We always here the sports networks claim that the NBA officials are the best around. Simply me I think its a load of crap. If they were so great why do we know their names. I only know 1 NFL referee Ed Hockley and thats because of the fact that he's shped like a linebacker. Also he screwed up last year is for others to know who he is. But personally I think its because they suck and thats why we know their names.
same thing with mma, only the truly great and truly bad refs are the ones that are remembered. I'm looking at you Dan Miragliotta.
Ever since game 1 when this one guy posted that if we know the refs name they suck. Which couldn't be any more truer. But I have been reading this line being recited by EVERYONE who talks about the refs. WE GOT IT, YES if you know the refs by name they suck blah blah blah. I don't think we need to create a new thread for this.
because they work 100+ games a year and are on TV much more and work in a far more recognizable format than NFL officials.
Still shouldn't matter. Crawford is known better than a lot of players. That shouldn't be. The other night our game was reffed by a guy who had been a ref for like ten plus years, I actually think it a lot more than that. I had never heard of him. To me, that was great. If the official is doing a good job, I shouldn't notice them.
Literally, refs are officials considered an extension of the floor for the purposes of the ball and player contact. Figuratively they should be like that as well... doing their jobs in the background. The reason why refs' names are known is the same reason why refs kiss up to Kobe and Jordan and love to be on TV, the entire league is about personalities. Ideally yes, they should do their damn jobs well on the court, remain behind the scenes then go home. Unfortunately we often only get to see 1 of the above actually executed by any given ref (you guess which)
Actually its not so much knowing the official's name, but the connotation behind that name. I have watched Rockets games forever, and I will hear officials names every broadcast. Some that do a lot of games I hear over and over and eventually I remember that name. Now, if an official makes a terribly egregious error on a call and does that repeatedly, then I start to know his name for a different reason. If an official has a quick whistle on a technical, I also start to recognize it. It's not just one incident, because most folks would chalk that up to "human error." Its when it gets repeated that you start to be wary of that official. I am wary of only a few officials, and Joey Crawford IS one of them. But when I hear familiar names like DaRosa, McKutchen, Rush, Nunez, Washington, Willard, Bavetta, Corbin and others, I feel a sense of relief because those guys usually do a good job. Until this past NFL season, Ed Hochule was the ref everybody wanted because he was so darned good and in control of the game. Always giving great explanations on replays and other such calls. And heck, what NFL fan could forget Red "First Down!!!!" Cashion??
That's bull, Big John's been there since day 1 and he's one the most respected person in the business; Yuji Shimada was another person comes to my mind, sorta of the Japanese version of Big John Mccarthy. Plus you're way off topic there, this is NBA....
I first heard of Crawford when he ejected Tim Duncan for laughing from the bench. Then he wanted to get in a fight with Duncan, and was suspended. Nowhere else would a ref act like that. And then him shoving Scola was the latest offense. He must be a crackheaded cousin of Stern to stay in the leagues payroll.
Okay, the sports networks don't know anything. Commentators don't become commentators because they truly understand the sport -- they're just entertaining. They are NO indicator of what is actually happening.
What i cannot believe of the NBA is that Crawford is still in the league. This is the only league in the world that an official can argue with a player during the game (Duncan) that player being one of the most respectable athletes and still get away with it. It´s clear to me that A the league Uses crawford or B he knows too much and cannot be retired.
The easiest and probably biggest reason is there are half a dozen NFL refs for each game and do there best to stay in the background. When they see a foul they throw a flag and come back to it later after the play. When an NBA ref sees a foul he immediately blows the whistle gets the camera put on him and thus everyone knows exactly who called the foul and what type of angel he had to see it. NBA refs are exposed a lot more because the court is so much smaller and there are half as many players on the court as in football. It is easier to spot them because you get to see all of them in the tradition bird's eye view shot. In football you see maybe a glimpse of a ref running down the sideline trying to stay with a player.
they need to have people watching from various camera angels for fouls. When a foul is commited and they all see it on the camera angels, they should have a system where it buzzes the ref, then they speak to a ref through a headset or whatever and get the correct call. IMO, that is the only way to truly ref a NBA game correctly and with 100% certainty.
Part of the check system is that refs can be held accountable by the fans and media. If the person making the calls is always away from view then there is no check system. The NBA has gotten out of hand and that is why it is losing fans. Eventually stuff will be forced to change.
What i would like is a third crew of refs that remove fouls that were misscalled at the end of the second quarter. and announce it at the beginning of the 3rd. This way, while some damage is still in the fact that the other team shoots FT, and the player misses some time, you can prevent a lot of missed calls, especially on the bigs.
Don't forget that he got suspended for selling his first class airfare and flying coach. He's not quite as bad as that dude that fouled Clyde out for being a Rocket on a sunny day, but close.
