AND THE VERY NEXT PLAY, JOSH HOWARD TACKLES AND KICKS OBERTO IN THE FACE, AND oberto gets called for a ****ING OFFENSIVE FOUL??? Give the mavs the championship already.
This is really a shame. Joey Crawford is one of the few really good refs in the league. Almost always, when you get his crew, you can count on a game called fairly. But this really speaks to a problem of officials in all sports. None of them want to let stuff go anymore. It's been most notable in baseball, where the change has been most pronounced. In baseball, umpires used to have the thickest skin. A player or manager yell anything at them, and they would just sit there and take it. For several years now, though, there seem to be more and more umpires that want to yell back or even threaten players. Basketball has always had more interaction with the refs, but not like this. Traditionally, refs were great at keeping their cool. I don't know what it'll take, but the refs need to grow some thicker skin.
I Hope Crawford doesn't ref the 2nd round For Dallas vs Rockets. It will be photoshop the pain all over again.
Crawford is a joke, he pretty much sealed his 'rep' in this game, and he will always be known as the guy who 'ruined' an otherwise classic matchup between the league's biggest rivals. On a side note, there is NOTHING better or more intense than a Spurs-Mavericks matchup. I think the NBA should cancel the whole playoffs and just play those two teams every other night for a month, and then let the best team have the trophy. OK, not really, but their games are that good. I would still have to place Suns-Mavericks as a close second.
1. I didn't watch the game so I had to learn the story from this report and the youtube clips. 2. I wouldn't think Duncan would have said that because as much as I've seen him complain to the refs, he never had that mean streak to call anyone anything. 3. I would believe Duncan over Crawford. Why? Because Duncan got thrown out WHEN HE WAS SITTING ON THE BENCH. There are a lot of anti-Spur and anti-Duncan posters coming through in this thread and I think this is beyond hating another Texas team. You can't let a ref dictate the outcome of a game especially when it is a non-play situation. If he made comments to Crawford, which I'll believe it now that he did, he should have gotten thrown out when he made the comments. But waiting for him to sit and laugh among his teammates? That's just basically trying to embarrass the player. Crawford probably thought in his head "Ok, he thinks he's a superstar? I'll see who gets the last laugh when I throw his ass out when he's sitting on the bench" And Kelly, you can't tell me you don't believe (even without Smith's article), that the refs tend to let things slide with the Mavericks. Almost all of their players are immune to fouling anyone (with the exception of some mental lapses by Howard and some retaliation moves by Stackhouse). Of course we can say the same thing about the Spurs, and other teams but the Mavericks has this force field given to them by the refs where they do no wrong.
Yeah right... Bavetta never got punished for any of his garbage, and he's practically got his own landfill by now. Nothing will happen to Crawford.
it's karma for that tip-in from Robinson back in 93 that shouldn't have counted and cost us homecourt against Seattle.
i need to see that. edit: LOL...i caught the foul at the end of the vid. that is ****ing funny...in an absurd kind of way.
I don't care how much you hate a team. I'd hate to see that happen even if it was the Mavericks, yeah I said it, the mavericks. You don't toss a player out of the game because he's talking about a call to teammates on the sidelines. Are you kidding me? It's not Duncan's fault Crawford has an inferiority complex.
The only good thing for us is that Spurs lost out on the second seed so Suns will hopefully rest their regular rotation.
NBA as a whole is becoming a big joke. Only 5-7 teams are good, the rest is garbage, and the games are so pathetic and predictable. The refs are just bunch of morons who influence the game way too much. And the national media only cover certain teams all year long. I am a lot less interested in the NBA than I am used to be. And I am not so sure if I will watch the playoffs thourghout.
Crawford is an ass. Period! I would love nothing more than to never see him officiate a game again. Crawford is a lot like Javie and a couple of other refs that think THEY are the show. Their EGOs are enormous and they "over" officiate games, give too many technicals so they can "control" the game. What is even more ridiculous is the sports casters who are calling these games always say "that guy is a great ref, he has a good control of the game etc etc." Bullcrap. Just because you are heavy handed doesn't mean you have control of the game or are a good ref. It just means you are imposing your will onto the game when it is not needed or wanted. The good refs are the refs you don't talk about, because those are the ones that blend in, the ones that aren't bigger than the game. The good refs are the ones that talk to the players, admit mistakes (no ego). And the good refs don't go "LOOKING" for a confrontation like Crawford and Javie do. They don't "walk away" from players. They engage. Crawford sucks!
But seriously though.... How long would Joey last against Tim Duncan in a fight? I would actually pay to watch it on PPV... ..even if it would last shorter than any Mike Tyson fights.
That most glaring proof that the NBA has a serious officiating problem is that just about anyone here can rattle off at least 5 names along with tendencies to go with them. Refs, if doing there job well, shouldn't be that noticeable at all. Dick Bevatta - very loosely interprets the game, giving major leeway to stars and home teams. Also hard to hate as a person - the best at having ballboys clean up phantom wet spots when a player gets hurt to avoid forcing that team to call a timeout. Jack Nies - decent but has a temper and quick whistle. Steve Javie - ditto, but absolutely the hottest temper in the game. Violet Palmer - just terrible and makes it worse by never backing down on even the worst calls. Joey Crawford - attention deficit, couples most calls with a 10-sec "look at me" act before making the actual calls. Gets into with players because he has control issues too. Danny Crawford - nothing major, IMO. Bernie Fryer - nothing awful. Bob Delaney - decent ref. Evan
If I remember correctly (maybe Kelly can help me out) Joey Crawford consistently gets one of the best year-end reviews from the players and coaches. This is really out of character.
