Flopping epidemic strikes Cleveland, Rockets lose December 24, 12:26 AM by David Hartnett Seldom do I find it necessary to publicly criticize the officiating of any athletic event. I think most can agree that officials at all level are placed in a difficult situation. Their job is often thankless, and there always remains the distinct realization that most of their decisions are going to be second-guessed on a routine basis. With that being said, the officials who officiated the game between the Rockets and Cavaliers ought to donate whatever money they earned as a result of officiating the game. That isn't to say the officiating decided the outcome of the game. However, for anyone to not at the very least acknowledge the officiating inhibited the Rockets — especially Yao Ming — would be grossly underestimating the referees impact. So in the game, which saw the Cavaliers defeat the Rockets 99-90, other possible storylines were neglected for something that never should be discussed — questionable calls. In the game which featured the return of Rafer Alston, a compelling matchup between LeBron James and the duo of Ron Artest and Shane Battier and Tracy McGrady’s knee seeming to give him problems in the fourth game of a five-day stretch — none of that matters. The discussion during and following the game were and will remain in regards to the officiating. The first highly questionable call came in the second quarter, when Yao attempted to back down his defender Anderson Varejao. However, before Yao could get near the basket, the Brazilian hopped backwards and fell to the floor as though he was attempting to sell if he struck in a professional wrestling ring. Having already sat on the bench due to two foul calls in the first quarter, this call forced the big man from China to sit out the rest of the half. Of course, when the third quarter began and Yao was back on the court you knew it was only a matter of time before Yao received another foul and forced to sit again. This foreseen occurrence happened less than a minute into the third quarter, as Yao — positioned at the post— attempted a head fake in order to drive towards the basket. However, any attempt to get to the basket failed as Ben Wallace flailed his head back, portraying as though he was struck with a right cross. The officials (more than likely just seeing Wallace’s head rock back and not actually seeing the “contact” that occurred) blew their whistle and Yao was sent to the bench yet again. No foul offensive occurred in either of the after mentioned situation, yet Yao was forced to deal with the consequences and the team suffered. To be blunt, the officials rewarded those who flopped. The Rockets kept the game close with Yao on the bench in the first half, but hoping to stay close with a team as talented as Cleveland without their best player seemed a risky proposition and eventually their luck ran out. The Cavaliers managed to go on a run and expand their lead to nine going into the fourth. Finally, with Yao back on the court in the fourth and able to avoid any suspicious offensive foul calls, the Rockets managed a 15-2 run to bring the deficit to only three points. However, the strong 3-point shooting which was prevalent for much of the night eventually faded, and with it went the Rockets chances for victory. Yao demonstrated what he could do against the Cavs defense when given the opportunity to play more than two to three minutes at a time, as he scored 15 of the Rockets' 24 points in the final quarter. This of course begs the question, how would the game have turned out if Yao had played more than 11 minutes in the first half and one in the third quarter. For the Cavaliers, LeBron is the same LeBron we hear so glowingly by fans, media members and players alike. He is the most physically gifted player, arguably the best player in the league —and demonstrated why such accolades are given to him Tuesday. A 27-point, nine rebound, and five assist game may seem like a special outing for most players, but it seems to be a normal night for James. “King James” made key plays in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter, including a highlight reel block Yao which was not only awe-inspiring, but certainly to become a YouTube favorite and continuously replayed on all sports highlight programs. While there has been much criticism given towards the officiating in the game (and rightfully so) it should be noted and made clear the officials didn’t cause the Rockets to lose by nine. The blame lies squarely upon the shoulders of every member of the Houston Rockets. The officials didn’t cause T-Mac to be a non-factor nor did they allow the Cavaliers to get offensive rebounds or have the Cavs shoot nearly 49% from the field. Even with all the foul trouble Yao had early in the game, in the fourth quarter opportunities presented itself for the Rockets to either tie, or in one instance take a one-point lead. The Rockets had many opportunities to claim a road victory — yet they failed to make the critical shot. This loss is on them, not the officials. Yet sadly, Tuesday’s game won’t be remembered for its outcome, or the shortcomings various Rockets had. Rather the key theme, which will resonate from those who watched the competition was the fact the NBA seems to reward its players who purposely mislead the officials and certain officials are unwilling to stand up and stop such blatant transgressions. http://www.examiner.com/x-1154-Hous...pping-epidemic-strikes-Cleveland-Rockets-lose Lock if posted.
