Clutch, can you put that link on the rockets.cfm page so everyone can send a letter. I posted my complaint. Everyone send, we might get something done. ------------------
Sorry about that Smeg. Just edited my post. I meant to give you credit for it-- guess I forgot. Treeman, I understand your point. Very valid. I just always like to present some background with my writing so that people can better understand the situation. I guess I got trained on it-- I used to be very involved with newspaper writing, etc.-- and one of the main things I learned to do was build up the situatio and its importance. As a result I guess I always have a tendency to present more background to enhance the reason why so and so was so important. I tried to have it as unbiased as possible. ------------------ "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).]
Beautiful... Exactly how I feel. It shouldn't have even been a first technical. How any moron can call that a second technical is beyond me. ------------------ PrEsident of The Danforth Langhford FAN CLUB... He IS our future All-Star Small Forward
Bill, Thanx for the support. One fan to another, you guys still probably would have won (shot lights out 1st quarter, 90% - amazing), but the "enemy" pointing at a clearly atrocious call should help. That makes it sound a lot less biased... The NBA should listen to this one. BTW, If we don't sneak up and win it, I hope you guys do! ------------------
The Cat: Yeah, I guess the anger of the moment just blinds me to the details. I know that whoever is reading the emails at NBA.com isn't going to feel that, and they're probably already tired of getting letters from us complaining about this and that, I just figured that they'd want a cut&dried version... Hopefully volume will force them to respond this time. I dunno... I just hope that ref loses his job. Nothing more and nothing less. Revenge. ------------------
Great idea Cat, I love it. ------------------ "Break off the block like Maurice Green" --- Steve Francis President of the Moochie Norris fan club.
Here's a copy of my letter without my private info. Also no one should be down the Rocks still will make the playoffs. Dear NBA, I am and have been an avid fan of the NBA for eight years now. Not only do I enjoy rooting for local teams, but also I enjoy watching good basketball games in general. I have never written to the NBA before in regards to anything, for I believe it is a top notch and ever improving organization. One incident though, has disturbed me so much that I believe that I must take action in some kind. This is in regards to the technical foul and subsequent ejection given to Steve Francis in the third quarter of the Rockets and Kings game. I understand that referees have an extremely tough job and need to be subjective at times, for I have officiated college intramural games. What happened with that technical though has dissapointed me as an official and a fan. I hope that after reviewing the tape, you all could some how improve to where a situation like that would never hapen again. In the flow and excitement of the game, Steve Francis made an emphatic dunk and let out an emotional yell. The technical given not only perturbed my sense of justice, but also my enjoyment of a high scoring, highly entertaining basketball game. There are many times players and star players cross the line that should lead them to being tossed (ex Rasheed Wallace). What happened with Steve Francis though, was wrong and inexcusable on the part of the official. I switched the channel soon after that incident. The game was no longer entertaining. I hope that something like that never happens again. Sincerely, ********* ------------------ When I die, I want to be reincarnated as that chair in the Britney Spears video.
