This is a pretty good description of why the NBA seems inconsistenet to fans. Good stuff. <i>Cuban remains spokesman for a cause NBA Notebook By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle You too, for just $1 million in fines and donations to charity, could get to play NBA crusader and Dairy Queen manager. You will need to have some official role somewhere in the NBA, a long rap sheet of infractions and a media thirsty for your clever comments. But rip the officials or the league with just a bit of maliciousness, and you can have all the attention you desire -- and get to work the soft serve machine. Mark Cuban might have a point. It is hard to tell because he is so self-serving about it. It's easy to take shots at the officials and the league's paranoid insistence on protecting them from Cuban's tantrums. No one roots for the officials. "I think it's justified," Sonics owner Howard Schultz said of Cuban's latest fine. "There's a better way to communicate frustrations, and it should be behind closed doors. He has to understand that his remarks are actually more divisive to him and the league. He should grow up." But when Joey Crawford, long one of the league's best officials, went haywire on Thursday, there seemed to be a need for Cuban's bombast. The league created that need. The Rockets wouldn't do it. Officially, coaches and players are permitted to say officials missed a call as long as they are not derogatory and do not question the integrity or competence of the officials. A call may be criticized as long as the official who called it isn't. But after Cuban was hit with a $500,000 fine last week (he maintained his vow to match his fines with increasingly generous donations) for his repeated criticism of game officials, no one seems willing to test where the line between permissible and Cuban territory is drawn. NBA vice president Stu Jackson also would not comment on the call, and Crawford really does not have a forum to comment. Instead, fans are left to fill in the blanks themselves, proving it is better when dealing with a mistake to own up than to cover up. Steve Francis was thrown out of Thursday's game on his way to a career night, having been hit with one technical foul that was dubious at best and a second technical foul that was malicious. Crawford's cry of "That's a technical, get the hell out" was clearly audible in the arena and on the tape of the television broadcast. Clearer elbows are thrown after rebounds in every game. Karl Malone even hit Francis in the back of the head moments before Francis picked up his first-half technical foul. Francis came nowhere near John Stockton and didn't seem to be trying to. Rather than an elbow, he seemed to be flailing like the Lost in Space robot. Crawford's integrity cannot be questioned. And after so many years, he has earned the right to blow a call, though not necessarily with so much relish. But by failing to address the play, the league seemed to be covering up. If it believed Crawford was right, given the circumstances it should have said so. If it believed Crawford erred, it would have even served his interests to admit he made a simple mistake, rather than leave the door open for anyone to think there was something more to it than that. Instead, it became fair to wonder if Crawford has a personal grudge with Francis, whether he was making a point instead of just another call. The league did nothing to refute Cuban's argument that it is more interested in maintaining power than improving officiating. To fans who heavily invest financially and emotionally in the NBA, the league did nothing but let Francis slide on the $500 fine for the second technical foul. Officials would not like it if the NBA would admit particularly egregious, game-changing mistakes, as the NFL does. But no one could then say the league looked the other way. And it would be much harder for Cuban to argue the league does not care about the quality of its product. Instead, he remains the spokesman for a cause, instead of just another billionaire with a basketball team and a chance to play ice cream man for a day.</i>
Thanks for posting that Jeff. I do not understand why the NBA or Joey Crawford himself can not simply admit that it was a bogus call. That simple action would clear up the whole matter. All we want is for the error to be addressed. It has already been recognized by the NBA's motion to recind the fine levied against Francis for the second tech, but that is not enough. There needs to be an official apoligy or recognition by the league officials, if not Joey Crawford himself, for this whole thing to blow over. I'm even willing to go as far as to say that Cuban would tone it down if the league took this step. Unfortunately it may be years before they will accept some responsibitly and possibly even penalize officials for making bone head calls.
It's the good ol' boys network, and Mark Cuban doesn't fit their style. He's actually a fan that is trying to make the league more fun and entertaining, not a tired suit worrying about the luxury tax, wondering if a guy's shorts are to low, and worrying about how they're going to make the league better while screwing the fans. Obviously guys like Feigan are going to take the popular root, any other way hurts their access to information that some of these owners give him. Anybody with half a brain can see that officiatin is terrible because it's running unchecked. There's no reprecussions for an official on an ego trip. But when someone steps up and tries to do something about it they're mocked and called an egomaniac and then everybody starts pointing out how much money they have. The NBA's ticket sales, merchandising, ratings and popularity are plummeting. They have a young, energetic, exciting and fun-loving owner who is trying to breathe life into a tired league and all of the "good ol' boys" are lining up to try to beat him down and it's a shame. We need more Cubans and less Sterns, and Crawfords, and Feigans, and "good ol' boys".
