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Sun Mar 27, 2005, 02:16am
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An old friend of mine from High School recently married a former NBA player, NBA assistant coach and current CBA coach. They are back in town visiting her family so my wife and I went to dinner with them a few nights ago and I got to meet him for the first time. Real nice guy and of course he and I bored the wives with a lot of basketball talk. Picked up some interesting insights from him that I thought everyone might enjoy.
He said that officiating is an impossible job, however he can't help himself, he just dislikes all officials. The officials that aggravate him the most are the ones that absolutely refuse to talk to him about anything. He said that if they will at least answer a question he can live with the call. Sometimes he really just has a question and isn't trying to "set up" the official. NBA and CBA refs need to communicate with players, but if they want their respect they can't take too much crap off of them and should not hesitate to T them up when they ask for it. He said that the officials that appear a little uncertain get eaten alive by the players. He feels that coaches have to work the officials; he also feels that officials work the coaches as well and believes that it is nothing personal, just part of the game. NBA officials don't hesitate to use profanity when telling players or coaches to be quiet. The term "shut the #### up is often used by officials. The NBA was still using two officials when he first came into the league and went to three person a few years later. He said it made a big difference in how much he could get away with. As both a player and coach he prefers two person crews because players can get away with more. The NBA was more physical in the 80's than it is now. Officials do treat the star players differently. He said there were several times when he played with Charles Barkley that a foul committed by Charles was given to him. When he complained to the official they would tell him "you don't want Barkley to foul out do you?" Charles Barkley is a great guy. There was more but it probably came after the 8th or 9th beer so my memory might be a little foggy. 
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Sun Mar 27, 2005, 09:38am
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Quote:
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"Some guys they just give up living, and start dying little by little, piece by piece. Some guys come home from work and wash-up, and they go Racing In The Street." - Springsteen, 1978
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