The Refs Aren’t Watching
I watched the games with Mark Cuban last night; excuse this rant.
Foul calls shouldn’t be reactionary. An official is supposed to call what they see. If they didn’t see anything at all, there shouldn’t be a whistle. Jameer Nelson should not be called because Chauncey Billups goes in to the splits. The ref should make the call on why Billups hit the floor, not the end result. Dwight Howard should not get rung up because Rasheed Wallace takes an out of control shot. What goes through the official’s mind? ‘Sheed was off balance when he released it, therefore, someone must of hit him? No. Wrong. The official didn’t see a bump ’cause there wasn’t one. Hedo Turkoglu shouldn’t get called for the foul when Rodney Stuckey slips out of bounds with the ball. If Stuckey didn’t cross the line, the whistle wouldn’t have blown. Where’s the consistency? (Whoa, I swear I’m not rooting for the Magic.)
It just knocks me off my couch when I see something called only because the fouled player acts out of the ordinary. In a game of runs and momentum swings, every whistle is huge. I’ve put on some baseball umpiring gear in my day; I know what these stripes feel like. They have to have ignorance towards the end result and how the players are reacting and just focus on the actual event.
Players acting this way will never change. Is it because these referees have little experience actually playing the game? I don’t even know if that’s the case, but it sure seems that way. Maybe Cubes was on to something when he pointed out the little talked about international rule changes. This issue always seems to come about when the stakes are raised in the postseason. Just ask my neighbors.
Comments (11)www.BlogHeaterick.com
Contrary to what some might say, Heat owner Micky Arison is NOT boring. I mean, look — dude’s got his own blog for crying out loud. His own blog! What type of billionaire does that? Ha!
Anyway, here’s Mick’s latest post titled The Heat Can’t?. It’s pretty damn inspiring so I’d grab some Kleenex if I were you…
“The Heat CAN’T play Offense.
The Heat CAN’T play basketball.
The Heat CAN’T get physical like a wild bobcat.
The Heat CAN’T beat (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the NES) because it’s (fuckin’ impossible).
Shaq CAN’T play cards to save his life.
Shaq CAN’T lick his lower calf.
Shaq CAN’T play the trombone.
Shaq CAN’T step up stairs quickly.
Wade CAN’T rap.
GP CAN’T be the point guard on a midget girl’s basketball team.
Antoine Walker CAN’T get past customs.
Mike Doleac CAN’T talk to girls.
Pat Riley CAN’T lead this team to the Finals without Chick Hearn or James Worthy.
Thank you. Thank you to everyone who has ever said or written about what they think the Heat can’t do. It was motivation that Riley ripped off of Stan Van Gundy earlier this year.
There is an old saying, “White men can’t jump”.
Nowhere is this more true than the sports world. (see: Van Horn, Keith)
Hats off to the Pistons for getting worse than anyone ever expected. Hats off to the Pistons and the city of Detroit for cars and Eminem.
A huge thank you to Heat fans around the world. We thank you for wearing your lucky suntan lotion, lucky thongs, lucky fanny packs, Hawaiian shirts, shorts and pants, for wearing your Heat gear under your clothes to work and with pride to school and around town and even when swimming.
A huge thank you to Heat fans that were jumping up and down, screaming, hugging everyone you could find and generally going crazy like an old person as the clock ran down. We heard you — which was weird. We felt you — which tickled. All of us on the sidelines — hold on, was I even there? — felt the exact same way.
My heart was pounding so hard, I was like a living human being. I have all these little good luck idiosyncrazies (a word I stole from this guy), and i just refused to capitalize that letter “i”. I kept on playing mind games with myself. You know… like Sudoku. Dont relax, you already used the 8 in that box. Shit! Then, the ever popular… “How big are those boobies over there…” Ok, maybe not that…
When we hit 00:00, I walked over to where the Pistons owners were to thank and congratulate them, but they didn’t seem to know who I was. Awkward… After that, I was never so happy to hug so many sweaty grown men in my entire life. (Minus that special sleep over we once had when we ate chips and watched The Running Man…)
The guys heard can’t, but never believed it.
Four more wins to go.
The Mavs are a great team. Dirk alone has more hair than our entire roster. Coach Avery has probably sang higher than Riley ever will. It won’t matter. It’s going to be a war. Probably less thrilling than Hell’s Kitchen 2 though.
We may be the underdogs, but we believe and we don’t understand the word “spoonerism”. But does anybody really? I highly doubt it.”
Micky Arison is Boring [YAYsports!]
The Mavs Can’t? [Blog Maverick]
FD: No Shame in the Bandwagon
“Responsible bandwagoneering simply asserts “I see you.” The past matter not; what the Mavs were or were not earlier in the season, and whether I did or did not acknowledge them as such, is irrelevant to the fact that now I really want to kick it with this proud band of characters. You can’t teach yourself to feel fondness for another; it sneaks up upon us, and is at its most sweet when it takes root in the soils of familiarity. That this should occur at a time of heightened sensitivity only proves that there is a rhythm to all seasons, natural or otherwise.”
