How do I contact the NBA refs/NBA re officiating

[LisaM]

before the Pistons/Lakers start?

I have drafted an outline of an email which includes the official definition of travelling. I intend to mail this to someone associated with NBA officiating and tell them that they need to call it on the Lakers! OMFG! I watched part of the Timberwolves/Lakers series and the Lakers travel all the time! It's insane.

[ArkDem]

1. I'm sure they will be very interested in your views.

[AspenRose]

2. Ask Mark Cuban

No, seriously....ask Mark Cuban. E-mail him.

He devotes quite a bit of his blog (blogMaverick) to NBA officiating (big surprise)

[LisaM]

3. Well, it's worth a try

I just don't want the Pistons going in at a disadvantage because the refs allow some teams to break the rules.

[Ann Arbor Dem]

6. I agree!

:-)

[catzies]

15. In case you haven't got the link yet

here it is

http://www.nba.com/mavericks/mailbox/email_mark.html

I emailed him a few years back when my Jazz were playing the Mavs and he emailed me back. I almost fell out of my chair when I saw it.

[Paragon]

4. Am I the only one who remembers that SNL skit...

...where they had a talk show called "Ask The Ref" or something like that and all the people in the audience asked polite questions like:

"How's your eyesight? Ever worry that you might be going blind?" and

"Do you find it easier to call the game with your head inside your rectum?" and so on...

[Howardx]

5. when was the last time anyone was called for travelling?

never happens, nba lives for those dunks you cant do without travelling

[democracyindanger]

28. exactly--they all do it

Traveling and carrying the ball. Your average pickup game is (self-)refereed better than any NBA game. NBA refs are showboating crooks. Anyone else remember the tax fraud a bunch of them were involved in some years back?

Oh, and Malone is the dirtiest player in league history. Dirtier than Lambeer ever was. The difference between the two is that Lambeer played dirty to win; Malone plays dirty out of petulance.

[catzies]

42. Refs are showboating crooks! I love that!

I mean, we shouldn't even KNOW who they are, right? If a ref has a reputation that's so obvious that people not only know him on sight but by name and what he's going to, he's gotta go.

Case in point: Steve Javie. You know he's going to be whistle-happy and tech-heavy, and sooner or later someone (or two or three) is gonna get ejected! I think he does that to get himself talked about. I think he loves his reputation.

I was at a Lakers game here at home the year before last, and sat next to a man that was there with his 12 yr. old son and even he knew! I said, "OMG, Javie's here tonight!" And he piped in, "Somebody's gonna get thrown out!" And it was Shaq! :lol:

[Racenut20]

7. It's the Micheal Jordan Rule.

[catzies]

8. Same as it ever was. You're right of course but it doesn't matter.

I had just sat down to watch game 6 LAL/MIN Monday, and caught the names of the refs that evening. There's one who's notorious and sure enough he was there.

DICK BAVETTA.

Then I knew the fix was in. I called a friend right away and said' "There's no need to even WATCH this game. The Lakers are going to win. Stern called in his fixer."

But here's your link:
http://www.nba.com/email_us/

[nini]

9. include that it's not legal to hang on Shaq's back..

just because he's bigger and stronger than most guys.



:eyes:

[frylock]

11. w00000000000t!!!

my girl!!

[nini]

16. LOL

:hi:


I couldn't resist :evilgrin:

[frylock]

18. haha!!

:hi:

[gpandas]

38. shaq has gotten away with more fouls than...

anyone in the history of the game. just my opinion.

[FleshCartoon]

21. "It's just physics. It's just mathematics."

:toast:

That's what Shaq said about people getting in his way and him not being able to stop quick enough to keep from knocking into them. Then they foul him for it. Not fair.

I don't think the fix was in. The faces of the (Timberwolves) players told the story.

[catzies]

26. The 'Wolves weren't in on it. And KG is MVP.

Quite a consolation prize. ;)

And yes, Shaq's game is physics. Gravity and momentum.

[lazarus]

39. Also

lowering one's shoulder into the defender is an offensive foul. Shaq should foul out in the first quarter of every game, reducing the amount of "hanging" other people have to do.

[catzies]

40. Agreed.

On the lowered-shoulder offensive foul, that is. Hate it.

Little guys like Stockton got away with it a lot, because their shoulders are aleady low!

[nini]

41. the big guys do this a lot

they have to lower themselves to dribble or it would be too easy to steal the ball from them. So, as he turning and dribbling, if one of those guys hasn't set himself defensively that's what will happen. If the defender is set and he turns into them then yes it should be a foul. So I believe that's why the big guys can get away with that easier than the guards.

But, I'll watch closely in game 1 to test your theory. :-)

btw: when did you change your avatar? :D

On edit: I know you know why his shoulder is lowered when he dribbles I just used it to make my case :-)

[lazarus]

43. Two things

One: He rarely is dribbling when he turns, and he's intentionally lowering his shoulder to move the defender out of the way.

