I always did like dierker's style.... http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/3167108 ON BASEBALL An ex-manager can relate to Van Gundy By LARRY DIERKER Special to the Chronicle I don't know Jeff Van Gundy. But I feel for him. I really do. I haven't watched every Rockets game, but I've watched enough to know that the NBA referees have called Yao Ming for more than his fair share of fouls. ADVERTISEMENT Because Van Gundy watches a lot of videotape, he has to endure it over and over again. It had to be hard to keep a lid on it, but he did — until this week. Now it's the same player but a different "point of emphasis." I agree with Yao, who merely said he thinks Van Gundy knows more about basketball than Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. I think he knows more than NBA commissioner David Stern, too. Do I believe a referee told Van Gundy that the officials were instructed to pay particular attention to Yao's moving screens? Yes, I do. I don't think it's the kind of story anyone would invent. Did Cuban send tapes to the league office? I don't know. But in view of the situation, I think the Rockets should make a highlight tape of their own. It wouldn't be hard to assemble about 100 fouls that Yao committed while standing still with his hands in the air. Over and over, I have watched play- ers throw a shoulder into him, shovel the ball over him and go to the line for free throws. Do I think Van Gundy cares about this issue? Of course I do. He's getting paid to care. What does David Stern care about? Apparently, he cares about how Van Gundy's words sound to fans. I admit they sound an alarm. They sound like the refs have marching orders before the games start. That makes the league look bad, and guess who runs the league? It sounds to me like Van Gundy made his statements out of frustration and Stern made his in cold anger. Frustrations of 2000 In 2000, when I was managing the Astros, we had a horrible year, and it seemed like every time we lost a close game, some reporter asked me, "How frustrating is it?" After that question was asked for the umpteenth time, I got mad and let it show. "What do you mean, how frustrating?" I snarled. "Do you want me to rate frustrating on a scale of 1 to 10?" I lost my cool during postgame sessions when we were in the playoffs, too. It isn't easy to be calm and collected when you feel like a human pinball machine. The point is that I cared, just like Van Gundy cares. It's tough to accept a bad call that changes the outcome of a game — baseball or basketball. But it happens. I think the umpires gave their best effort. I think basketball referees do the same thing. But they still miss a lot of calls, and it's, well, you know ... And it has to be especially galling to learn that the officials are being advised to pay particular attention to one of your players. Perhaps the worst thing about this whole mess is that Stern says it's not over yet. He wants Van Gundy to name the official who told him about the point of emphasis. Fat chance. Would you tell him? I wouldn't. Not if I wanted to keep coaching. If Van Gundy named the guy, there would be an unofficial "point of emphasis" in every game he coached. Let Cuban foot bill In view of the fines Stern has levied on other coaches who criticized NBA referees, Van Gundy's statement was indiscreet, to say the least. He will likely have to fork over $100,000. Maybe he can get Cuban to pay it. He's used to paying fines. Larry Dierker is a former manager of the Astros and a baseball commentator. His column appears weekly during baseball season.
