violet is such a douche bag. ugh. and whoever called the game when the rockets played the mavs in game 5 with the michael finley out of bounds bs.
OP, Joey Crawford consistently rates out as one of the top refs year-in and year-out. He really let the Duncan thing get out of control, but he refs one of the fairest games of all. In my opinion, Bennett Salvatore is the worst, and by a wide margin.
Maybe he doesn't fall for the Spurs' acting. I do know that the players review the refs every year, and while the league doesn't publish the rankings, some of it slips out. Joey Crawford is among the top few every year.
And this is bad because? The Spurs are the most consistently advantaged team with the other refs due to their flopping - do you really think the Spurs foul less and get fouled more than other teams? I think it is their techniques. And Bowen's fouls per game is so stinkin low - I think all the refs are scared of being kicked by the martial artist. he has hands all over Tmac and Kobe and 98% don't get called.
Laker's fans hate him too. He calls to many techs. In Game 2 of the 2003 playoffs, Crawford ejected Mavericks head coach Don Nelson in the first quarter for not returning to the bench in a timely fashion, then ejected Mavericks assistant Del Harris later in the game. In the first two games of the series, Crawford's crew called 120 personal fouls and 9 technicals.
All the NBA refs, don't know if it's current. http://www.covers.com/pageLoader/pageLoader.aspx?page=/data/nba/referees/referees.html&t=0 Being a ref in the NBA is different then being one in the NFL or MLB. The game is more fast paced, less stoppage inbetween plays, and more interpretation of what the rules are. Star treatment is more prevalent but it is the stars that everyone wants to watch, not the Ryan Bowens of the world.
that's why old dick(s) should be out the game already, if they can't beat an old and fat chuckster. i mean how are able to see any action if you can't keep up the pace of the game?
Tony Brothers is eternally on my sh-tlist for that horrible call in Game 2, but Violet Palmer wins hands down. I was at the Rockets-Fakers game early in the season(the one where T-Mac hurt his elbow, not the 22nd straight win). She was HORRIBLE!!! She must've called about a half dozen fouls on the Rockets in the first 5 minutes and L.A. had maybe one foul at most. The whole crowd was riding her and deservedly so. I've never seen a ref essentially take over a game like that and turn the entire arena against her. And someone clearly had a little talk with her at halftime cuz she hardly ever blew her whistle in the 2nd half.
Seriously, after the last 4-5 years of playoff basketball, there is not ONE ref I would trust a game with (outside of maybe Steve Javie). They all suck, and that is not me being over-dramatic. It seems like none of the refs have been trained to analyze situations when making calls. And honestly, the refs are just the tip of the iceberg....any and all problems with the league begin and end with that smug SOB David Stern. He and Bud Selig need to be exiled to the same island as Bud Addams.
OK, maybe Salvatore IS the worst ref. That call on Pierce ranks up near the top as one of the worst ever. He should be ashamed of himself.
