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July 22, 2007
Ref could ruin NBA's rep
Stray offseason thoughts, just back from a vacation:
Friday had to be no fun for David Stern. One of his referees is being investigated for possible point-shaving, which is actually far more dangerous to the NBA’s reputation than a player being accused of this.
Here’s why: A ref could fix any close game because he can blow his whistle any time he wants. Two guys jostling for the ball? Call a foul on the one who plays for the team you want to lose. A cross expression from a player? Call a technical foul. Or maybe you call some quick fouls on one team’s star player. He doesn’t foul out, but he sits for long stretches.
Believe me, fixing a game – not necessarily the winner but the margin of victory – would be very doable for any ref.
And that’s the real shame in this. We live in the age of Internet paranoia, where everything is a potential conspiracy. If this ref is convicted, or cops a plea, every one of his peers is in for unreasonable scrutiny. Every close call will have some fan blogging that the game was rigged against his team.
I’ve covered the NBA for nearly 20 years and I probably know the refs as well as any group in the league. By and large, they’re great people: fair, smart, courageous (it’s not easy making a call that favors the road team in Auburn Hills, Mich.) and possessing the thickest of skins.
I’d hate to see those good people all get branded by this situation.
-- Welcome to the age of hard choices for the Bobcats.
They retained Gerald Wallace and Matt Carroll and traded for Jason Richardson’s huge contracts.
They also cut Brevin Knight (reducing a $4 million-plus guarantee to a $1.5 million buy-out) and chose not to re-sign Jake Voskuhl.
I’m particularly surprised they didn’t find some way to retain center Voskuhl, particularly since Jake got just one season from the Milwaukee Bucks.
Some players are defined by their stats. Jake wasn’t one of those guys. He was hockey-player tough. When he fouled, it avoided a basket, and, frankly, the Bobcats are hurting for tough guys.
Primoz Brezec, while a more skilled player than Voskuhl, might not be as useful to this team. Ryan Hollins has big athletic potential, but I saw nothing last season to suggest he’s ready to be in an NBA game at crunch time with the playoffs at stake.
If the Bobcats miss the playoffs by a victory or two, the absence of Knight’s and Voskuhl’s experience could be a deciding factor.
-- Not that most of you should care, but I was in Mexico on a church mission trip, doing construction on a Presbyterian church in the Yucatan. First time in years I was someplace with no cell phones, no e-mail and no plumbing as we know it in the United States.
Try something like this – heavy labor for a good cause, totally out of your comfort zone. It’s exhausting, it’s inspiring, and it’s refreshing.
Posted by rbonnell on July 22, 2007 at 07:05 PM | Permalink
Comments
This will delay the NBA putting a team in Vegas, you think?
Posted by: Todd | Jul 23, 2007 12:53:59 AM
Todd, I think that's hardly true. Las Vegas has the best systems in place in the world to fight point shaving and sports betting irregularities. The NGC is more involved than the FBI is (or ever could be) on the small-level local bookie scale. Furthermore, the organized crime presence there is far lower than MANY other places in America.
Posted by: Michael Procton | Jul 23, 2007 2:01:06 AM
Rick -
I agree with your thoughts about the NBA and the dangers of having a ref who is being investigated for point shaving and it being very damaging to the integrity of the sport. I grew up a Bulls fan during the MJ era. Since his retirement, my interest in the league has waned significantly. In my opinion, there is little that is captivating about the league anymore. I wonder how many other people out there (the public) view the mere investigation into the integrity of this ref as the last straw to their interest in / support of this league?
Happy trails NBA, I'll be watching Little E and the boys duke it out on the track.
Posted by: David | Jul 23, 2007 12:52:14 PM
I dont think there will ever be a big time pro team of any kind in Las Vegas due to what Vegas is noted for. If this ficticious team were to ever win a close call game especially a championship there would be conspiracy charges from all over the country.
