[drothamel]

BktBall--

You bring up another point. I forgot to mention those things you said, but they come to mind now also. There was in intentional foul in one of the games yesterday (don't remember which one, NC State maybe?) which are pretty rare, and I have seen at least 3 palming/illegal dribbles. Again, I think that all of those calls were right on the money, but you are probably right about the officials acting under a directive from the top. I just wish we would see it during the regular season, I actually think it makes the games much better. Although I also realize that these are the best officials in the game, so we can't expect them to do every game. It is kind of the opposite of playoff officiating in most sports, where the officiating seems to get a bit looser. Not that the officiating in the tournament has gotten any tighter, it just seems more efficient, I guess I would say. Again, though, that is why these fellas are the best in the business.