Re: Sing Along Now

[Tammo29@xxxxxxx]

Concerning NBA officiating.....this is from ESPN.com
Along with the instances mentioned, Nick Van Exel is fighting his recent
$20,000 fine for verbally abusing game officials after the Mav's/Wizards game
Sunday.
He said he only did it after the official told him he should "worry about
getting out of the second round of the playoffs", which certainly sounds like
player baiting to me.
This kind of stuff is getting to be a regular occurrence.  IMO, David Stern
has to do something to get these officials under control.
TAM


Wednesday, February 26
 
Referee Stafford received two-game suspension
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com


The NBA does not announce disciplinary action taken against its referees, but
ESPN.com has learned that two game officials were recently sanctioned in the
wake of run-ins with Miami coach Pat Riley -- one suspended and the other
fined.

Derrick Stafford, who clashed with Riley during a Heat-Blazers game just
before the All-Star break, was required to serve a two-game suspension this
month, according to league sources. Newspaper reports quoted Stafford telling
Riley during the game: "It's not about you. Go on TV crying."

Riley was fined $20,000 for "publicly criticizing game officials to assembled
media" after that game.

Steve Javie, meanwhile, has been fined $1,000 by the league office for his
part in an exchange with Riley early in the 2001-02 season. The incident
didn't get national attention until December of this season, when Riley was
fined $50,000 for saying leaguewide "dislike for me over the years" among
referees -- specifically Javie -- was influencing the way Heat games are
officiated.

"It all started, I think, last year," Riley said Dec. 13 after a loss to the
Knicks. "I think I sort of sensed something changing last year when Steve
Javie, in Cleveland -- and to his delight, obviously, absolute delight, as we
were getting beat, and going through a real tough time -- came to my face,
after we were having a discussion, and said, 'It's giving us absolute delight
to watch you and your team die.' "

NBA vice president of operations Stu Jackson declined comment through a
spokesman Wednesday, citing the league's policy of not discussing internal
communications with its referees.

Jackson did acknowledge during All-Star Weekend in Atlanta that the league
was "investigating both sides" of the Stafford-Riley incident from Feb. 5.
Commissioner David Stern, however, said in Atlanta that he remains against
publicly disclosing disciplinary measures taken against game officials.

"I just think in light of the competitive challenges when players and coaches
get a hold of certain information, it might further erode the ability of
these gentlemen to do the job that they do so well," Stern said at his annual
state-of-the-league address. "So I'm resisting that."

A week before his clash with Riley, Stafford drew the ire of Sacramento coach
Rick Adelman and Kings center Vlade Divac in Sacramento's home loss to the
LosAngeles Lakers on Jan. 31. Divac was quoted in the Sacramento Bee as
saying that Stafford told Doug Christie, "Tell Vlade this is not the last
game of yours I'll be working this season."

Javie was back in the news again last week for ejecting Memphis coach Hubie
Brown and Adelman in separate games in a span of three days.

Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com