mike mathis audio, a must listen on nba

[boiseball]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/column...ris&id=2947549

and then go to audio on the side and look for mike mathis audio, he has the sounds of a bitter nba ref and really attacks the way nba refs are trained and supervised and basically talks like the nba has extremely subpar officials, a must listen

[rainmaker]

Originally Posted by boiseball

a must listen

Must listen to this garbage..... why???

[Nevadaref]

Why would someone who officiated in the NBA for 25 years and worked 12 Finals be bitter? Perhaps he bristles at the mention of "criminal" activity from an NBA official. Afterall, he was one of those who plead guilty in the tax evasion scandal.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Mathis

[Scrapper1]

Originally Posted by Nevadaref

Why would someone who officiated in the NBA for 25 years and worked 12 Finals be bitter?

As you mentioned, he was caught in the ticket laundering scandal. Maybe he's bitter about how the NBA booted him for 2 years before letting him back in, or about something else that happened right before he retired.

[canuckrefguy]

Originally Posted by rainmaker

Must listen to this garbage..... why???

Ummm - because multiple perspectives on an issue are good....??

[rainmaker]

Originally Posted by canuckrefguy

Ummm - because multiple perspectives on an issue are good....??

I'm not sure that bitter diatribe is a legitimate "perspective".

[JRutledge]

I have to agree with Juulie on this. The ranting of Mathis does not make his opinions any more credible. It was clear when I listened to him on ESPN today that he was clearly bitter and does not like David Stern. I would not call his opinions a must listen on any level. It is just another opinion and he was a former NBA official.

Peace

[zebraman]

While I was working out today, Jim Rome was interviewing Mathis. He is definitely bitter. He criticized everything that has ever been done in the world of NBA officiating that did not benefit him. It was pretty pathetic. Huge chip on his shoulder.

[Dan_ref]

Originally Posted by rainmaker

I'm not sure that bitter diatribe is a legitimate "perspective".

Not a big Michael Moore fan I see.

[BktBallRef]

Originally Posted by Dan_ref

Not a big Michael Moore fan I see.

That would make two of us.

[rainmaker]

Originally Posted by Dan_ref

Not a big Michael Moore fan I see.

You're right, I'm not. Not because I don't agree with his opinions, although I don't always, but because I don't think that polarizing people against each other is a good way to solve problems. But I don't think solving problems is really his goal.

[boiseball]

apparently it was not a must listen; just thought some fellow refs would find it interesting, I figured he must have a chip on his shoulder. I still found myself believing that there is likely some truth to it, particularly his discussion of accountability, how is it that the nba has so many phantom calls, so many calls where you just scratch your head and say, wow that must have been a guess. I do not watch a lot of basketball anymore but my opinion, and it is not something you can prove, is that phantom calls rarely occur in college basketball while they occur regularly in an nba game. And phantom calls are completely different than making calls to benefit superstars (which I hate but may not be the fault of referees if that is what the league preaches).