One of my least favorite referees in the NBA. This guy is without a doubt one of the guys that makes me cringe everytime I see him calling a basketball game. I'm not even trying to make this a "this guy is out to screw the rockets" post. I just can't stand the way the man calls a basketball game. If you do a search on him on-line, you'll see several articles that talk about players complaing about the job he does when he calls a game. Last year in a game against the Cavs on the road, here are what some Rocket players said about Ken Mauer (article taken from the Houston Chronicle): With no timeouts left, Francis rushed up the court, but in navigating through traffic and turning around, he could not get his 15-footer down until official Ken Mauer had begun to wave it off. "He's running to the table like he's Superman, like he's the president," Rockets guard Cuttino Mobley said. "Come on, man. That's a good game. You that anxious to get to the All-Star break? Don't take the game away from us like that. Terrible, man. That's terrible. Terrible." Next piece of evidence, Coach Larry Brown after a game between the Sixers and Bucks: Brown was fined for publicly criticizing officials following the 102-92 defeat on Saturday at New Jersey. He lashed out at the crew of Ed F. Rush, Michael Smith and Ken Mauer after the Sixers went to the free-throw line just nine times. Brown had said : "These referees have no respect for players and coaches in this game. It's the saddest thing. You can't even talk to a guy without a referee coming back at you. Our guys bust their tail to get back in the game and I just ask the guy and he has a remark right away. It's unbelievable. They don't show you any respect. It's a shame." Brown had added : "I've been doing this too long. When we had two officials, the older guys had a respect for the game and the players. These new guys, they're all like robots. They don't have any feel for players' feelings or coaches' feelings, and they act like we're their adversaries, and that's the saddest thing about the nature of our game." On a side note, he is also one of the refs to be charged with tax evasion a couple of seasons ago. However, he is one of two to appeal his case. Read below: NBA referee Ken Mauer was charged on Wednesday with tax evasion, becoming the latest NBA official implicated in an airline ticket scam. The 45-year-old referee was charged with tax evasion and obstructing federal tax laws in Minneapolis as he received " substantial taxable income" from 1989 through 1994 but failed to declare it. About a dozen other referees have faced similar charges. Like them, Mauer is accused of being reimbursed for first-class airline tickets after buying less-expensive tickets. Remeber when Tommy Heinsohn let loose after a Celtics-Suns game with the following epic quotes? • "These guys are terrible. They should pack it in and go home to their mothers." • "I cannot believe that they just made that call! That is absolutely horrible." • "These refs have not taken charge tonight and it is a putrid display of refereeing. There’s no love for these guys here at the Fleet." One can only guess who one of the refs in this game was... that's right Ken Mauer, and what's more, he was the crew chief!! "’You guys were awful tonight. Absolutely terrible," Heinsohn told them. Crew chief Mauer said about the only thing in reply he could to such foolishness: "Tommy? Merry Christmas." Yesterday, when I was driving back to Houston from Austin, I could listen to our own Gene Peterson call Mauer the worst official in the league, or something to that extent. When I got home to watch the second half on TV, Bill and Calvin were talking about the refs as much as the actual game at times. With all the controversy about officials and referees in football, I can't believe the NBA allows refs like Ken Mauer ruin perfectly good games. To me, Mauer ranks up there with Steve Javie as guys I would hate to have ref an important game. These guys think that they're bigger than the game at times and end up making horrendous calls to make themselves feel important. A superstar wants to talk to them about something, let's T him up. A coach complains about a no-call... another T. You wonder if they get any of the money from the fines that come with a technical. You know Bill Walton is known for shouting out "Horrible!!!" or "Terrible!!" but when Gene does it, it seems to mean more.
Also on the "absolute worst" list should be Bob Delaney, Joey Crawford, Violet Palmer, Tony Brothers, Tommy Nunez, Tom Washington, Ted Bernhardt, Berney Fryer, Pat Fraher, and of course....Steve Javie. Officiating is the second worst thing about of the NBA. The worst is how the league office spouts it's smug attitude to the people of the world that tell them their officiating sucks.
You sold me. The reffing sucked yesterday. Anyone ever notice how NBA refs always have their hair slicked back? What IS that?
