...well, after last night's game we had the by now requisite post game b1tch-n-moan sessions about the refs from the losing team. It's not even annoying anymore, at this point it's just getting really tedious, imo. Which got me thinking: what if the officials assigned to the first game of the finals decided to send a message by just not showing up. Of course for this to work they would have to convince all the other NBA officials to be out of town, cell phones off, dead batteries in their beepers. Can you imagine the scene? NBA brass scouring Dallas rec leagues in search of a ref 4 hours before game time, finally settling on 2 guys wearing black sweats, collared striped shirt, metal whistle and muddy worn out sneakers...untrimmed beard...60 lbs overweight...of course it would have to be 2 guys because they've never worked 3. In the first minute one of them would get into a fight with a courtside fan, threaten to go home if the arena isn't cleared in 20 minutes...of course could never happen, but it's fun to think about.

And while I'm at it....$90M to endorse sneakers???!!! You know these shoes will have to cost more than 3 day passes for a family of 4 to Disneyworld...

Well since DAN brought it up, here goes the longest thread of the day!! I am suprised that prior to lunch here on the east coast it hasn't really been touched on.
What happened to the days when you gave a coach a "T" and then walked away for both of you to calm down? Maybe this is why I am not in the NBA, ok that and "speed" is never used in the same sentence with my name unless "lack" is also in there. One of the things that was drilled into my head last season and over the summer in camps was IF you are going to run a coach, make sure everyone knows why. I don't see how staring warrants an ejection. This seems similar to the situation with Sloan in Utah. Had the official just walked away and let his partners handle it, perhaps the situation would have been resolved.
I know we are loath to criticize officals who do not post here, but could this fall under the "terrible warning" clause?

New Idea.
 

At least this is something that I have never heard before. Last night I went to a Basketball Camp that is run by a top IHSA Clinician and D1 Official (very well known) and stated this about giving Ts. The D1 Official told us, "it is not the job of your partners to calm down a coach after a T." He later went on to say, "it is the job of his coaching staff to do that." He basically was making it clear to us, that when a T happens, all officials should stay away and basically not give him a shot to criticize the "calling official" to the non-calling officials. Because if the coach starts calling the "calling official" an a$$ or a jerk, it is the job of his partners to take care of business.

Peace

Hmmm....I've been reading Earl Strom's book Calling the Shots. This sounds a lot like some of the situations Strom describes in the NBA of the '50s - '60s!