That's good Chris! Can I use if if I ever cut my rap album? On a related topic (way off topic for basketball, but entertaining) as a teacher, some years I let the students come up with every amusing variation of my last name and write them on the board. It's fun and we have a lot of laughs, and then I tell them that none will be appropriate for the rest of the year except Mr. Junker. It's kind of a fun way of getting rid of the nicknames and such.

No offense, but you guys are all missing the point of the fine and the threat of banishment. They are not for complaining about the refs. They are b/c van Gundy refused to cooperate with the league's investigation of who might have leaked information about the officiating to him.

There is a league by-law (Article 24, I believe) that requires cooperation with any league investigation. Since van Gundy would not reveal who told him that Ming was a "target", he got slapped down hard.

This is not about complaining. This is about defiance of the league office.

Not all of us miss the point Chuck.

Interesting article:

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Commissioner could have more stern words for Jeff Van Gundy

BY FRANK ISOLA

New York Daily News


NEW YORK - (KRT) - Jeff Van Gundy's dispute with NBA commissioner David Stern is not his first, but it could be his last.

Stern is expected to meet with Van Gundy after the Houston Rockets' season concludes to determine whether Van Gundy should receive an additional penalty - incredibly, Stern isn't ruling out a lifetime ban - for claiming that an unnamed NBA referee informed him that the league would be "looking harder at Yao (Ming)" because of complaints to the league office from Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.

On Monday, Stern fined Van Gundy $100,000 - a record for a coach - after the coach refused to reveal the identity of the official. Van Gundy was unavailable for comment Tuesday, but people close to the Rockets coach said Van Gundy will continue to stand by his story even if it costs him his job.

"It's funny, reporters who use sources for their stories are saying that Jeff should either give up his source or they are writing that he made the whole thing up," said a person close to Van Gundy. "I know two things: He didn't make it up and he's not going to turn in anyone."

The same source believes Stern's feud with Van Gundy is "personal" and that it dates back to 1997 when Van Gundy coached the Knicks. Eight years ago, Stern summoned Van Gundy to his office and reprimanded him for comments he made after the Knicks' infamous brawl with the Miami Heat during their second-round playoff series.

The Knicks had criticized the league for suspending Patrick Ewing for leaving the bench area even though Ewing was standing 30 feet from the melee. The Knicks, who had a 3-1 series lead, lost to Miami in seven games. Several years later, David Robinson committed a similar sin during a playoff game but was not suspended.

Coincidentally, Van Gundy and Stern have been on the same side when it comes to accusations about league-wide conspiracies. After the Knicks eliminated the Pacers in the 1999 Eastern Conference finals, Reggie Miller said the league and its then television partner, NBC, wanted the Knicks in the NBA Finals.

In 2000, several Miami Heat players made similar comments after the Knicks won a grueling seven-game, second-round series. Former Heat point guard Tim Hardaway even went so far as to say, "no wonder they call Dick Bavetta, Knick Bavetta."

Van Gundy responded to Hardaway's criticism in 2000 by saying, "I think they are attacking the credibility of the league. In 1999 (the criticism of the officials) went without any repercussions. I don't know what the repercussions are going to be this year. I was just disappointed."

Van Gundy anticipated being fined for his most recent comments but was surprised by the severity of the fine, especially after Mavs coach Avery Johnson was fined just $10,000 for berating referee Joey Crawford after Dallas lost Game 1.

It is not uncommon for teams to lobby complaints to the league office about the way certain players are being officiated. Shaquille O'Neal is usually at the top of that list. Van Gundy was merely stating that the league, acting on Cuban's complaints, would be looking to Yao more closely when he sets screens. It was Van Gundy's contention that Cuban's constant bickering was being rewarded. He never said there was a conspiracy against Yao or the Rockets.

In fact, on the same day Van Gundy made his comments, Seattle coach Nate McMillan issued a similar warning after Kings coach Rick Adelman complained about the Sonics' physical play.

Stu Jackson, the NBA's VP of basketball operations, was not available to comment Tuesday regarding Van Gundy's case. Jackson is Van Gundy's neighbor in Westchester, N.Y., and was responsible for giving Van Gundy his first college coaching job at Providence and later hired Van Gundy as one of his assistants with the Knicks.

---

© 2005, New York Daily News.

I think that this is more than just complaining about the officiating. Many of coaches (and a certain owner) have done that and been fined. However, he was implying that the NBA was rigging the playoffs and his team was the victim of a plan to help Dallas get to the second round. That is what is different about this situation.

I have no problem with the league telling the officials to watch a certain player if he is regularly breaking the rules. I know that I have told partners "watch #52 she is doing this or #10 is always camping out in the lane" I don't see how this is much different. The league noticed that a player was getting away with something illegal and asked the officials to enforce the rules.