Posted by: David | Jul 23, 2007 2:10:44 PM
David, there are ALREADY conspiracy charges from all over the country. Ask the average fan what they thought about the '06 Finals (I think the Mavs got jobbed) or this years series between the Spurs and Suns (I think the league DID do the right thing.) It strikes me that it'd likely be around half would say the league had as much to do with the players when it came to the result of those matchups.
Posted by: Michael Procton | Jul 23, 2007 5:34:10 PM
On vacation, or simply couldn't find anything to criticize after the Bobcats retained their two most important free agents?
Be sure to check your head for those skull larvae that everyone comes back with when they go anywhere south of Texas.
Posted by: Will | Jul 23, 2007 6:17:25 PM
Rick... What are the Bobcats doing about their backup point guard situation? There has been a lot of movment around the league that has opened up some possibilities. Darryl Armstrong? Troy Hudson? John Lucas III? Watson or Ridnour from Seattle? What's the deal Rick?
Glad you enjoyed your vacation and here's an idea for everyone reading. Don't wait for some charitable activity 2000 miles away, organize to improve the lives of you and your co-workers where you're at. And in the process, maybe we can start to hold our government responsible for the devastation they've wreaked on the Mexican economy (ie the North American Free Trade Agreement). Maybe then they won't have to rely on do-gooding white, US born Protestants to arrive with all their patronizing views and soul cleansing.
But for real, this is a blog about the Bobcats, right? Please, since you closed down the blog for close to 2 weeks, right something that we might be interested in.
Posted by: BustaCat | Jul 23, 2007 6:32:42 PM
Hello BW, why dont Mike get Scottie on board and watch that organization really grow, the duo of all-time, bet they never would imagine that they would go and win championships with this crazy duo as Bulls and then later in life, help develop the same for generations after, realizing the same can be done here... thats all the team needs, extra motivation, proven motivation, also need to see is Mike and Scottie playing a little game themselves in front of the team and role-play them two(G&J) inside the offense to let Gerald and Jason know how they can really get it done...Be that tandom everyone's anticipating its going to be. Quite interesting! Havent seen a duo quite like this before in the NBA, go back maybe 10-15 yrs. But even so then, not that athletic as ours.:)) You see we are a prominate rebounder and shot blocker away, other than WHAT Okafor brings to the table. And someone to give Felton a break from running so much. 16+ more wins next year BobCat World...I know u like what is he saying. Peps we were destined to reach that even without Jason this up and coming season with the obvious draft and unhealthy players coming in healthy this yr....Maybe not all the way but pretty close to it. So now its solidifies it. Watch out Cle and Wash and Toron, we coming for those spots... Esp. if Cle doesnt get Bron any help, period from what he has, they are going to regress. Hang over from the finals. May plz be able to get out there and gives us 10 and 10, thats all we ask, and some CHARGES. Go back to carolina days, playin hard and aggressive. But I do think Scottie needs to be on board, what else better way to have the model itself...Seeing is believing!
Latta "BW"...
Posted by: Dee | Jul 23, 2007 10:31:06 PM
Rick,
Thanks for sharing abour your trip to Mexico. It encouraged at least one on this side of the computer screen.
Don't let the bitter politicos keep you down! "But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God." -1 Peter 2:20
Keep up the good work, both with your writing and elsewhere!
Posted by: Ben | Jul 23, 2007 11:53:43 PM
Didn't Bob J. and Michael apply for a gambling casino together? Didn't somebody claim that Michael had a gambling problem? Gambling is pervasive...some can handle it and others can't. Too bad for the NBA.
Posted by: Chino Hernandez | Jul 24, 2007 10:54:51 PM
Yeah, it is so pervasive, that it affects other leagues as well. Did you hear about Michael Vick and the dog-fighting scandal? Too bad for the NFL, too.
