I don't know whether to think this is a good thing or a bad thing, maybe the nba will just get some fresh blood instead? http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4422452&campaign=rss&source=NBAHeadlines
I think the games would probably be more fairly officiated with YMCA "call the foul yourself" rules than with the refs.
Officiating is so much tougher than people think. Reffing 6A varsity boys is hard enough, I can't imagine reffing against guys as strong and quick as NBA players.
What factors do you use to determine if a ref is playing favorites? I've seen 6a games where a metro ref favors a Portland team over a Eugene team. I've watched 6a refs call all block/charge calls in favor of Kevin Love. And in high school worse than the pros, I've seen 6a refs tend to favor the team that is behind. More importantly, I think people have a hard time seeing the difference between inconsistent calls and favoritism. Having said all that, I have a great deal of respect for high school refs, and the same holds true for NBA officials. But, I've never liked to play the blame game, so the refs rarely get my wrath.
You are 100% correct. For some fans, they'll never be pleased with the refs or the coaches for that matter.
You know, since the "Ref Czar-General" was installed in his position, can anyone remember rulings, interviews, reports, etc. on him or his work or impact?
Perhaps each team should have a ref or two on their payroll and for games each team provides a ref. Then we can start trading refs, worrying about ref salary caps, etc. Mark.
Right I'm sure they'll get right on that one. NBA = Crooked I love the sport, love the game, hate the NBA under Stern. Remember the old Referee Union days when only Jake O'Donell answered directly to Stern? Guess who reffed all the really big games. Yep, it was the same guy who admitted after retiring that he had a "Vendetta against Clyde Drexler and the Portland Trail Blazers."
How long have you been watching the NBA? Stern's been commish for 25 years. I think he deserves a lot of credit for making the NBA such a huge success. Ed O.
Converse (Magic Johnson/Larry Bird) and to a much larger extent Nike (Michael Jordan) deserve most of the credit. They marketed those guys and made them mainstream. Stern was a somewhat lucky recipient, IMO, although I do give him a lot of credit for coming down hard on the rampant drug abuse the league had in the '80s.
My understanding is that Stern saved the league by inventing the salary cap. He's been trying for parody (surely not the correct spelling!) for years, and in my mind, he's achieved that. He's had to sell conservative fans on spending huge $ watch street thugs play ball. Not the easiest task, but he's accomplished it. If you were to tell the average NBA player in 1970 what the average player makes now, they'd either swear under their breath or just not believe you.
Magic/Bird, and ultimately MJ, were the reasons that a salary cap was eventually needed. I remember watching games on tape delay in the early '80s. Hell, I remember staying up until 11 or so to watch Ralph Sampson flip a shot over his head to win the WCF against the Lakers. Stern had relatively nothing to do with the salary explosion other than what I stated previously.
You are right Stern does deserve a lot of credit for the improvements in the league. However, he also has the lion's share of responsibility for what seems to be a creeping corruption that in a way he fostered with the Superstar system. To answer your question I have vague memories of the pre-Stern era and a lot of them I will be honest are not good. I remember drug scandals and quite a lot more violence on the court. Stern should be rightly credited with cleaning up the game especially in regards to drugs. I want to say I spoke too broadly when I said I hate the game under Stern. That really isn’t accurate or fair. Most of my favorite basketball has occurred during the Stern era. One can debate the relative merit of removing the extreme physicality from the game that resulted in the occasional fisticuffs. Lord knows I would like to see Oden haul off an deck a couple of players in the league. That said I’m glad that we don’t have to worry as much about Roy getting a fight/cheap shot related injury as we might have during the late 70’s and early 80’s. I have to agree with PapaG above that the reason the league blossomed was as much to do with Stern cleaning up some of the thug life mentality as it was with the emergence of a few incredible personalities/athletes. Magic and Bird along with Jordan (and Dr. J in an earlier era) revolutionized the game both in showing what could be done and with further shifting the focus onto individual play over team play. Stern hitched himself to the rising stars of those great players from the 80’s and 90’s. I also think PapaG is right in saying that the athletic shoe industry and advertisement did as much to alter the public image of the NBA as anything Stern did. My criticism of Stern lies in the dissolution of the Independent NBA Referee Union and the Superstar system of reffing the game. While I appreciate the change to the game in that Stars are more protected on the court the coddling by the refs has had a deleterious effect on the game in my opinion. I also feel that there is strong evidence that - with or without Stern’s knowledge - the NBA has been corrupted by the mafia. Whether it’s shaving points or altering outcomes of games and series. I have to wonder about Stern’s response to the Donaghy scandal and the seeming lack of any substantive reform under the new Referee Czar. It’s possible there are vast changes going on behind the scenes, but I feel that is part of the problem. The lack of transparency in the NBA and the way in which criticism is dealt with by levying fines to players and coaches for even the slightest criticism has ultimately harmed the game. It has also caused me to question whether fairness is the ultimate goal of reffing or whether it is profitability. Finally, I have long wondered since the Jake O’Donell days the degree of referee corruption. The Donaghy scandal and in particular this article has led me to the conclusion that there is a systemic rot among the referee’s in the league. Given Stern’s response and continued lack of transparency one has to wonder if he is complicit or doesn’t want to know about any possible corruption as long as the league remains highly profitable. I tend to use hyperbole and run afoul of overstatement and lack of nuance. Usually, I have some fair amount of thought put into my opinions on things and when I don’t and someone proves me wrong I try and take ownership of my bullshit. My honest opinion is that the NBA has become pretty corrupt over the years and that saddens me.
Parity is the word you want. Though I admit, it's rather amusing reading the other meaning into your statement. David Stern is the Mel Brooks of basketball!
