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NBA referees drive me batty. Mavs fans feel the referee pain again.

I want to preface this by saying that, yes, Antoine Wright should have played until he heard the whistle. Yes, the Mavericks should have hit their free throws down the stretch. Yes, it would have been nice if Dirk hit his turnaround jumper (I do believe it was taken at the right time, though — you don’t want to rush into a shot at the end of the shot clock).

But, that having been said, the referees screwed the Mavericks in a critical playoff game. Again.

And no one should be surprised it was Bennett Salvatore and his crew. Again.

I even put up a concerned status on Facebook (or I commented on someone’s status, I don’t remember) worried about Salvatore. But, honestly, his crew was fine for 59 minutes, 58 seconds. It was just those final two seconds.

Before we look at tonight, though, let’s flash back in time to the 2006 NBA Finals, game 5. In that game, the criticism of Salvatore was that he decided to take the game into his own hands and call a touch foul (if you can even call it that) when Dirk Nowitizki happened to stand too near to Dwyane Wade with 2 seconds left in the game. The general rule of thumb in refereeing is that in the last minute of the game, you call hard fouls, obvious fouls — you don’t want to take the game into your own hands and bail a player out. You let them sort it out

One could argue that a foul is a foul is a foul, no matter what time of game — a valid argument. But given that line of thinking, if every time a player touched another player (which is all that Dirk did, if that), no basketball would get played between whistles. So, given any perspective, that foul was a bad call; I’ve never read any writer, national or local, that disputes that.

And now, today. The exact opposite of 2006’s call happened. Salvatore and his crew had an EXTREMELY active set of whistles. They called 61 total fouls. They sent players to the line for 89 free throws. For the entire game, they were in complete control — even fouling out Chris Andersen in barely over 10 minutes of playing time. I remember being pleasantly surprised during the fourth quarter, saying to myself, “they’ve blown a lot of whistles… but they’ve been good calls. The calls are even against both teams, and they’re getting the calls right.”

I spoke too soon.

With 6 seconds left in the game, Denver called a timeout. The Mavericks had a foul to give, so Dallas coach Rick Carlisle told his players to intentionally foul the Denver player with the ball before he goes into his shooting motion, to take some time off the clock. It’s a common strategy at the end of NBA games — so much so that referees are made aware of it, and look for the intentional foul and call it quickly, so that no players get hurt. The player has to go for the ball and not use excessive force, or else they’ll get tagged with a flagrant foul, which means 2 shots and the ball.

Time and time again, this happens at the end of games. But not tonight. As the Associated Press described it:

Antoine Wright had a simple objective. In a game with 61 fouls already called, he was trying to commit another. Wright bumped Carmelo Anthony once, hard enough to knock him off stride. But not enough for a foul call. So he jostled Anthony again. Still no call — and now Wright was out of position, leaving Anthony a clear look at the basket. His 3-pointer went right through with a second left, giving the Denver Nuggets a 106-105 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday, and a 3-0 series lead that has been insurmountable in NBA history.

And so, again, the Mavericks lost. After the game, the NBA admitted the officials blew the call. Empty consolation for the players and fans once again on the losing end of referee mistakes. Two years ago, it was a foul that never happened getting called. Tonight, it’s a foul that clearly happened not getting called.

Again, the Mavericks should have won that game regardless of bad officiating. They had their chances, and blew it. That shouldn’t mask the problem the NBA has with their officials. It’s plain and simple: players and fans never know what constitutes a foul and what doesn’t. One trip down the court, a player gets mugged driving the lane, and the referees say nothing. The next trip down, a player grazes some forearm swiping for the ball, and it’s a foul. There’s no consistency between plays in a game, let alone from game to game, crew to crew.

The NBA is hurting their game by not fixing this problem. I absolutely refuse to believe that on a planet of 6 billion people, the NBA referees are the finest referees available. Not with the number of mistakes and bad calls they make. Not with the showboating they exhibit, thinking they’re part of the entertainment show.

Thanks for the apology, NBA. Now go do something about it: fix the system.

.

Sat May 9th, 2009 10:55 pm
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Filed under Sports, Dallas Mavericks, Sports | 1 Comment »

Mavs vs. Nuggets, game 3: Keys to the game

The Mavericks were in Game 2 until they started turning the ball over again and the game got sloppy.  The Mavericks started to have bad possessions every time down the floor; which lead to breakaway baskets for Denver.

Jason Kidd needs to step it back up — he needs to be the floor general he’s capable of being.

The Mavericks also desperately need Josh Howard to pick up the pace, injured ankle or not.  He keeps Dirk from having to score 45 to win.  This series proves Dirk doesn’t back down to playoff pressure — he’s averaging 31/game in this series — but also proves the Maverick bench is as important as the superstar.

