As much as the NBA may not care, I strongly feel like we should do as fans all we can in our power to see that Bill Kennedy (who called the 2nd T) be repremanded for his actions. The best way to do this is to bombard the NBA with emails, like we did with politicians in the Save our Rockets campaign by Jeff. Below is the link to email the NBA at. (special thanks to Smeg) Below that is a letter I have typed for everyone here about the game. All you need to do is copy and paste the letter in the email and send as many times as you can. Whether it will make a difference who knows, but I hope I'm not the only one who at least wants to try and do something about this. http://www.nba.com/email_us/letters_to_the_nba.jhtml?nav=SiteFragment Dear League Front Office, I strongly advise you as a basketball fan to severely reprimand official Bill Kennedy who worked the Houston Rockets at Sacramento Kings game on March 20, 2001. The play I am questioning occurred approximately 1 minutes into the 3rd quarter of the game. The Rockets were down 9 at the time, and Steve Francis just made a spectacular breakaway dunk to cut the lead to 7. Out of sheer joy, he screamed (in joy). This is something that, as a viewer of the NBA for many years, I see repeatedly in every game. He did not use any language that might be considered vulgar. He did not taunt any player. He did not taunt the crowd. He did not slap the backboard. He screamed out of pure joy, and was given a technical for it. The technical was his 2nd of the game, and he was thus ejected. The Rockets then proceeded to go from down 7 and in a tightly contested ballgame to being blown out. The Rockets going into the game were down 1 game from the Minnesota Timberwolves and Phoenix Suns for the final playoff spot in the West. With just 15 games left, any game can determine the difference between being a playoff team and possibly winning a championship and being in the lottery. Should the Rockets have their chance of glory taken away because a player screams out of pure joy? That is a natural human reaction. It is not in the least bit taunting, is not in the least bit a technical, and without a doubt is not worthy of throwing a player out of a game and jeopardizing the chances of a team to make the postseason and even win a championship. To my belief, any official who believes that Francis' actions were worthy of the ramifications he received has serious judgment problems and should not be calling NBA basketball games if they have that poor of judgment qualities. I strongly urge you to review the tape of this game and greatly reprimand this official for his actions. I have loved and watched basketball my entire life, but I have never felt as bad about the state of the NBA as I do right now. It's extremely sad how a team's possibility of winning a championship may pass by due to the lack of judgment of one crew of officials. Please do not let this continue. Sincerely, Your Name ------------------ "We're not settling for just getting in the playoffs." "We want a higher seed. There's no doubt. We expect to get in."-- Steve Francis President of the Mo Taylor and Jason Collier fan club! Draftsource.net ClutchTown.com [This message has been edited by The Cat (edited March 21, 2001).]
To preserve the dignity of this letter, everyone PLEASE replace "your name" with YOUR name! I've said my piece. thank you. ------------------ The season's halfway over...and I still need that keg of Pepto-Bismol.
TheCat, omit the two middle paragraphs and it might fly. It sounds too biased, like whining after a lost game - NBA won't even bother with that. First sentence, a short description of exactly what happened, and the last paragraph... They might listen to that. Maybe. ------------------
Treeman, I don't know. Can any other BBS members weigh in with some opinions? It was not written with an intent to be biased... I felt those middle paragraphs were instrumental in explaining the importance of the game and to show another reason that the official's judgment should be at an all time high, not low. What do you guys think? ------------------ "We're not settling for just getting in the playoffs." "We want a higher seed. There's no doubt. We expect to get in."-- Steve Francis President of the Mo Taylor and Jason Collier fan club! Draftsource.net ClutchTown.com
Let's have everyone decided on one format or another before we send out hundreds of emails...I guess I won't be sending until tomorrow... By the way, I will be contacting my family who are also Rockets fans, but who don't read this site, to tell them to send in the form letter as well... we need as much as we can muster if we are to make any kind of dent. ------------------ "Any event, once it has occurred, can be made to appear inevitable by a competent historian." Lee Simonson
I sent 10 of the form-letters, and one of my own: To the NBA, Rather than changing rules, try getting new referees. I think that might improve your floundering product a bit more. This isn't the WWF, this is basketball. At least, it used to be. The Francis ejection on March 20th? What a pitiful joke. The NBA will keep losing fans until the refs get their act together. Do these guys even get training? It doesn't look like it. Improve the officiating, and fans will flock back to NBA arenas. Until then, the sport is going to continue its downward cycle. Most sincerely, A very disgruntled fan... ------------------ Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon is the greatest player in the history of basketball. If you disagree, you are not a Rocket fan.