WHERE IS MRS BOB LANIER . .. . SHE NEEDS TO BE CONTACTED ABOUT THIS ATROCITY TOOO. She wrote the letter after the Pheonix game correct? Rocket River ------------------
Here is my letter...... To whom it may concern, I am sure you are flooded by emails and letters daily about the quality, or lack thereof, of the NBA officiating now and in the recent past. You have to be. I wanted to site a particular game moment from last night, in the Houston vs. Sacramento game. It occurred in the 3rd quarter, and the Rockets were down 9 at the time, and Steve Francis just made a spectacular breakaway dunk to cut the lead to 7. Francis landed after the dunk, screamed, and was T-ed up by Bill Kennedy. This is something that, as a viewer of the NBA for many years, I see repeatedly in most games. He did not use any language that might be considered vulgar. He did not taunt any player. He did not taunt the crowd or the official. He did not slap the backboard. He screamed and was given a technical for it. The technical was his 2nd of the game, and he was thus ejected. I was disgusted to say the least, and flipped channels to watch the Portland/Dallas game. To my utter fascination, I saw Bonzi Wells throw down a monster dunk, and pull himself up on the rim, land and stand there with an intimidating look on his face to a Dallas player. No tech., no nothing. Trust me when I say that fans everywhere are disgusted with the officiating. I belong to several fan-based websites, for several teams, and it is everywhere. It is a mockery of the game, and should be dealt with. I hope this letter is not ignored like the terrible officiating has been. Thank you for your time. Concerned Fan ------------------ There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
OK, I lied about the "belonging to several fan-based websites" thing, but had to get my point across. There can be only ONE! ------------------ There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
That was the worst call Ive EVER seen....and we get a lot of bad calls. I had to write one too: I am writing to express my concern over what I consider to be the worst call that I have ever seen in the NBA by an official. It occured during the Rockets-Kings game on March 20th 2001. It was a technical foul called on Steve Francis during the third period of the game. I am not sure of the events that led to the call since I was watching on TV, but from the many replays I saw...I could not see any reason for the technical. I am usually a pretty good lip reader and I could not see any specific words uttered by Steve, nor did he hang on the rim, slap the backboard, taunt the other team or the fans, etc. which are all questionable reasons for altering the outcome of a game in my opinion, but have been the cause of most of his T's this season. In fact, it seems to me that this standard for calling technicals is far too subjective...as I have seen players argue calls for a matter of several minutes...even cursing the refs...and there was no technical called. Francis received one for complaining about what was a bad call for at the most two seconds while running back down the court. Then his second was given with no apparent reason whatsoever. I know it is impossible for the team of refs to correctly make every call, but it seems to me that the Rockets are treated unfairly when it comes to handing out fouls and technicals. Do our players have to be hurt before a foul is called for them? Should they have to play perfectly un-emotional zombie- like basketball to avoid being tossed from the game? Why must we not only beat the opposition, but also the referees? Maybe my view is colored as a Rockets fan, but even the Kings players, announcers, fans etc. were disgusted by this call. As any true fan of the game would agree, the game is more enjoyable if the players decide the outcome...not the refs. I hope that the league will investigate the incident and discover if anything was said that I am unaware of that would be justification for this call. If not, referee Bill Kennedy should be punished with a fine for his actions at the very least. After all, players and coaches are fined for merely publicly voicing their dissaproval of calls made by refs. The same standards should apply to referees who repeatedly make erroneous, subjective calls escpecially when they have such grave consequences. Personally I would question his capacity to perform in that position at all. I am not saying the Rockets would have won the game had the call not been made, but it certainly did not help to lose our only healthy star for the second half. I have seen many bad calls, but never one that was so horrible that it prompted me to write a complaint. Please take action to correct this injustice. ------------------
To Whom it May Concern, This season, I have been startled to read in the news about the high fines being levied against players and coaches who criticize the officiating. While nobody enjoys poor sports, if you're going to maintain this policy, I would advise that you maintain a high level of officiating. Sadly, an incident occurred recently that made any claim of good officiating seem a farce. During the early part of the 3rd period in a game between the Rockets and Kings, Steve Francis was ejected for screaming after a dunk. He was not profane, he did not taunt other players, and he certainly did not disrespect the fans. He was excited because he had made a terrific play. Nearly any star-caliber player does this twice in any game. However, Referee Kennedy gave him a second-technical, which led to his ejection. Soon, an 8pt game turned into a complete romp. I hope that you will hold your referee accountable as you have held players and coaches. This is a concrete example of a playoff race being materially altered because of bad officiating. This wasn't a debatable call... it was pure garbage. Even the Kings announcers were aghast at the call, and many people in attendence booed loudly. I hope you will take appropriate measures to ensure that paying fans such as myself are not dissappointed in the future. Your continued success, afterall, rests on our support. Thank you, Mark Mendola There's mine! ------------------ Boston College - Big East -East Division Regular Season Champs Worst to First in 2001!
