Re: thoughts on Grizzlies loss

["Richard & Cynthia Davies" <davies@maine.rr.com>]

The more I think about the refs, the more I get steamed. The party line is
that the refs don't want to affect the outcome of games--that they want to
leave it up to the players. But I can't see how they *don't* affect these
games.

When a team like the C's gets consistently called for 'touch' and 'phantom'
fouls, while their opponent gets away with traveling (Reeves), assorted
offensive fouls such as hooking and charging (Bibby & Rahim, Reeves again)
and bumping (various Grizzlies), what do the refs think happen? That the C's
will just dismiss the imbalance of the calls and continue to play loose and
agressive? I mean, come on... of course they affect the game!

Every time this crap happens, it demoralizes the team that's getting screwed
over until they get mentally taken out of the game. How is Walker supposed
to feel confident going to the basket late in the game when the refs have
swallowed their whistles when he's done that during the first 44 minutes?
How is one of the guys going to feel about stepping in front of a charging
Bryant "Great Barrier" Reeves when the refs keeping calling blocks instead
of charges?

It's ridiculous and it's changed the outcome of more than a few of the C's
games.

Okay, getting off the soapbox now...

Rich D.

----------
>From: Boston Sports Fan <bostonsptsfan@yahoo.com>
>To: celtics@igtc.com
>Subject: Re: thoughts on Grizzlies loss
>Date: Wed, Feb 14, 2001, 12:55 PM
>

> Pierce's fouls were not all legit. I recall one in
> particular. The ball was loose and Shareef pretty much
> hooked Pierce's arm so he couldn't get to the ball,
> Paul shrugged his arm forcefully to shake it loose,
> and they called the foul on him.
>
> The refs were atrocious. The critical jump
> ball...Bibby hooked Stith so HE couldn't get to the
> ball, and they ended up calling the foul on Stith.
> There was a blocking foul called on V that was the
> most obvious charge I had ever seen in my life. Eric
> took the ball to the hole with about a minute left,
> got bumped as he took shot, which surely affected it,
> and there was no call.
>
> Just terrible.