Thursday, May 17, 2007

Conspiracy Theory

I totally feel that the SPURS are given special consideration above and beyond the level of reasonable human error. And in particular, Tim Duncan. My evidence for this can be encapsulated in a single event this year that embodies the impact Duncan and the SPURS can have on the game and the league.

On April 15, 2007, Crawford ejected San Antonio Spurs superstar Tim Duncan for supposedly laughing at Crawford from his seat on the bench during a game against the Dallas Mavericks. Duncan also insulted Crawford with an expletive[7]. Duncan alleges that Crawford challenged him to a fight on the court in which Crawford asked Duncan, "Do you want to fight?"[8] On April 17, Crawford was suspended for the remainder of the 2006-07 NBA season and the 2007 NBA playoffs as a result of this altercation. The league also fined Duncan $25,000 for verbal abuse of an official and warned than a repeat incident in the future would result in an ejection. Commissioner David Stern said Crawford's actions "failed to meet the standards of professionalism and game management we expect of NBA referees."[7]
References
^ a b c Joe Crawford #17. National Basketball Referees Association. Retrieved on 2007-04-17.
^ a b c d Arehart, Jim (May 2004). Being Joe Crawford. Referee. Retrieved on 2007-04-17.
^ a b Extra-Ordinary Average Joe. NBA.com (2005-11-11). Retrieved on 2007-04-18.
^ a b Interview with Joey Crawford. Referee (October 1998). Retrieved on 2007-04-17.
^ Ex-Referee Under House Arrest. CBS SportsLine.com. Retrieved on 2007-04-18.
^ Crawford pleads guilty to tax fraud. CNN Sports Illustrated (1998-06-25). Retrieved on 2007-04-18.
^ a b c d NBA suspends referee Crawford indefinitely. ESPN.com (2007-04-17). Retrieved on 2007-04-17.
^ Ref suspended for actions toward Duncan. Associated Press (2007-04-17). Retrieved on 2007-04-17.

This combined with the "no calls" given and the "touch" fouls taken by Duncan make a compelling case. I can't help but think that if the roles were reversed in Game 4, the league would have somehow found a way to not penalize the star player and take retribution on someone for compromising this position.

I know, I sound like a bit of a sore loser but it really gets my goat when I see double standards at work.

Sadly, the SUNS ran out of gas last night and the SPURS got wicked hot from outside at the perfect time for them. What was it, 5 or 6 three's in a row?? We had issues hitting anything let alone three's. And Steve had a tough time taking care of the ball. THere just weren't any scoring options. D'Antoni needed to use more bench.

Ah it's easy being a Monday morning quarterback (Thursday really but you know what I mean).

Go SUNS.

No comments: