When mainstream sports sites starting discussing rumors of the NBA fixing the playoff series so the Cavs meet the Lakers in the finals. I’ve even seen discussion of last year’s series and how the Celtics and the Lakers were able to pick up so much talent in a hurry. The Lakers have already made the finals and I’ll be interested to see what happens with the Magic/Cavs series tonight.
The NBA is probably the only organization happy about the Michael Vick story since it broke at the same time the Donaghy scandal happened.
I think the NBA has to break itself of relying on a few players to sell the league. I’m sure MLB and Fox wanted the Red Sox rather than the Rays last year in the World Series. And, no one except me was happy that the Arizona Cardinals made the Super Bowl last year. But, no one is writing stories about rigged MLB series or a fixed NFC championship game. The NBA has to move beyond their Kobe/Lebron fascination. The Bird/Magic era is long gone and Jordan isn’t coming back either. The focus has to be on the teams on the court, not which player gets the best marketing deals.
They will never break from the star syndrome. Jordan made them big and rich. They think another one will make them bigger and richer. Michael was the right player at the right time. Whether Labron is better or not, he will not impact the NBA as hugely.
They have cheapened the game. Jordan rules is just admitting they do not enforce the rules equally. That is institutionalized cheating. Why should a smaller market team quietly accept that the league will job them out of the playoffs?
Those of us who are fans of smaller market teams know it happens, know that nothing can be done about it, and are bitter.
At least I am. I think it broke the team that they could play as well as or better than the team that would win the championship, and get blatently bad calls that would rob them of their wins.
So now the owners no longer care. Bad business practice all around, imo.
I’m honestly not quite sure which point you’re trying to make. Saying every TV in the state is tuned in sounds impressive, but Utah’s population is equal to that of, say, Brooklyn.
I can’t say I’ve noticed big markets getting favored over smaller markets by the refs (says the New Yorker). I have, however, noticed that the officiating just sucks out loud in general, and I could definitely see how a lot of people would get that confused with malicious officiating directed at their own team. If you ever want to be annoyed, go over an NBA game carefully with your DVR, specifically to watch the refs. You’ll be amazed at the number of bad calls (and also bad non-calls, but the greater part of the problem is too many whistles). Bill Simmons is mad as hell, and he’s not going to take it anymore.
I think the problem is simply that they have really bad officiating and refuse to even acknowledge theres a problem. The fact that one ref is the one making calls under one basket while a different one works the other side makes calls really inconsistent.
Or, maybe, they recall that LeBron was featured in the lowest rated finals in NBA history.
All in all, I think the talk that the league fixes games to get good match-ups is bullshit. However, I also think that it’s more insidious than just incompetent officiating. What it seems like to me is that specific Refs have favorites. They like and dislike certain teams and certain players. They fear and respect certain players and disrespect others. Some like to be the center of attention and achieve that by blowing the whistle in key moments. And many, no…most Refs get unduly influenced by the home crowd. Some Refs give favorable calls to appease the fans and avoid criticism and others overcompensate by calling every little thing. Refs react to player and coach comments in the media and are able to be influenced and call fouls with a purpose as opposed to objectively. That all compounds to come across as the game being rigged for a certain team, but in reality it’s just lopsided, subjective and prejudicial.
In just about every way the system is fucked up.
The fact that three 60 year old men are expected to run up and down all game and see everything isn’t helping matters at all. I think there should be 6 Refs on the floor, one in each corner and two sliding back and forth on either side of the timeline. Each Ref ought to have a very well defined area of responsibility, like the officials in the NFL do. The ones in the corners are responsible for the wings and everything under the hoop. The guys at the arc are responsible for the time keeping, 3 point line and the floor above the foul line. No whistles from across the court. The guys at the end lines rotate by one corner at every time out to prevent trends or player conflict from developing.
That’s because the Spurs were in the finals that year, and they never got a lot of nationwide interest. It was also very clear the Cavs didn’t have a chance that year. They had a better team this year and LeBron has only become a better player, and yet they just got sent home. Some fix.
That’s because it’s clearly bullshit. The game is too fast for the officials and there’s little consistency, which is definitely bad, but the “it’s fixed for the big markets” angle is just whining from fans of losing teams.
I don’t mean to jump all over you, but would you consider learning how to spell the guy’s name correctly? It’s not helping your credibility.
What are you talking about? “The Jordan Rules” was originally the nickname for the cheap shot techniques your team used against him, you know. (You never mention this.) The NBA has never “admitted” anything. It’s true that stars get more calls- it’s infuriating to watch at times. We saw it in the Orlando-Cleveland series, and yet Orlando won anyway. So which small-market team got screwed out of the playoffs?
I don’t think the the rumors of a playoff fix even put a dent in the ratings. I think most people are intelligent enough to not even consider it. What I think hurts more is the horrid officiating.
Are you telling me ,you are a fan, and never heard the announcers talk about being a big enough star to earn calls. When LiBron came into the league many claimed he was the savior of the NBA. I heard announcers say he had to earn calls. He could not expect to get them the first year. Institutionalized favoritism is accepted and not even covered up. It is treating players differently. It sets va precedent which is wrong and dangerous to the game.
What was his traveling excuse,the crab walk? Traveling is traveling. He was shocked that they called it on him, a special player.
Nooooo, don’t you understand? The NBA wants LeBron, its biggest star, in New York, its biggest market. If he’d won a championship in Cleveland, he’d stay with the Cavs forever.
Instead, now that the NBA has conspired to send the Cavs home, LeBron will think he has to head for the Big Apple to win a championship!
“It’s true that stars get more calls- it’s infuriating to watch at times. We saw it in the Orlando-Cleveland series, and yet Orlando won anyway.”
-my last post
Yes, I know it happens. Everybody knows it happens. Now what does it have to do with a fix when the big star’s team lost?
Then you see the point, but you accept it as part of the game. I do not. If LuBron is so good, he does not need ref help to excel. Stars getting calls, and the league pushing it, is my biggest bitch about the NBA. I think the game should be rougher. When a guy goes straight into the defensive players, he should be willing to pay the price.
Fact: The Walt Disney Corporation is heavily invested in Orlando, Florida, the site of Walt Disney World;
Fact: The Walt Disney Corporation is a big player in the entertainment business;
Fact: The entertainment business is based in Los Angeles, California; and
Fact: The Walt Disney Corporation owns ESPN and the ABC-TV network, which will televise the upcoming NBA Finals between, wait for it, Orlando and Los Angeles.
Therefore, obviously, the Cleveland Cavaliers never stood a chance against the forces of Mickey, Donald & Goofy.