To Whom It May Concern, WE WUZ ROBBED! WE WUZ ROBBED! WE WUZ ROBBED! WE WUZ ROBBED! WE WUZ ROBBED! WE WUZ ROBBED!WE WUZ ROBBED! WE WUZ ROBBED!WE WUZ ROBBED! WE WUZ ROBBED!WE WUZ ROBBED! WE WUZ ROBBED!WE WUZ ROBBED! WE WUZ ROBBED!WE WUZ ROBBED! WE WUZ ROBBED!WE WUZ ROBBED! WE WUZ ROBBED!WE WUZ ROBBED! WE WUZ ROBBED!WE WUZ ROBBED! WE WUZ ROBBED!WE WUZ ROBBED! WE WUZ ROBBED!WE WUZ ROBBED! WE WUZ ROBBED!WE WUZ ROBBED! WE WUZ ROBBED!WE WUZ ROBBED! WE WUZ ROBBED!WE WUZ ROBBED! WE WUZ ROBBED!WE WUZ ROBBED! WE WUZ ROBBED!
Hello fellow Rocket fans! I am a full time student and do alot of other things that take my up time so I only visit the site every once and a while. When I saw that horrible call I knew you all would be all over it. I also sent a letter. Here it is, To whom it may concern, For many years now, I have watched the NBA and been entertained by it. Occasionally, I will disagree with a official's call but never to the point where I became discouraged from watching more games and attending them. Don't get me wrong, I will always love the game and the professionals who play it, but the current shape that the NBA officiating is in is appalling and I would venture to guess that this is why this product is suffering. A call an official made last night made me seriously wonder what the intent of the NBA officials is. The specific game in which this occured was the Houston Rockets versus the Sacramento Kings on March 20. After a "slam dunk" was made by the Rockets' Steve Francis, he let out an emotional yell that has been preceded by many players a thousand times before in previous NBA games. Francis did not taunt the other team,officials, or fans or use vulgar language. One official calling that game, Bill Kennedy, issued Francis his second technical foul of the game, ejecting him from most of the second half. During this time, the Houston Rockets were scoring successive baskets and had cut the Sacramento King's lead down to 8. The Rockets have been making a habit of coming back from large margins recently, and allowing for exciting games to be played. Until this point, this was one of those games but when Francis was ejected for a call, that in my mind seemed outrageous, the Rockets lossed their leading scorer and leader of the team and from there the Rockets hopes of coming back were extinguished. I am very disapointed as a fan of the NBA at not only this specific call, but the current trend of NBA officiating over the past few years. I understand that selective teams and players in the NBA get the benefit of the doubt, but calls like this make me question the integrity of the NBA and its future. So much blame has been placed on the players for the league's recent decline, but itleast some of the blame should be directed at the leagues officials and front office. That specific game was very entertaining untill the officials call intervened, and once that happened the game was not enjoyable to watch. Furthermore, I strongly recommend some sort of action be taken to let Bill Kennedy know that he made a mistake. Whether that be firing, suspension,a fine, or even just a required class on how to make calls fairly and effectively, any action you decide on will greatly restore my faith in the govermental body of the NBA. I would very much appreciate a response from you on this matter but if I don't recieve one I understand that many of you are busy with the business of the NBA. I would like to close by stating that I am only one fan, but so were the many individuals who have stopped watching and attending these games. Sincerely, Walter Koch BTW We WILL make the playoffs... ------------------ You can't have everything...Where would you put it?
LOL That's how mines sounded. ------------------ Note: It was my cowhead. I started the cowhead craze, and my cowhead inspired Mooch to step up and bring us a victory. Thank you for your time.
Has anyone gotten any responses concerning their emails yet? ------------------ The season's halfway over...and I still need that keg of Pepto-Bismol.
Good letter RocketWalta. ------------------ Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon is the greatest player in the history of basketball. If you disagree, you are not a Rocket fan.