Great work TheCat... I don't think it's biased at all. I did mix in a few changes just so they wouldn't feel as if they were bombarded by a chain letter. It's more or less the same, but maybe they'll read it b/c it starts out differently. To Whom It May Concern, As a fan of the sport, I sincerely ask you to review a play that official Bill Kennedy made tonight, March 20th, during the Rockets Sacramento game. The play I am questioning occurred within the first minute of the 3rd quarter of the game. The Rockets were down 9 at the time, and Steve Francis just made a spectacular breakaway dunk to cut the lead to 7. Out of sheer joy, he screamed (in joy). This is something that, as a viewer of the NBA for many years, I see repeatedly in every game. He did not use any language that might be considered vulgar. He did not taunt any player. He did not taunt the crowd. He did not slap the backboard. He screamed out of pure joy, and was given a technical for it. The technical was his 2nd of the game, and he was thus ejected. The Rockets then proceeded to go from down 7 and in a tightly contested ballgame to being blown out. The Rockets going into the game were down 1 game from the Minnesota Timberwolves and Phoenix Suns for the final playoff spot in the West. With just 15 games left, any game can determine the difference between being a playoff team and possibly winning a championship and being in the lottery. Should the Rockets have their chance of glory taken away because a player screams out of pure joy? That is a natural human reaction. It is not in the least bit taunting, is not in the least bit a technical, and without a doubt is not worthy of throwing a player out of a game and jeopardizing the chances of a team to make the postseason and even win a championship. To my belief, any official who believes that Francis' actions were worthy of the ramifications he received has serious judgment problems and should not be calling NBA basketball games if they have that poor of judgment qualities. I strongly urge you to review the tape of this game and greatly reprimand this official for his actions. I have loved and watched basketball my entire life, but I have never felt as bad about the state of the NBA as I do right now. It's extremely sad how a team's possibility of making the playoffs may pass by due to the lack of judgment of one crew of officials. Please do not let this continue. Thanks for your time, John Doe ---------------------- You guys didn't know my name was John Doe, eh? Anyway, you guys should just change the intro of the letter just a bit just in case some peon work study student is categorizing the letters as 'bunk' or 'valid concern'. ------------------ (===)
I'm thinking the guy just forgot Francis already had a technical because nobody in their right mind would do otherwise. Not with all the ramifications that one game can have this close to the playoffs. You just don't do it.
The Cat: Hey, I'm not complaining. I copied your original and added a couple lines at the end and sent it anyway - I'm too mad to fiddle. Just a suggestion... ------------------
I just got done watchin the FSSW highlights of the Houston/Sac game. Without even mentioning the ejection, they showed Webber a couple of times, and ended it with the quote "Houston Never Had a Chance" They never had a chance before the motherfkn game begun, actually! I would just like to kick the shiit out of that b**** ass referee.....as a matter of fact, I think I will. RockS ------------------
Nobody in their right mind would call that a technical period. I would not be as upset as I am (I'd still be upset, but not so much) if that were the case. It was not. If Steve had 0 technicals at that point, it should not even in the slightest extent been debatable on being just his 1st technical. It was not anywhere near being a valid reason for calling a 1st technical, much less an ejection. ------------------ "We're not settling for just getting in the playoffs." "We want a higher seed. There's no doubt. We expect to get in."-- Steve Francis President of the Mo Taylor and Jason Collier fan club! Draftsource.net ClutchTown.com
I felt like saying, "a very disgruntled FORMER fan", but I still love the Rockets. I love them even more, now. I always cheer for the underdogs, and it has become clear to me that the Rockets are always going to be the underdogs. I just hate the teams that get to have 8 players on the court, instead of 5. The series between the Rockets and Kings is tied 0-0, right now, because these teams have not played each other in a game yet. Those four "losses" were not basketball games. ------------------ Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon is the greatest player in the history of basketball. If you disagree, you are not a Rocket fan.
