClenney, Miami, Fla.
All good points, but that doesn't change this: Duncan could have taken his seat on the bench and acted the way he does in every other game.
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If you write another column about Sunday's game, you might want to ask two politically incorrect questions:
Why does Avery Johnson, normally a class act, bring (Dirk) Nowitzki back into the game in the fourth period after Duncan has been ejected? Prior to the game, Avery had said his starters would not play over 26 minutes. Dirk had already played 28. This game meant nothing to the Mavs but something to the Spurs.
Why were the Spurs unable to make a basket in the final four minutes? This is of greater concern than the Duncan-Crawford feud, because it foreshadows the playoffs. The fact that Tim is not on the court should not mean that nobody can make a basket. In last year's playoffs, the Spurs consistently choked in the final three minutes, turning the ball over, missing shots, etc. Are we going to see that again?
Tom Walker
Avery became as caught up in the moment as the players, and it was a silly gamble. Had Nowitzki twisted an ankle, Avery would have heard about it for a few years.
As for the Spurs' drought: Dallas struggled to score with its stars, too, which suggests the Spurs can at least survive on defense without Duncan.
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Ejecting someone for laughing is ridiculous. That game was NOT about Crawford. I have seen players curse the refs, use the "f" word, etc. You will never see Tim D. do that. JC is a NUT and needs to retire.
Deb Turner, Charlottesville, Va.
You are right. The game is not about Crawford, and he should have tried to diffuse the situation, not escalate it. And I, too, have heard guys curse and not get ejected.
But I've also seen a lot of players ejected for various forms of disrespect, and laughing as Duncan did directly at a call in an exaggerated manner fits.
As for Crawford retiring now: Another strong-willed ref of a previous era, Jake O'Donnell, did after a similar run-in with Clyde Drexler.
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Your article on the Crawford incident was really good. I remember the Lakers series in 2003, and when it seemed that no matter what the Spurs did that series, they couldn't get fair treatment in LA. Joey Crawford seemed to be the only ref that would not show bias towards the Hollywood hype. He always seemed to be fair.
I also bring up last year's foul, and how Tim complained about it after the game. I believe that is when Joey put those comments in his memory bank. He had used that the whole year to remind Tim of it, and I think he used his last reminder Sunday.
I guess the problem I have with the situation is that Joey Crawford reacted to his anger. And he was angry and felt being made fun of. His reactions to Tim were actually childish. It's my ball, my goal, go home.
Anthony, San Antonio
The it's-my-ball thing was once a trademark philosophy in NBA officiating. In a famous rant in the '70s, the late Richie Powers screamed at coaches and players that he wouldn't let them ruin "my game."
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Crawford among the best referees? Instead of crazy Joey, your article should have been led crazy Harvey.
Do you actually watch basketball games? Crawford is horrible. The only one worse might be Steve Javie.
You have to be kidding calling him one of the best, even by NBA standards (which are very, very low).
Ian Grazulis, Carrollton
Call me crazy, but:
The tribute to Crawford's ability came every May and June. Then he showed up for critical Game 6s and Game 7s, and he always worked the Finals.
Javie might have to work a double shift now.
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If compe ive players have to act like sheep before officials, is that irony or the stupidity of the NBA?
Carlos Collazo, New Braunfels
I don't vote for irony or stupidity.
Players don't have to act like sheep. But they need to remember who has the shears.
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I appreciated your column on The Mess from Sunday's game. I'm a devout Mavs fan, but I truly enjoy Tim Duncan's game and his at ude. I feel, though, that TD displayed a different at ude Sunday, one that I didn't like.
I have no love for Joey Crawford, though I've gotten over the Western Conference Finals Game 2 debacle. But I don't think it was wise to try to show him up, which I felt it was obvious that's what TD was doing through his display.
Rich Townsend
Whatever different at ude Duncan had or didn't have, give him this: He's only been ejected twice in his career.
The first was rescinded. And the second, although it came with a $25,000 fine, resulted in the referee's suspension.
San Antonios Tim Duncan Fined
Posted Apr 17 2007 5:16PM
NEW YORK, April 17, 2007 San Antonios Tim Duncan has been fined $25,000 for verbal abuse of a game official, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President Basketball Operations.
The incident occurred after Duncan's second technical foul and ejection, with 1:04 remaining in the third period of the Mavericks' 91-86 win over the Spurs on Sunday, April 15 at American Airlines Center.
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