I sent an e-mail too PS. I agree Michael Holton is the worst commentator/analyst ever. He makes Jon Barry look like Chris Fucking Berman.
Officiating was probably lopsided toward GS, I will say that. There were a few blocks/charges that were tossups or just bad calls that went GS' way. Worst call of the night was definitely the 'foul' that Brandan Wright picked up when contesting a Brandon Roy jumpshot. Roy got two free FTs and Wright had to leave the game after a solid start. Also when Morrow dove for a ball, Oden dove on top of him and knocked the ball out then held him down on the floor so that Rudy (I think it was Rudy maybe it was Outlaw or someone else?) could scoop it up. Again, GS probably got the edge but there were some blatant crappy calls/missed calls both ways. Ultimately both teams had a chance to win. Aldridge could have been a lot smarter in taking advantage of his size, dunno why he didn't go back to that fadeaway jumper out of the post. Brandon Roy missed some tough layups that he usually makes, especially the crunch time ones. Plus he only took 14 shots. GS had a great night shooting FTs but Portland also had an insane 3 pt % that kept them in the game.
It did mysteriously move. But, most spreads move according to the amount of bets they are getting for a certain team. I bet on the game on Monday when the spread was Golden State -1. I checked the spread of the game before tip off and it was Blazers -2. Its a bit of jump in a period of a day, but nothing monumental that I've never seen before. I lost that bet, but luckily I won my Gonzaga bet to even it out.
I didn't notice anything funky about the refs but the last call and T were weak. The ref was expecting an intentional foul. Not sure he was in position to see what we saw with the jersey. The T was kinda quick too wasn't it? Espcially being the end of the game and all.
I'll get off his back once he gets off of Blazer broadcasts - his insight is terrible, his personality is nonexistant and when he laughs at his own poor attempts at humor it's beyond annoying.
The refs blew some major calls, without a doubt. That last "foul" on Aldridge where his feet were half a foot outside of the restricted area was especially nice. However, when you blow 9 freethrows and turn the ball over 21 times, it's pretty tough to lay the blame on the refs.
Well, offensive fouls count as TOs so if you wanna blame the refs you can blame them for a good share of the TOs, too.
Actually some of the turn overs could have been called fouls on GS instead. However Portland lost the game, not that the refs took it away. We did not play very well. g
The officiating was kinda poor, but on both ends. I don't think there was any sort of bias going on here for the most part. The foul on Rudy at the end was a bad call, but I can live with bad calls. A team shouldn't let themselves get into a situation where one bad call loses them the game anyways. I do think the Tech was completely uncalled for however. I've seen plenty of players get away with much worse then what Rudy did. Particularly in such a crucial moment of the game. That was ridiculous.
As I was watching the play, I thought right away that the official who blew the whistle was not in a good position to call a foul on Rudy. I don't know if Rudy (or Morrow for that matter) fouled early or not - it sure looked like mutual and incidental contact between two players jockeying for position. Not something that should ever be called a foul on either side. Then, Rudy gained an advantage - not because he held Morrow - but because he anticipated where the pass was going and got the jump on Morrow. No unfair advantage = no foul call. If the other official didn't call a foul on Rudy, he shouldn't have. Why did he call a foul he couldn't see? Had he swallowed his whistle, the obvious clear-path foul on Morrow would have been an easy call as that was actually visible to all the refs being such a blatant foul.
According to Quick, Rudy had a scratch on his chest from where Morrow grabbed him. That's proof enough for me.
That is proof that a foul happened. That is NOT proof that: 1) it was the first foul, or 2) that any official was in position to see the foul on Rudy. So, you still have to look at the entire sequence to figure out what should have been called/not called.
I partially agree with Ed. The reffing wasn't completely one sided. Roy got bailed out a few times, Oden travelled a couple of times that didn't get called, and...well those were some of the only calls we benefited from. The final minute of the game was ridiculously one sided though. Rudy got hammered on the layup, Rudy got held on that last play, & the T was unnecessary at the time. Those were all backbreakers in a tight game.
I wouldn't lay the blame for a loss on any one thing but I definitely think the crappy officiating was pretty slanted against the Blazers especially in the final minutes. They could have won despite it, but it was a factor. Bob Delaney is on the radar STOMP
This is my primary gripe with WWNBA refs. They call fouls based on appearances of what they think must have happened, whether they see it or not. I remember once Pippen ran out at a 3 point shooter but was way too late. Pippen swiped at the shot but his hand never got within 8 inches of the shooter nor did Pippen even brush him after the shot. At first no foul was called, but when the shot fell a foot short of the rim, the ref blew his whistle because, well, It MUST HAVE BEEN a foul.