I don’t think Dirk will be distracted in the game, despite all the news surrounding his personal life.  The game will take over, and as long as he got some rest last night (and he’s been staying with a Mavs executive, so let’s assume he did), he’ll be fine.

Sat May 9th, 2009 3:08 pm
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Filed under Sports, Dallas Mavericks, Sports | No Comments »

Keys to the game, Mavs vs. Denver Game 2

Actually, let’s call it the key to the game.

Fewer turnovers.

If Mavs turn it over a reasonable number in Game 1 (instead of 8 from their point guard, who’s here for his brain more than his body), I have little doubt they win the game.

Play game 2 like game 1 — solid defense, decent shot selection — and cut out the ridiculous turnovers, and I feel good about this one.

P.S. To the TNT guys.  Dirk is confident.  He’s just giving the guys that defend him some credit.  Relax.

Tue May 5th, 2009 8:48 pm
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Filed under Sports, Dallas Mavericks, Sports | No Comments »

Mavericks provide kick in the crotch to Maverick fans

Rick Carlisle has his work cut out for him: he has to figure out a way for the Mavericks to learn to guard the pick and roll and slow down Tony Parker.

The Mavericks got off to a slow start in game 2, much like game 1… but this time, no one was able to slow up Parker or cool down the Spurs shooting.

The Mavericks couldn’t figure out how to guard Parker, who worked off the pick and roll all night and was slashing, driving, and shooting at will.  He finished with 38 points — 10 more than Josh Howard and Dirk Nowitzki combined.  And when the Mavericks did collapse on him, he found the open shooter. The Mavs were consistently slow to rotate to Finley, Bonner, and Bowen.

It was the worst of both worlds: the Mavs would either step up and help on Parker too late, or they would be late to rotate to the open shooters.  The result?  The Spurs shot 53% for the night — and that includes a brief cold streak that allowed the Mavericks to crawl back into the game before slamming the door with an 11-0 run.

Defensively, the Spurs went back to their old their game of getting physical and pushing Dirk outside of his comfort zone.  The Spurs fronted him and brought help from over the top to keep the lob pass out.  It worked well — Dirk was clearly frustrated.

Also of disturbing note was the Spurs consistently outhustling the Mavs.  The Spurs seemed to get to every loose ball, and outrebounded the Mavs 44-28.  -16 on the boards isn’t going to get it done against anyone, especially a Spurs team that couldn’t miss in the first half.

JJ Barea also returned to earth, scoring only 5 points in 23 minutes — and he didn’t bother Parker one bit.  But then again, neither did Jason Kidd, Antoine Wright, or Jason Terry, who all took turns getting abused.

The Mavs luckily have two days off before their next game.  San Antonio made their adjustments and bounced back; the Mavs need to match.  All the optimism that filled the air after game 1 has been sapped.

It’s one thing to lose; it’s another to be blown out in every single facet of the game.

Mon April 20th, 2009 11:20 pm
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Filed under Web | No Comments »

Key to the game: JJ Barea

Who’d have thought that one year ago, we’d be saying the key to a Mavericks playoff series would be JJ Barea?

(Sidenote: I suddenly couldn’t remember if Barea had one “r” or two.  So I Googled “Barea.”  And JJ is the first entry.  Google juice for the little guy.)

His quickness needs to bother Parker — make him work for his points (which he’ll get).  And make Parker run around expending energy on defense.

And, most of all, he’s a spark.  He brings energy, takes charges, and makes good decisions for a young player.

If he can do the same things he did in game 1, the Mavericks will be in solid shape.

Mon April 20th, 2009 7:57 pm
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Filed under Sports, Dallas Mavericks, Sports | No Comments »

Note to NBC: The Olympics consist of more than three sports

If all I knew about the 2008 Beijing Olympics came from NBC’s television coverage, I would conclude that:

  • Swimming was the most popular sport in the world, and Michael Phelps was running for supreme dictator of the planet — he gets interviewed more than the U.S. presidential candidates;
  • Gymnastics was the second most popular sport in the world, even though it appears to be dominated by female children (arguably true in China’s case, apparently) and bulky, stocky men;
  • Beach volleyball was the third most popular sport in the world.  By the way, can anyone explain to me that women wear next to nothing to play the sport, but men wear loose shorts and shirts?  Is it mandated by some volleyball governing body that the women competitors have to show off their caboose on national TV, while the guys can cover it all up?
  • Bela Karolyi is some sort of international superspy, lagging behind only Michael Phelps (and his “flat behind” as described by NBC as giving him a swimming advantage) in camera time.  I think Bob Costas is getting jealous.
I know, I know, NBC just televises what gives ratings.  And people want to see volleyball, gymnastics, and volleyball.  But, what if — and I’m just thinking out loud here — NBC squeezed in a few other events during prime time, between Michael Phelps and Bela Karolyi interviews?  Just throwing it out there.

