NBA refereeing unfair!? What!? < /sarcasm>
Disgraced NBA referee: “The 2002 Lakers – Kings playoff series game 6 was jobbed by the refs.”
Every fan that watched that game: “In other news, water is wet.”
David Stern makes mental note to have Tim Donaghy shanked in prison:
“Referees A, F and G were officiating a playoff series between Teams 5 and 6 in May of 2002. It was the sixth game of a seven-game series, and a Team 5 victory that night would have ended the series. However, Tim learned from Referee A that Referees A and F wanted to extend the series to seven games. Tim knew referees A and F to be “company men,” always acting in the interest of the NBA, and that night, it was in the NBA’s interest to add another game to the series. Referees A and F heavily favored Team 6. Personal fouls [resulting in obviously injured players] were ignored even when they occurred in full view of the referees. Conversely, the referees called made-up fouls on Team 5 in order to give additional free throw opportunities for Team 6. Their foul-calling also led to the ejection of two Team 5 players. The referees’ favoring of Team 6 led to that team’s victory that night, and Team 6 came back from behind to win that series.”
^ Dude, I remember saying at the time what a job that game 6 was.
Shaft-city for a deserving Kings team, and just another good reason (as if Jack Nicholson at courtside wasn’t enough) that in a Just and Rational Universe, the Lakers would never win another title.
In other news, I still love Scott Pollard:
“My first thought [upon hearing Donaghy's allegation] was: I knew it,” Pollard said Tuesday night. “I’m not going to say there was a conspiracy. I just think something wasn’t right. It was unfair. We didn’t have a chance to win that game.”