Ken Mauer does suck, but NBA officiating overall is pretty inconsistent and lame. What the NBA needs to add is another 2 referees to just watch a TV monitor with the opportunity to overturn certain calls the referees make. These 2 officials would have the final decision on questionable calls, since they would be privvy to replays and better angles on the plays. This would be a great idea, but the NBA would never do it. Too controversial and more costly for them.
I think Steve Javie has gotten a lot better. A few years ago he was the biggest hothead of all time. Most of the other officials I would agree with...and let's not forget Dick Bavetta. This guy melts under pressure. I remeber him ripping off the Pacers against the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Championships about 4 years ago. That was the most one-sided officiating I have ever seen...until last year's Kings/Lakers series. Whatever... there are some really bad officiating and I don't see any problems with pointing them out.
Don't forget Bill Kennedy, who is the reason we didn't make the playoffs two years ago. The game in Sacramento vs. the Kings right after we beat the Spurs in Houston. We're gaining momentum in the third. Previously down by 21, it is now within 7 after a Stevie dunk. He screams with emotion while dunking, and gets a T for taunting. It's his second, resulting in a ejection and a blowout the rest of the way. We went on to be swept on the road trip and put out of the playoff race for good. And Kennedy even admitted after the game that if he had remember Francis already had one tech, he would not have blown the whistle. But Mauer is the worst.
Does anyone remember the referee's name who cost us home court advantage against the Sonics in the 93 playoffs? This was the game where David Robinson hit a shot after the buzzer sounded during the last game of the season.
I remember Jack Madden who singled handedly ripped us off in the final 2 minutes of the 1993 playoffs against Seattle.
Two quick apologies: First, didn't know which forum to stick this in, I was really just venting from the Spurs' game when I thought that anytime we touched Tim Duncan, he got a trip to the free throw line and our 4's got a trip to the bench with foul trouble. So I thought I'd put it in the Rockets forum. Second, I seem to have forgotten the list of refs who have cost the Rocks wins in the past. So I apologize for that, but this rant was basically for yesterday's game and the ref. Can't believe they went to the line so many more times than the Rocks in the first half. I don't like how NBA refs can be influenced to calling fouls depending on a player's stature in the league. I also don't like officials who swallow their whistles when they get in a hostile environment. Good luck getting a call in Utah in the fourth quarter of a game on the road. (I'm seeing Flopton giving Brent Price a hip-toss in my mind from 1996) Also, for a guy who plays with no emotion, Tim Duncan sure does cry a lot when the refs decide to call a foul on him. p.s. don't forget Jake O'Donnel, Clyde's personal choice for worst ref!!
What the NBA needs to do is to take Shaq's "indirect" advice. Pay big money to the refs. Make it a merit based competitive job. Have a full time panel to evaluate these officials and use or fire them accordingly. Keep only the very best. That will clean up quite a bit of the mess. The league has the money to do it. And they should do something before it ruins the credibility of the game.
What about that Crawford guy? He's the one that ejected Steve last year in Utah when he had scored 27 points in the first half, and was on his way to a career game and a Rockets win. Two of the worst tech calls ever, both involving Flopton. Simply horrendous.
While I think that basketball is by far the hardest sport to officiate, and that a bad call or two is excusable, Ken Mauer is a bum. It's one thing for a ref to get caught up in crowd excitement and respond with some questionable calls during a run. It is entirely another to rob a team for four straight quarters (a home team!) The Celtics on that December night weren't jacking up threes, but actually outscoring the Suns in the paint on ball-penetration. Yet a 20-year-old rookie attempts more free-throws than the entire Celtics roster. But it really didn't matter; it was just a regular season loss. But what just made me sick was that no-call on Stoudemire. Sure, maybe it wasn't flagrant, but Pierce could do nothing on the way down after the bump. He fails to stop play and ejects Jim O'Brien. What an *******.
I think that the referees have an air of confidence around them, or they are just so complacent that they dont seem to care if they make a bad call. They just smile, eject, smile, eject....eject. Guys like O'Donnel, Ken Mauer etc, are guys that think that the referes are above the players. Although I resent that Shaq O'Neal blamed the game on Friday on the refs, the salary thing is correct. Those guys arent the guys making big bucks, fans dont come out to watch them call a game. They have to realize that its the players who are playing hard and earning the money, not their fat slicked back ass. Hopefully the refs wont screw us in the Maverick game....
