Quote:
Originally Posted by cougjunkie
Remember when NBA refs would sell their first class plane tickets and then fly coach, so they could pocket the difference? This was more than a handful of refs, in fact I believe even Steve Javie was involved in this. Now you may not think it is a huge deal but if they are willing to go through all of that trouble for 200 bucks, what makes you think they wouldnt go to an even further extreme?
I think the David Stern conspiracy theory is nothing but crap, I think the reprimand for fouling out a star player is crap. But I do think their is an unwritten, unspoke rule on how to ref against star players. It is no secret the public knows it, the NBA knows it, the players and coaches know it, if you are really that outraged why do you keep watching?
I will tell you why, because star players drive the NBA moreso than any other sport. Thinking of all the players in the NFL that you would pay money to watch? Ladainian Tomlinson, Tom Brady, maybe Devin Hester, great but they only play half the game. Baseball same thing. In the NBA the star player is front and center all game long, every single thing that happens in the game can be dictated by that particular player and that is what keeps us coming. Whether you like him or not, you tune in to see if Kobe can score 50, if Lebron flirts with a triple double, or if Deron Williams looks like the second coming of John Stockton.
Further evidence look at Barry Bonds homerun chase, people tuned in from all over America to watch him break the record, but according to the Nielsen ratings, the ratings were 800% higher when he was at the plate.
We love the star players, we expect them to get treated differently and if Kobe scored a measly 19 a night we wouldnt tune in to watch.
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I agree with this. NBA refs gamble, but so do all other refs of every sport, so not sure why it is such a big deal now...except that Tim D was caught.
A league-wide conspiracy that involves the Commish is simply paranoia.
In all of this talk, nobody has alleged that the players or teams are cheating. So what are they to do when they receive a favorable call? refuse to shoot the FT?