Thu August 14th, 2008 9:18 pm
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Filed under Sports, Televsion | 3 Comments »

Lessons learned for August 2, 2008

  • Grilled snapper is my favorite kind of seafood.
  • The Dallas World Aquarium is a really neat place — if you haven’t been yet and live in Dallas, you should go.
  • Manatees are really, really big.
  • No one ever has the t-shirt I want in my size — and I’m an adult medium.  Not exactly a rare size.
  • Stranger Danger!  If you get in a photo booth with an intoxicated stranger, don’t be too surprised at the results.
  • Some people get pretty upset if you suggest that Journey’s new singer (Arnel Pineda) sounds as good as Steve Perry.
  • Life never happens quite as you expect it.  (This isn’t something I learned today, I suppose, but today provided reminders.)

Sun August 3rd, 2008 1:36 am
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Filed under Life | 2 Comments »

WordPress from my iPhone

Hi. I’m writing this post from the really slick and easy-to-use WordPress iPhone app. Neat.

PS. I got an iPhone 3G. It rocks but isn’t flawless. More to come.

Mon July 21st, 2008 10:42 pm
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Filed under Gadgets | No Comments »

NHL Hockey playoff overtime is amazing

I’m writing this post while keeping a watchful eye on the Dallas Stars and San Jose Sharks hockey game — it’s game 6, double overtime, 1-1.  Stars up in the series 3-2, but game 7 (if necessary) is in San Jose.  So they want to close this out.

I’ll be the first to admit that hockey is not my favorite of the major sports.  I’m not sure which is, it varies depending on my mood.  But it’s not hockey.

But that having been said, dang, playoff overtime hockey is amazing.

It’s so, so tense.  Knowing that the next goal could come in 5 seconds, or it could come in 20 minutes.  It’s up and down, fast-paced.  It’s a real battle, and every possession is a hold-your-breath-nail-biter.  One little odd skip of the puck on an uneven piece of ice, and the game (and possibly the season) is over.  One misplay.

NBA overtime is tense.  NFL overtime is tense.  But in the NBA, it’s a full quarter — so each possession is huge but you can give up a couple of baskets and bounce back.  And in the NFL, the game rarely ends on a deep pass or long run.  It’s usually a slow, methodical drive to the 25 yard line that results in a field goal.

NHL?  Sudden death, and the goalies take their game up a notch.  Amazing stops on huge scoring opportunities.  Up and down, and anything can happen.

Too much typing.  I’ve got to get back to focusing on the game.

Go Stars!

Sun May 4th, 2008 10:47 pm
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Filed under Sports, Dallas Stars | 1 Comment »

Annoyance of Day™: Banner ads that talk

Advertising drives the internet.  I understand that, and can deal with it — even this humble little site has an ad on it here and there.  And with the rise of contextual advertising and niche marketing, I’ve even clicked on some ads because they were — get this — relevant, interesting, and presented a product I was interested in.

But then there are the run of the mill banner ads.  Ones that have very little or no relevance to the content and whose sole method of gathering attention is being annoying.  Previously, this meant garish colors, annoying Flash animations or animated GIFs.  But, for some reason — perhaps file size limitations, perhaps content providers refusing to break a certain threshold of annoyance — sound had been blissfully missing from the majority of banner ads.  You saw it every now and then, but it wasn’t that widespread.  (At least, it wasn’t that widespread at the sites I was visiting.)

But now there’s a series of banner ads pointing out that I’ve won an iPod or a computer or a boat or something.  I don’t actually remember.  Nothing new, really.  The same ad has been around forever in some incarnation or another (which means it must actually be effective, which makes me worry about the IQ of the human race).

But this ad has added voices, now.  Sometimes, a perky female reads the copy to me, telling me I’ve won.  Sometimes it’s a fresh-sounding male.  Either way, it’s annoying.  Very annoying.

So, I’m sitting here listening to some tunes and reading a website that will remain unnamed and unlinked because it carries this ad.  Then the perky female starts reading the ad out loud while I try to read some content.  The ad runs its course while I’m reading and find a link that I decide to follow.  I click the link, a new page loads, and the ad reloads.  Which means… guess what!  I may have won!  I repeat this process one more time before running away from the site with my speakers muted.

To recap: I click on the ad exactly zero times and leave the site and am very reluctant to go back.  Was it worth it, content provider?  I’m probably not the only reader thinking this.  Remember content providers — make sure the ads on your site won’t cost you readers.

Sat May 3rd, 2008 9:55 pm
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Filed under Business, Advertising & Marketing, Business | No Comments »

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