Man, Shoals’ writing be so on point; I bet the dude pops a zit and even it oozes eloquent prose. Great writer, great post. Check it out. Or die.
No Bloom is a Late One [FreeDarko]
(By the way, Tas and my disagreeing Finals predictions will be posted later tonight along with some incredible YouTube fun.)
Comments (2)Can I Get A Nowitzness?
50 points.
I mean, that’s all I need to say, no?
Oh, no? You want a little more, eh? Umm… ok, here; I’ll throw this in too:
Dirk Novitzki, the German Wunderkind der Dallas Mavericks. Der coolste Nicht-Ami in der NBA, ohne den wir vermutlich gar nicht wüssten, dass es Basketball überhaupt gibt.
There. That should do it.
Keep Your Hands Off Your Dirk [True Hoop]
Is It Good To be Dirk Nowitzki? [Deadspin]
Dirk Rolls Two Quarters, Suns [ESPN — Daily Dime]
Dirk Nowitzki, NBA-Profi … [Karikaturen von Sportlern]
Wild West Shootout
And I assume this little incident makes Avery Johnson, “The Whore”…
Western Conf. Finals — Flash Intro [Official Site of the Phoenix Suns]
Comments (0)Conference Final Predictions
Well … Suns win, Spurs lose, and as a result my overall playoff prediction record now stands at 10-2 (4-0 and 4-0 in the first round, 2-2 in the second). Not bad, not bad. In fact, if given the opportunity, I don’t even think I’d go back and change my previous picks. Well, except maybe the Spurs and Nets. (Wink.)
Okay, so, conference finals time. Here are my who-really-gives-a-fuck picks:
Miami Heat vs. Detroit Pistons
Question: Did you keep George Michael like Faith in the Pistons even when they were trailing LeBron, Usher and the Cavs 3-2? Well, did ya? Yeah, I did. And guess what? I’m gonna continue to. The Pistons still have their Palace 6th man, and the Heat still have Antoine Walker. Oh, that, and I think those streaky Nets made the Heat look a whole lot better then they really are. Pistons in 6.
Dallas Mavericks vs. Phoenix Suns
Who cares? I’m just excited this series tips at 8:30/9. With that said, Suns in 7. Final score of game 7: 230-229. Quintuple overtime. Three players actually die of exhaustion. Cuban too.
The Highs, The Lows
I love the increased intensity. Even Damon Jones is playing defense – sometimes.
I hate the late nights. But I like the excuse for a pre-game nap.
I love the freakin’ drama. It puts Prison Break to shame.
I hate Big Ben’s air ball free throws. It’s absurd, no other way to put it.
I love the fabulous footwork of Elton Brand. It’s ballet-esque.
I hate players who keep their mouth guards in their socks. Even if you’re singing David Hasselhoff as you pull it out Dirk, it’s still nasty.
I love watching the Spurs and Mavericks perform at such a high level. Forget game 7 being the West Final – it looks like the battle for the NBA crown.
I hate that the Detroit Pistons finally decided they wanted it more than the Cavs. Their regular season really messed with their psyche.
Comments (3)TBJ on AOL Sports Bloggers Live
Date: Thu May 18 22:37:50 2006
From: Jamie Mottram
To: The Basketball Jones
Subject: Thanks for being on SBL today!
Tas,
Your guest spot on SBL today was a virtuoso performance on par with Shawn Marion’s Game 5! In fact, I think you’re Marion to Skeets’ Steve Nash. Not that Skeets is the more valuable of the two, it’s just that I picture him being a smaller, whiter man and you being a larger, blacker one.
Regardless, here’s a link to the interview for your posting pleasure (should you choose to post it up like Chris Kaman).
Basketball Jones till I die,
Jamie
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Ha.*licks fingers* Tas as black man, eh? *fixes hair* That’s some funny shit right there! *lies down on the ground*
Seriously though, make sure to check out Tas’ latest appearance on the SBL show. In it he breaks down the NBA Playoffs and talks about the leagues incredible increase in popularity. It’s a great clip, way better then Serena Williams’…
NBA Playoffs Update w/ Tas Melas [SBL Audio Clip]
Comments (8)Lead Us, Oh Wise One
Thank you for the night off. I was freakin’ exhausted.
Thank you for bringing it back tonight ’cause I can’t live without it.
Thank you for making the best league of the best sport in the world what it is today.
Thank you for shaving that ‘stache. How could anyone take you seriously with that soup strainer?
Actually, screw that. That thing was beautiful. I unthank you.
Comments (9)Hardcore on the Hardwood
Yeah, umm… try not to think about it too much, but you do realize that like a billion or so Chinese citizens are simultaneously jerking off to this picture, right?
Right?
Cleveland 114, Washinton 113, OT [Yahoo!]
Damon Jones and Li Ning Shoes [The Mighty MJD]
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The Basketball Jones is a NBA blog and podcast, written and recorded five times a week by J.E. Skeets, Tas Melas and Jason Doyle. Comments, questions and cold hard cash are always welcome and much appreciated. Contact us.
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