If this isn't a coach who believes in his team and will fight for it...wow. I expect to see some fireworks tonight...
JVG still has a long ways to go. I sure hope Les helps covers this since his coach is doing something he is supposed to be doing.
TV Ad idea: Scratch bandaid: $15 Hair growth gel: $34 Fines for criticizing officials: $100,000 Helping your team to win the a championship: Priceless For everthing else, there is master card...
WOW! JVG is taking one for the team. The little guy dare show up The Overlord, I mean David Stern. I may actually learn to eventually tolerate JVG as Rockets coach. I doubt I'll ever like him, but I might be able to live with him as Rockets coach in a non-confrontational kind of way.
Its just starting to, they talked about it on Around The Horn, they probably will talk about it on PTI and Sportscenter. Its already on the frontpage of ESPN.com and SI.com--its starting to make its rounds to all the big national newspapers' websites as well...
Where the f**K is Yang Yi and all those flower reporters now when you actually need them? !! China better be waking up to these series of news in 3 hours.
That fine-amount is absolutely ridiculous. Cuban had to spout off many, many times about the officials before getting up to that level. This is a fine that basically says "Sit down, shut up and don't dare to go against me again". Stern's knee-jerk, over-the-top response does nothing but bring about more questions as to why they would be so angry about the criticism leveled by JVG. Maybe the truth hurts, eh, Mr. Stern?
Whats next? Will the NBA fine me $10 for sending them an email where I stated the truth about how much the referees suck?
They are in bed. Let's make some noise, NBA is dirty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
it's not really on the frontpage its just on the headlines section of the website..thats where all the fines go frontpage=picture and big letters
Yao, your coach donates 100,000 to buy you 10 more minutes on the courts, it is your turn to show up.
$100,000 FREAKIN DOLLARS?! SCREW THE NBA! this is more reason for me as a fan to hate the NBA. But I do love the Rockets.
WOW, I didn't know JVG just made history! Fine largest ever for an NBA coach -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Associated Press DALLAS -- The NBA fined Houston Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy $100,000 -- the largest amount ever for a coach -- on Monday, a day after he accused officials of targeting center Yao Ming this postseason and said Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was to blame. Speaking to three reporters at the team hotel in Dallas on Sunday night, Van Gundy said a referee not working the playoffs called him and warned that officials "were looking at Yao harder because of Mark's complaints" to the league office. He said that Cuban "has been hard on them," and "he's gotten the benefit." "I didn't think that really worked in the NBA, but in this case it has," Van Gundy said, declining to identify the official he spoke to. At a shootaround Monday before Game 5 of the series, Van Gundy said: "I stand by what I said. I believe it. I know what was told to me, and I've seen how it played out." That was hours before the fine was announced. At the time, Van Gundy said he'd only been told not to say anything more about it. "I didn't expect them to come out and say it was true, though," Van Gundy said. The series was tied at two games each going into Monday's fifth game, which was to be attended by NBA commissioner David Stern. Van Gundy said he got a call from his friend who is an official after Houston took a 2-0 lead. The coach said he was told the targeting of Yao was mentioned in an online evaluation from supervisor of officials Ronnie Nunn. "No such directive was given to the officials regarding Yao Ming or any other player or team in the playoffs," NBA vice president Stu Jackson said in a statement released late Sunday to reporters from KRIV-TV, The New York Times and the Houston Chronicle, the three media outlets present when Van Gundy made his comments. Cuban, who has been fined more than $1 million since buying the team five years ago, said in an e-mail that the accusations were "crazy" and "an insult to officials." He also noted that Dallas center Erick Dampier has picked up quick fouls in every game in this series. "They don't officiate individual players differently," Cuban wrote. Cuban said the team sent the league a list of plays it thought should've been called moving screens on Yao and backup Dikembe Mutombo. He said the league responded that "nine were actually moving screens and should have been called but were not." "So if anything, he has it completely backward," Cuban said. Yao fouled out of Game 1 in 20 minutes. He had four fouls in Game 2, when he made 13 of 14 shots and scored 33 points, then had five fouls in each of the last two games. Dampier fouled out of Game 4 in 18 minutes. He had five fouls in 19 minutes of Game 3. Both coaches have been fined during the series. Dallas' Avery Johnson was penalized $10,000 for his confrontation with official Joey Crawford following Game http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=2051807&type=story