Here's mine: I am very concerned with the actions of Bill Kennedy, the referee in tonight's game between Houston and Sacramento. After a breakaway slam dunk, Steve Francis was ejected by Kennedy for excessive celebration despite the fact that his yell came not as a taunt directed any Sacramento player or as a vulgarity. I have been a fan of the NBA for more than 20 years. I have watched hundreds of basketball games and seen plenty of blown calls. I know the difficulty referees have in doing their jobs. However, to cause a team to suffer the loss of their best player simply because a referee like Mr. Kennedy has a problem with a particular player is inexcusable. I cannot count how many times great players have been given slack in pressure situations. From Magic Johnson to Larry Bird to Michael Jordan to Hakeem Olajuwon to Kobe Bryant, most NBA referees understand the value they have to their team and the need to be balanced in their officiating. I would hope that the NBA would review the tape of the game and take appropriate action. Allowing such a blatantly bad call go undisciplined is doing a disservice to the game. Thank you. Jeff Balke ------------------ "I swallowed a lot of agression...along with a lot of pizzas."
Cat and Rocket fans.. As a King fan, I am very glad that we got the win. But as a Basket Ball fan I was really shocked at the call that got Steve ejected. I will also forward a letter to the Legue office telling them what I think of the call. That was one of the most unfair calls I have ever seen. CWebb got a call like that a few games ago and I was pissed.. I still think the Kings would of won, but I still think the call sucked. Good luck on the rest of your season. ------------------
Ok, I vented. I like your letter also Zrb, and I'm gonna make my own based on that. and then I'm gonna go hunt down and kill that stupid son of a b****. ------------------
Thanks for giving me some cred as i posted the NBA letters link already ------------------ "Repression never did me any harm (I finally ceased to include "stop masturbating" as one of my guilt ridden New Year's resolutions, but that's a different topic)." Achebe - programmer by day, Mrs Palmers Husband by night [This message has been edited by SmeggySmeg (edited March 21, 2001).]
At least the Sonics aren't the darlings of the NBA. There should be some good calls on Saturday. If they blow a call like that, I may be forced to get myself ejected... ------------------ Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon is the greatest player in the history of basketball. If you disagree, you are not a Rocket fan.
While remaining true to the original spirit of the letter, cause it was a good letter, I have made some slight adjustments to it. To Whom It May Concern, As a long-time fan of the National Basketball Association and the Houston Rockets, I sincerely ask you to review a call that official Bill Kennedy made tonight, March 20th, during the Rockets game versus Sacramento. The call I am questioning occurred within the first minute of the 3rd quarter of the game. The Rockets were down 9 at the time, having battled back from a 19-pt Kings lead, and Steve Francis just made a spectacular breakaway dunk to cut the lead to 7. Out of sheer joy, he screamed aloud. This display of emotion is something that, as a viewer of the NBA for many years, I have seen countless times. He did not use any language that might be considered vulgar. He did not taunt any player. He did not taunt the crowd. He did not slap the backboard. He screamed out of pure joy, and was given a technical for it. The technical was his 2nd of the game, and he was thus ejected. The Rockets then proceeded to go from down 7 and in a tightly contested ballgame to being blown out 125-109. I am well aware that the Rockets chances of winning at this point were slim, however the Rockets had gained the momentum and had cut the lead to a mere seven points. With the offensive explosiveness of players today, seven points could be acored in the blink of the eye. Who is to say whether or not the Rockets would have come back in that game, the result could very well have been the same, but Bill Kennedy virtually assured the Rockets would lose, and had a direct impact on the course of the game, by ejecting their best player who happens to lead the team in scoring, rebounds and assissts. To my belief, any official who believes that Francis' actions were worthy of the ramifications he received has serious judgment problems and should not be calling NBA basketball games if they have that poor of judgment qualities. I strongly urge you to review the tape of this game and reprimand this official accordingly for his actions. I have loved and watched basketball my entire life, but I have never felt as bad about the state of the NBA as I do right now. It's extremely sad how a team's chances of winning a game and possibly making the playoffs, may pass by due to the lack of judgment of one crew of officials. Someone once said that the best compliment you could pay to an official was to say you had hardly noticed he was there. Well, I noticed Bill Kennedy was there. Please do not let this continue. Thanks for your time, ****ing Pissed.* * I just realized, thats how I signed my letter. Whoops. ------------------ The Rockets will be the NBA champions. Believe. [This message has been edited by Puedlfor (edited March 21, 2001).]