Two: I had to change my avatar for the duration of the playoffs, since I lost a bet.

But Duncan doesn't lower his shoulder. Rasheed doesn't lower his shoulder. At least, they don't do it to the extreme level that Shaq does it.

On another note: I am sick and tired of hearing about Shaq's being the new Wilt, the new dominant force in the lane.

George Mikan was the first dominant force. They changed the freaking court and the rules to counter him.

Then they had to change the court and the rules to counter Wilt.

But the rules and the court are ignored for Shaq.

And for someone to be as big, powerful, and supposedly dominant as Shaq is and never once led the league in rebounding is pathetic.

Wilt not only averaged over 50 points a game one season, he was the only center ever to lead the league in assists for a season. That's dominant.

Let's look at some Wilt statistics, and you tell me if Shaq is even fit to carry his jock strap:

Led the NBA in scoring seven straight years (1960-66), including a career-high 50.4 ppg in 1962

Holds single game record for points in one game (100, March 2, 1962) against the New York Knicks in Hershey, PA

Scored 78 points against Los Angeles in three overtimes (Dec. 8, 1961)

Scored 73 points vs. Chicago (Jan. 13, 1962)

Scored 72 points against Los Angeles (Nov. 3, 1962)

Scored 50 or more points 118 times

Scored 50 or more points 45 times in the 1961-62 season, including seven consecutively (Dec. 16-29, 1961)

Scored 40 points or more 271 times

Scored 40 or more points 63 times in the 1961-62 season; 52 times in the 1962-63 season

Scored 40 or more points 14 straight times (Dec. 8-30, 1961)

Scored 30 or more points 65 straight times (Nov. 4, 1961 - Feb. 22, 1962); had a 31-game and a 25-game 30-point streak

Holds single-game record for most points by a rookie (58, Jan. 25, 1960 vs. the Detroit Pistons)

Made 35 consecutive shots (Feb. 17-28, 1967)

Went 18 of 18 from the field against the Baltimore Bullets (Feb. 24, 1967)

Led the league in field goal percentage nine times (1961, 1963, 1965-69, 1972)

Holds record for most free throws attempted (11,862)

Grabbed 23,924 rebounds (22.9 rpg), best in history in both number and per game average

Holds seasonal records for most minutes (3,338, 41.7 mpg), most points (4,029), points per game (50.4), field goals made (1,597) and field goals attempted (3,159), all in 1962

Holds the rookie record for most points (2,707, 37.6 ppg) and rebounds (1,941, 27.0 rpg) in 1960

Led the league in rebounding 11 times (1960-63, 1966-69, 1971-73)

Led the league in minutes seven times (1961-64, 1966-68)

In the 1968 season, averaged 24.3 ppg, 23.8 rpg and 8.3 assists per game

[frylock]

10. more playahater propaganda..

if you haven't watched much NBA over the last 15 years, you might not realize that the refs give ALL the superstars leeway on picking up the pivot or taking an extra half-step. The Laker's have 4 future Hall of Famers in their starting lineup.

Of course, that doesn't excuse the obviously poor officiating we've seen during the playoffs, but let's not draw the officials are giving the Lakers the series card. The Lakes are winning, and doing it convincingly.

[MikeG]

12. Would they still be a superstar if they did it w/o the traveling?

[frylock]

13. i ask that question all the time..

would the superstars be as good as they are if they didn't get a little help from the officials?

[MikeG]

14. The only superstar in Pittsburgh, Mario Lemieux...

got no help from the refs. They would let the other team mug him.
So it must just be an NBA thing.

[frylock]

17. it happens in the nfl and mlb..

Just look how the refs will allow some receivers to push off of the defender, and don't even get me started on the strike zone.

[LisaM]

19. Thank you for the suggestions

Game 6 between the Timberwolves and Lakers was a joke. Even the announcers said that the refs missed three fouls on the Lakers near the end, and the announcers usually drool all over any team with stars. I can't stand the two-tiered system of refereeing. A foul is a foul! Shaq commits plenty of fouls that aren't called, too. Oh wait! That's right! It's not his fault he's big and awkward and klonks people on top of the head!!!

I will send emails to the NBA and to Mark Cuban both!

[nini]

20. when Shaq fouls - is someone hanging on him?

most times that's what leads to him nailing someone. Really watch films on this. These guys are ALL OVER him at times.


Lots of calls were missed in that game. If Garnett wasn't MVP he wouldn't have gotten away with some of the stuff he did on Malone.

IF you remember the Lakers were the ones in foul trouble during most of the game. Now, how could that be if the refs were letting the Lakers were getting away with so much it gave the game to them?

The Laker hate is amusing, but I'd guess I'd hate them too if my team wasn't winning all the titles they have.

