NBA's Stern does right thing

     NBA commissioner David Stern didn’t just do the right thing by reinstating referee Joey Crawford, he did the obvious thing.

    The league needs all the officiating talent it can assemble right now.

    Crawford is the veteran ref who was suspended, following an extended argument with San Antonio Spurs star Tim Duncan. You might recall that “want to fight?’’ comment, which some took as Crawford challenging Duncan physically.

    Don’t know this, but I doubt that’s what Crawford meant. I’m guessing Crawford was telling Duncan he could either keep arguing or concentrate on the game. There was a lot of testosterone flowing in that argument, and Crawford wasn’t the only one agitated. Duncan can be a jerk, too, when it suits him to be.

    There’s no doubt Crawford can be pugnacious and flippant. But he’s also smart, gutsy and intensely fair. More than one coach has told me if he had to pick a 3-man crew for a deciding game of the NBA Finals, Crawford would be a fixture in that group.

    With all the trouble Tim Donaghy has caused – can fans ever look at a close call the same way again? – the NBA needs precise, assertive, experienced officials.

       That’s Joey Crawford.