the nba is a joke and always will be.

[rickyleach]

you can say what you want about basketball , but when it comes to the nba IT IS ONE STEP ABOVE THE WWF, AND AS BOBBY NIGHT ONCE SAID WHY DONT THEY JUST ELIMANATE DRIBBLING THE BASKETBALL IN THE NBA, BECAUSE ALL THESE GUYS DO IS TRAVEL..

[mgoblue1]

NBA basketball is a scumbag sport. Seems like that league lost all it's integrity a long time ago. The only people I see interested in it are scumbags that are walking the streets in the middle of the day instead of being at work.

[Mike Furley]

NBA basketball is a scumbag sport. Seems like that league lost all it's integrity a long time ago. The only people I see interested in it are scumbags that are walking the streets in the middle of the day instead of being at work.


That kills me. Reminds me of Michigan Man's comment on the old Sack Carr website about the hot OSU woman over at Fizoli's with her dirty illegitimate children in tow.

[bluefan]

That kills me. Reminds me of Michigan Man's comment on the old Sack Carr website about the hot OSU woman over at Fizoli's with her dirty illegitimate children in tow.

I believe that made your Top Ten list. Speaking of tin foil hats; has anyone seen Sten around?

[gator]

More to the point of the thread....

I have found the NBA to be more interesting lately with close games/series and intriguing matchups. Unfortunately, it's been intriguing on the level of the WWF. They simply want increased viewership. Even though everyone knows WWF is fixed, it draws large numbers of viewers because it is entertaining (not to me, but to a lot of people). The NBA has just taken a page from the WWF to make their games more compeling, IMO. How you ask? Use the referees to get high-scoring games (i.e., do away with traveling unless they walk from half court), more star power (call fouls in their favor, letting them score 40+ points on a semi-regular basis), big-market team and star-driven team advancement (again use fouls slightly to their advantage, but not enough to draw serious attention).

Now, they aren't just outright fixing games simply based on the fact that Orlando made it to the finals, but you have to believe they are at least playing the odds. How else to you explain their referee policy. First, nobody in their right mind will dispute that the stars get the calls. Half of the time, I can't even see where the superstars are fouled, and half the time superstars commit fouls they are not called. Second, because the NBA knows their referee policy is full of shit, you cannot show or express any disagreement with a call. What other sport does that without some kind of illegal contact with the ref or some blantantly obvious disrespectfule gesture. No they fine you if you just express your opinion in a press conference after the game. If you disagree with my thinking, maybe you can help me out with two other things that always bother me about the NBA: 1) How in the world are there regularly 40+ point swings in these playoff series games. The home team wins by 20, they go to the other arena and that team wins by 20. You hardly ever see that during a regular season of college basketball. If the teams are comprable, they play two or three close games throughout the year. If one teams blows the other out at home, they either play close or win against the same team on the road. You just don't see that kind of swing often in CBB, and I think refs are mostly to blame. Getting games like that is benificial in two ways: you get huge home game turnout and you can prolong the series to get more games. 2).Why did we start seeing the Kobe vs Lebron commercials just before and all through the playoffs if they aren't playing the odds of getting that matchup? Yes, they are both stars and their respective teams won their conference, but they both have 3 good teams standing in the way of that matchup. Even if you want that matchup, I doubt you start what I assume was a multimillion dollar campaign without better than average odds that you'll get that matchup. I figure they thought these teams are both pretty good and they should at least win one or more of these series on their own. At worst, they'll get in a close series but we can use the refs to tilt things slightly in their favor throughout the game. I believe momentum is huge in basketball (and most sports), so just a few key calls here and there can stem a run or turn a 3 pt lead into 5 or 6 pt lead and start a run for whomever you want. Then again, I may just be wearing my tin-foil hat. At any rate, I find the fact that you can receive a technical foul and/or be fined for just disputing a call very fishy.