GO LAKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[catzies]

22. When refs miss or blow calls it can go both ways.

Let me ask you something:

Before Karlmalone was a Laker, did you hate him and gnash your teeth at all the wicked wicked stuff he got away with for years because he's one of the dirtiest players of all time?

If that answer is "yes," what's your opinion now that he's wearing the sacred purple and gold?

Remember at the end of the game when Eddie Rush went to the scorers' table and asked how many fouls Shaq had? It's because he didn't to want to foul him out, but ZenMaster took care of that by benching him because he wan't making his FTs anyway so that having him in in the crunch was a liability.

[nini]

24. I've always like Malone..

and he does get rough at times not argument from me. BUT this doesn't mean he wasn't getting tossed by Garnett at times too. I think I remember Malone had 5 fouls too - no?


"When refs miss or blow calls it can go both ways." --> EXACTLY - that's my point. It's not ALL pro-Laker.

[catzies]

25. Well, yeah, lots of them were in foul trouble.

It's not like bad officiating means they don't call ANYTHING...

What I hate the most are make-up calls. You know the kind, when a ref misses something obvious and then gives it to the wronged party the next time. That's an excellent example of poor officiating.

[nini]

27. true.. the makeup calls piss me off..

I was bugged by the Technicals on Payton (early on) and Kobe later. Those were quick whistles to me. So both sides can whine about something.

It's the implication the Lakers never earn anything without Stern's or the refs help. That's just ludicrous.

[catzies]

30. Like most good stories, the truth is somewhere in the middle.

The Lakers were going to win the WCF anyway, maybe Emperor Stern just wanted the insurance. That's where Dick the Fixer comes in.

And I did end up watching the game anyway, of course. If Karlmalone's on a court, I'm watching.

Ya know, if you had told me a year ago, when I was at John Stockton's retirement party, and Karl was crying like a baby, that one year to the day later he was going to be in a Lakers uniform and playing in the Finals I would have said "Never gonna happen!"

Just goes to show, NEVER SAY NEVER.

Oh, and B-Russ gets a ring too. That's 2 of my former Jazzmen.

But I swear to God Almight, if John leaves Spokane and comes to LA for this, I will cry hot tears of righteous anger because DICK BAVETTA GAVE MICHAEL JORDAN AN EXTRA RING THAT HE SHOULD HAVE HAD.
Phil Jackson too.

I will never ever ever ever get over that.

You want to talk about bad officiating/game6/Dick Bavetta fixing?
June 14, 1998. Don't get me started.

[nini]

33. agreed...

but you know you'll be happy when Malone gets his ring.. I can't wait to see his reaction :-) And I think he's going to have a lot to do with Kobe staying with the Lakers.

It's amazing how pissed off I can get watching bad calls though. Call the game as good as you can and let them play!

[catzies]

34. I know I'll cry.

And so will he.

[nini]

36. I almost typed that.. but

I didn't want to sound like a wuss.. :-)


it will be very emotional to be sure!

[nini]

29. btw:

I have a poster of Karl Malone in my office :drool:

:-)

[stinkeefresh]

23. I'm a lakers fan, and I agree that the refs try to swing games-

but I think their goal isn't a Laker victory so much as a game seven. Sure, the NBA likes a major market team to go all the way, but not nearly as much as they hate a sweep.

I became convinced of this in the LA/Sacramento series of '02, when game five was obviously thrown toward the Lakers (LA would have been down 3-1). Then in game six, Sacramento shot three times as many foul shots as LA. Three times. Compared to these two games, game seven was called clean and fair.

Extra games means extra money. That's where to look for the bad calls.

[LisaM]

31. I think that's somewhat true, about more games, BUT.....

Just listen to the announcers if you don't think there are some teams that the NBA wants to win. If they like the team, it's all first names..."Michael! YESS!" "Shaq!! YES!!!" Do you ever hear them say "Chauncey! YESS!" No, and you never will probably. They make an exception once in a while for Rip Hamilton. But they never first name any other Pistons and the only one they ever did was Isiah.

[Guaranteed]

35. I agree...

But you got your info wrong, there. I remember that series VERY well- it was game six that was fixed, in LA's favor, and it was LA that shot 27 free throws in just the fourth quarter of that game. Both Kings centers fouled out, and it just about every time the Lakers got the ball the refs called a foul. Ralph Nader even said it was fixed. Funny that the Kings were even hanging on to the game while this was going on.

But, yes, you're right, they fix games because it makes them more advertising revenue. That game seven was HUGE.

[frylock]

37. thanks for recognizing that..

Kings fan is always quick to bring up those game 5 calls, and conveniently forgets how much worse the calls were in game 6. I doubt they even realize there was a 7th game.

I agree with your theory that the league likes to stretch these series out for more profit.

[Forkboy]

32. Travelling is still in the rules?

Damn,could have fooled me.I see it in every single NBA game I watch.I thought they had just decided to say "fuck it,let 'em travel!"