The refs basically said Merry Christmas to the Cavaliers for the first three quarters, then finally decided to give a little to the Rockets in the fourth. Terrible officiating always leads to game changing effects. Even if the refs did not win the game for the Cavaliers, they might as well have given them the victory before tip-off. Atleast that way we could have rested our players.
I really wish someone in the national media with some clout or a big time forum would call these refs out for the way they ref Yao. That offensive foul on Wallace was probably the dumbest foul I've see called all year.
Yeah, I meant to say besides JVG because someone like Barkley, Kenny, or someone on one of ESPN's shows would have more impact.
barkley would be the only one to have enough balls to speak out against the league. too bad he's a yao hater.
aren't there three officials on the floor, watching from different angles? for example, say the ref standing behind varejao saw his head flop back. Ofcourse he might assume Yao made the contact, and blown the whistle. But what are the other refs doing? If they had a better angle, wouldn't it be natural to reverse the call? I know it happens very occasionally, but never enough. Is there some brotherhood amongst refs, where overruling a call is a cardinal sin? Stab your fellow brother in arms in the back? Surely it's better to make the right call, than face the slight embarrasment of being overruled. This needs to be enforced.
The game might be fixed. At lease there is something you should know about one of the refs for this particular game. game info from yahoo: Technical Fouls: Houston - Y. Ming 1, R. Artest 1. Cleveland - Z. Ilgauskas 1 Arena: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH Attendance: 20,562 Officials: Phil Robinson, Rodney Mott, Scott Foster Duration: 2:11 Old story from FoxNews: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,381842,00.html Here is one part of the article. Enjoy reading. "Calls between Foster, 41, and Donaghy, also 41, took place immediately before and after 54 of the 57 games Donaghy officiated from the beginning of the 2006-2007 season until mid-March, when his role in the gambling operation apparently ended. Records also show a vast majority of the calls came in the hours before or after games officiated by Donaghy or Foster. Donaghy’s phone records for one of those days, Dec. 30, obtained by Fox News, reveal the following: — 10:34 a.m. – Donaghy calls Foster. — 10:35 a.m. – Donaghy calls another referee. — 10:36 a.m. – Donaghy calls Martino, the “middleman” between him and his bookie. — 10:39 a.m. – Donaghy calls Foster. — 5:15 p.m. – Donaghy calls Martino. — 5:23 p.m. – Donaghy calls Martino. — 7 p.m. – Donaghy referees game between the Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic. The Magic win in a rout, 97-68. — 8 p.m. – Foster referees a game between the Toronto Raptors and the Memphis Grizzlies in Memphis. The Grizzlies win 110-104. Foster and Donaghy speak 12 minutes after the game. — 11:27 p.m. – Foster and Donaghy speak for at least the fourth time of the day. — 11:38 p.m. – Foster and Donaghy speak for at least the fifth time of the day. The following day, Donaghy spoke with Foster at 1:37 p.m., for two minutes. One minute later, at 1:40 p.m., Donaghy spoke to Martino, also for two minutes."
nah dude, the one on landry was worse, landry caught the ball stopped and managed to knock varejoi over with a pump fake! that takes skill right there, i hate that floppy haired brazilian piece of ****, seriously how do any cleveland fans like him after what he did last year? he's not good enough to hold out on a team...i can't decide who i hate more him, bruce bowen, or raja bell...blah
Yeah, it's a toss up between those two fouls. I hate anyone who plays for Utah more than Bowen, Bell or Varejao. Except Derron Williams, he actually plays the game like a man and doesn't flop.
too long too conservative to be boring !!!! it's the game about passion and fair play, the referee should clean their eyes in what a important game.Quality game need quality referee
Not sure if anyone/everyone noticed, but this is an article by an amateur writer who just happens to be a passionate Rockets fan. Just in case people were thinking this was from an unbias 3rd party. Carry on.
Cavaliers wins against Wizards in a close match Few seconds left, Caron Butler offensive foul (Ben Wallace draws the foul), Wizards turnover. Cavaliers is damn lucky.
