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nice article and true
the schedule was also sketchy
NBA Playoffs More About Money Than Skill
by Will Gilbert
Published: Monday, June 2, 2008 4:27 PM CDT
Sun-Times Sports Editor
Watching NBA basketball is a lot like watching professional wrestling. Being a fan is becoming almost as embarrassing. The general public and larger television markets help the NBA and commissioner David Stern decide who will get the calls.
The San Antonio Spurs have spent the past 10 years trying to beat Stern and his renegade referees and have had quite a bit of success, winning four World Championships since 1999.
Everybody outside San Antonio and Detroit is rooting for a Boston-LA Lakers finals and don’t be surprised if that’s what you get. Not because those are the two best teams, but because they are the two most marketable teams for this country.
Never mind that the Spurs have three of the best players in the league. Tim Duncan (Virgin Islands), Tony Parker (France) and Manu Ginobili (Argentina) are three of the best players at their position, yet the NBA would rather pump up selfish cry babies like Kobe Bryant.
Bryant threw his whole team under the bus during the off-season but now that all the breaks are falling his way, he’s happy with his teammates once again.
In Game 1 of the Western Conference finals versus the Spurs, Bryant had a wonderful second half but the game-winning shot was a blatant push-off that allowed space for the release. All defender Bruce Bowen could do was roll his eyes as he fell backwards without a whistle. Or what about the call when Tim Duncan grabbed a defensive rebound with 53 seconds left and the ball was slapped out by two Lakers, yet the refs give the ball to LA?
The bad calls against the Spurs continued in Game 4 Wednesday night even in San Antonio as the ‘boring’ Spurs made a last minute comeback before the referees had to step in and help.
Brent Barry, who had already scored 23 points off the bench, caught the ball up top with a chance to win the game. Being a savvy Spur, Barry pump faked and Derek Fisher took the bait and landed on his shoulder, making it impossible to get off a decent shot.
In regular basketball this is called a foul. In the NBA, this is called a double standard. If the foul was against Bryant, the call would have certainly been a foul and possibly even a continuation no matter where the game was being played.
But to no surprise to this fan, Joey Crawford and crew managed to swallow their whistles, escape to the locker room and probably snuck out of the Alamo City with a big bonus check from Stern. Stern placed Crawford on this game for one reason; they both hate San Antonio. Crawford was banned from calling Spurs’ games last season and did all he could for New Orleans against San Antonio in the Western Conference semifinals.
The Spurs are likely done for this season but all the haters watch out, they will make another deep run into the playoffs next year despite playing 8 on 5.
A foul is a foul no matter when, where or on who it takes place. Following the game, ESPN analyst Tim Legler and TNT analyst Charles Barkley said it was a foul but the referees didn’t want to decide the game. Even Lakers’ coach Phil Jackson admitted “there was contact” in a post-game press conference. Well, the referees did decide the game by not calling an obvious foul that likely would have sent the game into overtime.
It’s nothing new, but don’t expect me to watch this nonsense anymore. I already quit watching the regular season and once the game is more about who is marketable and not who is best, I can find something else to watch, like my surprising St. Louis Cardinals.
(Will Gilbert is sports editor for The Sun-Times. Send comments to [email protected])
http://www.thesuntimes.com/articles/...ts/sports3.txt
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nice article and true
the schedule was also sketchy
Yes it was.
Wow......
please give me details?
When SpursCenter said the schedule was sketchy, he was talking about the Conference Finals schedules being rushed through by playing every other day.
I can't remember, were the Conference Finals schedule like that the year before? the day after day schedule...?
but thats how i remember playoff ball being every other day...once there are only 4 teams left..
not me....we lost the games cos we didnt have homecourt advantage....whoever thought getting rid of beno....then replacing him with mighty mouse.....thats what killed us...wasting games teaching this has been a system he would never had learned anyways was pops call....pop lost these series with his mickey mouse moves....oh well...go spurs go
This is what I've been saying for a week. He said it better, though. Good article. This is why I am refusing to watch any of the ads--oh, I mean games--in this year's Finals. It's all about marketing and I'm sick of it.
its why a spurs championship is always so ing awesome....cause the whole country despises us
This says it ALL!Never mind that the Spurs have three of the best players in the league. Tim Duncan (Virgin Islands), Tony Parker (France) and Manu Ginobili (Argentina) are three of the best players at their position, yet the NBA would rather pump up selfish cry babies like Kobe Bryant.
Woo, are we so desperate that we drag out articles written by a Heber Springs, AR columnist? Had anyone even heard of Heber Springs until now?
Just let it go already. The better team doesn't lose 4-1. And someone tell the dude tht the Finals teams were set last week, he seems a little behind the times there.
OK. I agree except for "four World Championships". This is a USA NBA Championship, not World Championship.
It wasn't like that last year. IIRC, teams normally would get at least one extra day to rest/travel.
Speaking of the schedule, 2 days for the Spurs to enter WCF, 5 days of rest for the ageing Celtics to host the young Lakers.
How can that be more telling about whose side is Stern?
Good luck Bryant.
Like I said in my thread.
Laker and Celts fans go on a happy trail thinking whatever, that is fine. But the country is not totally stupid. The reason why you see that, and 20 other articles of the same is for a reason.
They still are considered world champs. Plus, we have France and Argentina's best players.
Nice read...
Damn I never thought in my lifetime I'd see a fan base sink lower than the almighty Sun fanbase, but wow you guys have really outdone yourself here on ST.
By enjoying an article that doesn't biasly support the Lakers?...how awful of us...
Like I said before, if the NBA was really rigged, then Stern would have fixed it so that Boston drafted Dunan in 1997. Instead, Boston ended up with some kid named Chauncey Billups, who they quickly traded.
Do you realize the dumb luck that the Spurs have had in winning draft lotteries with both David Robinson AND Tim Duncan?
Rigged? Yeah, right.
I've always laughed at the "World Champions", "World Series" etc.
I don't care how many International players are on a roster, if your not player international compe ion you can't be World anything. I would have thought the Euroleague had greater claims to the "World Championship".
Euro expansion and I'll let you have it.
Does someone know when Stern will leave his position??
It would be nice if it was soon.Does someone know when Stern will leave his position??
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