Maybe, just maybe the league never made that kind of point at all. The NBA reviews tape on a nightly basis. All NBA officials during the regular season (I am sure it continues in the playoffs to some extent) have a meeting nightly with video and conference about good plays and bad plays. It is possible that many plays come up featuring Yao Ming. Maybe he was getting away with things the league felt were illegal.

I always find it funny when people say the league officials turn a blind eye to what the stars do and try not to call fouls in their favor. Yao Ming is supposed to be a star right? I though Duncan was a star as well? Was that foul in the SA-Denver game the other night a good call that fouled out Duncan? The NBA conspiracy theorist cannot have it both ways. Either the league protects the stars or the target the stars. I guess the NBA wants LA or New York to win the championship. I almost forgot neither team made the playoffs. But the Detroit Pistons is a team that has no real superstar and a player that got T'd up more than he won playoff games and this is the current NBA Champion.

:rolleyes:

Peace

Poor choice of words, sorry. I meant the people in this thread who commented on the big fine for complaining. All the people who focused on the complaining were missing the point. Not the smart guys like us, Dan. :D

Many say that to be an NBA official is the pinnacle of officiating, they are the best in the game. Then how does Salvatore miss that call??? Barry gets rebound, Salvatore is lead, becomes new trail, nobody hounding Barry after the rebound, yet doesn't see Finley out of bounds????

I cannot watch the NBA, it is not basketball. It is entertainment. When the best officials in the world continually allow 3-5 steps just to allow a spectacular dunk, that alone tells me that the rules of basketball (according to Dr. Naismith) are second in priority, at best.

The 2004 Olympic games proved to me that the best basketball is played outside of the US and that the best officials are not in the NBA.

Show me a game that does not have officials miss calls, I will show you fantasy land. Officials miss calls. If all officials were perfect, every official would work the playoffs. Also I did not see an angle that showed Finley was definitely on the line. Now maybe there was one, but the angle that I saw the most of was the normal TV view. I could not at all tell if he was on the line and that is not the angle the official was looking from.

If we went by the rules that Naismith created, there would be no dribbling and many of the current rules at all levels would not be present. The game that was originally created has not been seen in well over 70 years.

I have seen many Olympic Games, you really cannot tell me these guys are the best or the system they use is the best. That has to be the funniest thing you have said in this post. FIBA officials, the best officials in the world? :rolleyes:

Peace

Good grief. Whatever you think of the NBA, you cannot possibly think that the officiating in Athens was good. It was not. If you want concrete examples, look back through the old threads in this forum from last summer. It was ugly.

Best played? Maybe, who knows.

Best officiated?

Not by what they demonstrated during the Olympics. Not by a longshot.

If I remember correctly most of the officials in Athens were not even the top European officials. The European pro league was fighting with FIBA about something and their officials didn't come. The officials from Europe were from a 2nd tier league. At least I remember something like that. Whatever happened the officiating was pretty bad especially because they were working 2-person.

I described the play. Salvatore is probably one of the highest paid officials in the world. My point is that being one of the best officials, he shouldn't have missed THIS call. I don't expect these guys to get ever call right, never said that. I would expect an elite official to get this call right though.

I see you didn't refute my comment on NBA officials allowing 3-5 steps just to allow spectacular dunks. That was really my point. Obviously, the rules have evolved, hence the yearly NFHS changes!! NBA officials basically ignore their rules to allow certain events to happen. That's fine with me, the NBA is just entertainment.

Never said that FIBA officials were the best. I saw two-man crews do a heck of a job, consistently, officiating games with the best players from around the world. Heck, I even think that some of the best officials working are in the NCAA.

Constancy is not a word that comes to mind when I think of the Olympics (unless it is consistently bad). The officials seemed to be in survival mode. Just trying to get thought the games. The Olympics officials also let the benches get out of control which had nothing to do with working two-person. They did a very bad job of game management in my opinion.

NBA officials are the most highly trained, consistent & disciplined officials on the planet. If they let players take 3 or 4 steps as you say they do it's because the league wants them to do it that way. (Reread my first sentence if this is a new concept for you.) If you have a problem with how the game is called b1tch about David Stern & Stu Jackson, not the officials.

I agree with Dan on this one. The officials call the game based on league directives. These are the best baskeball officials on the planet because they come out of the best officiating pool on the planet. I used to have trouble watching the NBA, because the game is so different from college. The more of it I watch now, however, the more you realize that it is because of the talent of the players. These guys make very difficult things look very routine.

As for the perceived blown call, even the best are going to make a mistake. If he did blow that call, I will guarantee you that he knows about it, and I am sure that it bothered him, just like it would any of us. I mean, the best athletes in the world make mistakes in the biggest games of their lives, why wouldn't equally good officials be just as vulnerable?