Posted by: Will | Jul 25, 2007 5:12:41 AM
Enjoyed the trailer for "Who's My Caddy," that Caddyshack send-off that Bob Johnson's new film company is releasing. Lots of great whitey jokes from the rap stars. The stuffy white Carolina Pines (get it?) staff won't let the rappers - the behavioral norm in the movie - join their club. Loosen up guys! Join us with the tricked out golf carts, gold chains, dramatic poots on the green, gold teeth, strippers and ebonics. It's like taking a BET rap video, trying to make that behavior normal and setting it in a comedic setting. Was filmed for only $10 million, leading the director to thank the town of Aiken for keeping it cheap. Interesting themes: anti-establishment, anti-white, pro-rapper, "stick it to the man," dollar store cheap. From BET to Bobcats to Film-making: Check it out:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/weinstein/whosyourcaddy/trailer2/
Posted by: David Tillman | Jul 25, 2007 7:47:25 AM
David, you must be retarded if you think that movie stands a chance of not being one of the five WORST of the year, if not the decade.
Posted by: Michael Procton | Jul 25, 2007 12:22:48 PM
Hah...is anybody as surprised as I am that Bob Johnson felt a need to appear in the film? It's a wonder he didn't name it "Who's Your BOBBY"!
Posted by: Michael Procton | Jul 25, 2007 12:25:12 PM
Mike,
Oh, it will be successful. $10 mil is nothing for a movie...they'll get that back with syndication rights. The interesting point is the psyche of the man who owns our pro basketball team. He said his films would be aimed at middle class black families. Obviously, Bob trades on promoting the lowest - and I mean lowest - common denominator in the black community. His excuse? There is a market and he fills it. IMHO, he will go down in history for dragging down his own race by promoting gansta rap and movies like this. It justifies and glorifies all the wrong behaviors among the lowest income minorities. They don't know any better and their parents don't help them. That's the macro view. (P.S. However, he is very, very rich as a result, so that's his prize).
Posted by: David Tillman | Jul 25, 2007 1:19:01 PM
And white producers have never made anything that appeals to the basest attitudes of white people?
Dukes of Hazard anyone, anything with Larry the cable guy?
It's just a comedy for godsake. The Who's your caddy movie is just a prototypical "fish out of water" plot, where the differences in urban vs country club culture are blown out of proportion for the purpose of a comedy.
If it was set up to be a documentary, then it'd be a problem.
This is a bobcats board, why is race such a big issue. I really had no clue that tehre were so many people in NC and SC that still live with values from the pre-civil rights era. (Or I guess what I'm really surprised at is the fact that you all can be this ignorant and still operate a computer)
Posted by: Bonnell=Greatest Reporter Ever! | Jul 25, 2007 3:44:37 PM
Oh and...why isn't the reporter talking about the Bobcats, what else does he do? I understand not writing while on vacation, but he never produces anything that would necessitate weeks of research to warrant his lack of writing on this blog.
Posted by: Bonnell=Greatest Reporter Ever! | Jul 25, 2007 3:46:25 PM
BGRE:
Let Jerry Richardson produce a "Dukes of Hazard" movie where the main white characters mock and make fun of the lifestyles, the ignorance, incivility, lack of morals and speech patterns of black rappers and see the grief Richardson gets. Let's compare apples to apples....owner to owner. There are scumbags making ridiculously racist, sadistic and pathetic movies all over the world...most just don't happen to own professional sports teams in Charlotte. We like to think we have higher standards. Out.
Posted by: David T. | Jul 27, 2007 12:33:00 PM
Hear Hear, David!
Posted by: Michael Procton | Jul 27, 2007 3:25:59 PM
So you've seen the movie to judge it and just dmned all rappers into the same stereotype. That's seems fair and a perfect example of your "higher standards"
Posted by: Bonnell=Greatest Reporter Ever! | Jul 27, 2007 4:13:00 PM
I forgot, MP, I thought you were too busy defending Bonnell to type about anything?
Posted by: Bonnell=Greatest Reporter Ever! | Jul 27, 2007 4:14:13 PM
I agree that the movie Johnson produced plays to stereotypes and that he is anything but a progressive guy. But, those of you that try to use that as reason to bang the Bobcats should produce evidence of ANY billionaires who do progressive things. The bottom line is that some on this blog are looking for reasons to slam a black owner. Truth be told, there are umpteen reasons to slam ANY owner in the NBA, MLB, NFL, and any other professional sport entitiy. To single out Johnson's production of a movie which pushes stereotypes is to go after him because he's black.
