...well, the Knicks are down by 15 at the half vs the Mavs.
I guess Mark Cuban won't be donating another $500K to the
NBA's favorite charities tomorrow. But then, it's kinda
hard to say that the Knicks have a "Star", aint it?

BTW, I've read all the posts on both boards over the last
day or so. There seem to be 3 camps: Mavs fans who agree
with Cuban (give me a break, time to grow up, Cuban is
George Steinbrener of 20 yrs ago without the pot belly), the
NBA-in-training folks who recently arrived here who swear on
a stack of bibles that there's no such thing as keeping the
starters on the floor (aka the "star system", give me an
even bigger break, you guys take "the company line" to
completely new heights, anyone who's been around long
enough knows what this is about & how it works) and those
who acknowledge that the NBA refs are the best there are
and are doing their job. I'm in the third camp.

Sparky,
I'm a 3rd camper too.
I'd carry their bags if I could.
mick

Hear hear!

Hey, they've got Marcus Camby; the most famous UMASS hoop alum since Dr. J. Doesn't he count? I've always liked him, even though he's not the impact player some thought he'd be.

And there's always "The Felon". He's certainly famous; well, infamous. Does that count as being a star?

Quote:

I'm in the third camp.

I'm right there with ya, brother.

Chuck

I'm sorry I just have to speak my opinion on a few things.

I believe that the NFL have the best professional sports officials.

Secondly, I was watching a Mavs game and there was a *clear* phantom call. The camera went to Cuban right away. He was ticked and so he should have been. He has a point. I don't get to see many Mavs games being from Ontario, but those I do see, I pay more attention to the officials. I'm not saying that I support Cuban (he he is *funny*), but what I am saying is that I believe him when I also see phantom calls.

And there's the cosmetic calls. I'm sorry, but I just don't see any cosmetic calls in the NFL.

..Mike

I think Cuban is not a quick learner.

He either has too much money or does not get the point.

He may have a gripe from time to time but so would all the other coaches. You do not see them with these number of infringements.

I think the media has a lot to answer for. I was watching the Magic - Sixers game and the Magic took a pressure shot from way behind the 3 point line and the defender clearly got good contact on shooting arm. Now there was only 2 or 3 seconds left on the shot clock and unless my hearing is a problem they said it was a call that maybe should not have been made because the Sixers had done such a good job in defence in forcing the shot so late. Are they kidding. They supported the Sixers coach as having a right to be pissed off by the call.

"New Rule" If shot clock is 3 seconds or less there can not be a foul call!!!!

Go ahead and put me in the third camp as well. Without question the NBA officials are best at doing what they do.

The obvious arguement here is the potential influence that basketball officials have over the participation of the players. Since you mentioned football...
It made me think of the difference between the games when it comes to the influence of the official's calls on player participation.

Football: Red Cashion (sp?) could report that so-and-so was "giving him the business," but could never cause that player to be removed from the game because he "gave him the business" 5 times in a game.

Basketball: Of course we know that a player only has 5 fouls and they are out. (I know it is 6 in the pro game. I just forget because I don't watch it much anymore). In most cases if a player picks up 2 in the first half they are forced to the bench. The number of fouls a player is already charged with will influence the way they play the game. This gives basketball officials a greater influence on the participation of the star players.

Just a thought,
Mike

I hear ya. Football officials do have the right to remove a player from a game. It's called a disqualifying penalty. Almost every sport has it. The thing about football and its penalties, are that the penalties are suited perfectly for the game, just as fouls in bball are and the restriction that you only get 5 of them.

..Mike

Or on the game clock, either!! "Let the players decide the game!!!!"

Chuck

How about the new rule that players who are stupid enough to foul someone with 3 seconds or less on the shot clock are given a flagrant T for participating without a brain.