To whom it may concern, I have enjoyed the NBA for 25 years...what an awesome game. Over the last few years, I have become increasingly concerned about the impact of officiating on the sport. More and more, it seems like officials' mistakes have altered the nature of the competition. This clearly was the case when Houston and Sacramento met the other night. The second technical on Steve Francis was a disgusting error. To be quite honest, I am not concerned so much with retribution but I am pleading with you to save this game. This problem must be resolved, since there is nothing more disheartening than watching YOUR team play their hearts out, then lose a game due to a 'technical' error. I am such a diehard Rockets fan that I purchased the NBA package in 2 cities this year, yet I could not bear to watch the remainder of the game the other night. I do not like to see taunting on the court either, but I do like emotion on the court. It would be a slow and boring sport without it. Tuesday night, we saw emotion, and the team received the 'maximum' penalty. That is ridiculous. Thank you for your time, ---------------- Austin, TX
here is my reply, sent multiple times: To whom it may concern, I am writing to you regarding the Houston vs. Sacramento game March 20, 2001. Specifically, I am writing about what others, and I deem an absolutely incomprehensible, damaging, and unacceptable ejection made by Bill Kennedy. Although I am sure you have seen the play, I will recap it. The game, as I am sure you realize, had HUGE playoff implications for both teams. Playoff electricity was in the air (witness the Kings unbelievable start). The teams squared off all the way to the 3rd quarter when the Rockets were down 9 to the Kings. Steve Francis, the Rockets’ leader and superstar, just made a breakaway dunk to whittle the lead to 7. As he landed, Francis let out a scream of emotion. Peja Stojakovic passed by and picked up the ball as Steve turned to go up court. There was no eye contact between the two players. There was no physical squaring off between the two players. There was no communication between the two players. No vulgarities were said. No glances were given. Still, Bill Kennedy felt the need to assign Steve Francis with a technical – his second of the game, as chance would have it – and an automatic ejection. I will not get into preaching about judgement. All I am going to say is that the NBA has a product to market – the league and its players. I am a subscriber to NBA League Pass, and chose to watch this game – until that call. After that, I not only turned the station, I turned the television OFF. For the referees to almost single-handedly affect the possible outcome of a game is disgusting. I understand moderating a game, but altering a game is well…enough for me to stop watching. I watch – on average – three to four games PER NIGHT of the NBA. I cannot count the times I’ve seen Kobe Bryant direct derogatory glances at opponents, Vince Carter stand over people, Chris Webber shout after dunking, Kevin Garnett dunk then curse out loud, Karl Malone berate – repeatedly so – officials, etc. Yet, these players are never penalized in a manner that would cause the game to be altered. This is the very reason for the plethora of “NBA conspiracy theorists” we have today. The sad fact is that they have a point – not that the NBA is conspiring against a certain team, but that the NBA looks the other direction for certain players (giving extra leeway). This situation that I saw last night, however, does not even require extra leeway. In fact, I think expression of emotion, as long as they are not directed at an opponent or the crowd SHOULD BE ENCOURAGED. It is a manner of getting the crowd – both at home and in the living rooms – involved. I was involved in that game – for both teams. It was exciting. It had atmosphere. And, sadly, Bill Kennedy tragically altered it (if not outright decided) in the 3rd quarter. Trust me when I say that fans everywhere are disgusted with the officiating. I know you know it, for NBA sales are down across the board. Some blame it on the absence of the Michael Jordan phenomenon. I think it is the presence of the NBA “I am the ref, so I can decide the outcome of the game” phenomenon. I hope this letter is not ignored like the terrible officiating has been. You are more than welcome to respond at verse02@hotmail.com or at ***-***-**** Thank you for your time. ************* San Antonio, Texas
This was my letter to those guys To whom it may concearn: As an NBA fan I like seeing a good game in wish players are allowed to play with emotion and heart! on March 20th in a game wish possibly could have had playoff ramnifications the rockets lost Steve Francis to what it has to be one of the worst calls I have ever seen made by an NBA official, it is one in wish even the opposing players (Kings) were buffled about. By now I am positive you have already heard about the occurences of this incident and my hopes is that it will be investigated and proper diciplinary actions will occur. Sincerely A very upset fan Thank You. ------------------ My blood is made of Rocket fuel !