A solution to our continued arguments on this blog would be to have someone else write more substantive, basketball related articles MUCH more often and to remove posts that try to paint the Bobcats as a racist franchise using the tired, right-wing mantra of reverse-racism.
Since Bonnell doens't seem to want to write about it, does anyone else have ideas as to what the 'Cats should do about their point guard/center situation?
Posted by: BustaCat | Jul 27, 2007 10:50:38 PM
In the slight chance the Panthers page posts a blog about that thug Carolina player that got arrested for putting a gun to someone's head, I hope to see all you "outraged" rednecks over there raising hell with them and their team.
If you are just sooooo outraged by Johnson putting girls in bikinis on his TV channel, I can't imagine what you'll think of some thug putting a gun to the head of a girl in a bikini.
Hell, I even heard Fox went after him. EDIT: By Fox, I mean Fox News. Coach Fox said "we don't condone" putting a gun to someone's head. That's all. That's nice to know, Foxxy. But back to the point, if Fox News going after a thug player isn't enough for you racist rednecks to go after that same player, I don't know what is.
Chop, chop, rednecks. Even though, it's been over a day, and the Observer has one article, with no comments allowed, and no blog posts about the incident. Really surprising, Observer.
Johnson misses a game, you all are all over his @ss.
Panthers' player puts a gun to someone's head, and you all look the other way. I guess you're too busy b*tching about everything that's wrong with the Bobcats to find time to report on thug Panther players threatening to kill people. Ho-hum.
Posted by: Will | Jul 28, 2007 1:09:14 AM
Hey Busta, here's one: Bill Gates. Since 2000 alone, the man has given over $29 BILLION to charitable organizations, some of which help more than just people of his own race. Or, say, Warren Buffett at $37+ million in the last year alone. Your claims of non-progressivism ring hollow when you actually look at the FACTS.
Furthermore, Will, I'll assume you were out with Bridges on that night and know precisely what happened. What happened the last time a semi-credible black girl charged an athlete with a crime? Oh, yeah, the DA got disbarred and all she did was ruin an institution of a mostly Caucasian makeup. Furthermore, there have been at least THREE articles about the situation, you're just a dumbass .(http://www.charlotte.com/panthers/story/212994.html
http://www.charlotte.com/panthers/story/214364.html
http://www.charlotte.com/panthers/story/214669.html)
And lets compare apples to apples: it's perfectly reasonable to criticize Johnson for not even attending the games of the team he owns when Richardson has never missed a single game that I'm aware of, and that would be 122/122 if you're about to throw the more games BS at me.
Posted by: Michael Procton | Jul 28, 2007 3:02:54 PM
First, it's a tax credit (and just a drop in the bucket for Mr. Gates and Mr. Buffett) to give what they do. Second, Bill Gates makes his billions on the backs of underpaid Microsoft employees (including using prison labor to package his prescious microsoft office). Warren Buffett is a junk bondsman who makes his living off of destroying companies that employ regular working class people. Bottom line, to get the level of Gates, Buffett, or Johnson and Richardson for that matter, you have to step all over regular people to do so. I stand by my assertion that all billionaires are jackasses.
And as far as the Duke rape case goes, the media has been part and parcel of criminalizing the victim and victimizing the criminals. DAs constantly "fuck up", or more precisely, don't have to worry about their victims having the money or prestige (ie the princelets who attend Duke U) to challenge their practices. A medical examiner stated in their report that the woman in question DID show signs of getting raped and that if she had been drugged (Which a Duke player's email threatened to do) it would explain the inconsistincies in her story. Then there is the email that a Duke Lacrosse player wrote before the party that said he was planning on raping a stripper and was going to eat her skin. Michael, as long as you take the maistream media at their word, you're going to know less and less about the world as it is.
But really, any ideas about our pg or center situation?
Posted by: BustaCat | Jul 28, 2007 10:30:45 PM
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