The Sports Guy On NBA Officiating

Complaining about the officials in any given sport is just about universal. You see it in all the Big Three leagues (and their college equivalents), in soccer overseas, and just about everywhere else in the world of sports.

Hell, I got to experience the sharp end of it during almost every game back when I was a Little League umpire in Evanston/Skokie!

But the NBA is in a class of its own for lousy reffing. Joey Crawford, Bennett Salvatore, Danny Crawford, Joe Forte, these are all guys with name recognition fitting for the coach of a successful team or a mid-level starter. Unfortunately, they are all veteran NBA officials. Being famous as an official is not a good thing! Just ask the NFL's Ed Hochuli if you don't believe me.

Anyway, Bill Simmons (ESPN's Sports Guy) has long been a vocal advocate of fixing the NBA's broken system. This article, which he posted today, is his most powerful effort to date, explaining what is wrong with the way the league is reffed and checking out ways to fix it and improve the game we all love.

One quick quote from the piece;

"My single favorite old-school moment of the past two decades happened at the end of Game 5 of the 1993 Eastern finals, when Chicago's Jordan, Pippen and Grant famously blocked four straight Charles Smith shots to clinch the victory in New York. Were the blocks clean? I don't know. Did the Knicks complain after? No. Because you had to watch the whole game -- that play didn't just happen. All four quarters were played with that same cutthroat intensity. Unlike today, the officials didn't change their minds midway through the game on what contact was acceptable. They didn't try to manage the game. They let the players decide what happened and intervened when necessary.

That's basketball. At least, that's what basketball should be."

A must read for any fan of the NBA. Here's a video montage from that classic 1993 Bulls vs. Knicks series, too.

Lazy Week Update

Obviously, we here at Armchair Superstar never rest when it comes to covering sports. Like the mailman and pizza delivery drivers, we like to bring it to you rain, sleet, or snow.

The problem is sunshine and summer weather!

So yeah, I'm sorry about the lack of updates this week.

A couple of things, quickly, as I get ready to do at least one proper article this weekend and probably more like two.

–Remember those awesome days last year when it looked like the Cubs and Sox might just be on a collision course for the first Red Line Series in over a hundred years? Yeah, me either. The Northsiders just broke out of an extended (eight game?) slump last night, beating the Pirates in a game that, lucky for them, got called after the fifth inning due to rain.

Here's Mr. T, uhh, singing (?) Take Me Out to the Ball Game at Wrigley the other night. Thanks to AK for the link.

Meanwhile, the Sox also won yesterday as The Big Fella, Bartolo Colon (holy crap, what a good looking guy!), pitched a pretty amazing (for him, anyway) 6 2/3 innings while making it look easy. Podsednik is fitting right back in on the team, getting an outfield assist last night. The Pale Hose are hanging around just under .500, at 21-24, but scored seventeen runs against the Angels in the first game of this series, and go for the sweep late tonight. Preview can be found here. It's Jered Weaver, who is having a fantastic year (2.52 ERA), against Gavin Floyd, who has been about as unpredictable as they come.

–Other interesting baseball stories. Tim Lincecum is regaining his form and pitched eight scoreless last night. The Blue Jays are starting to fade a little bit in the AL East. And Raul Ibanez continues to lead the NL in home runs. Some good stuff there.

– I cannot believe LeBron lost last night. What a great game. That shot he hit while leaning over the far side out of bounds line was unreal, and then Rashard Lewis hit an amazing one too, using his pivot foot to create about eight feet of space for an open three-ball dagger. The Cavs obviously have to win out now, and while I still think they can do it, it's looking more and more like the NBA Finals might just be a little different than we all predicted. ESPN has a highlight reel on their front page today, link is on side of page.

In the West, the Nuggets and Lakers are knotted up 2-2. The thing that most impressed me in Game Four was JR Smith all of a sudden becoming a passer! Who knew that he had court vision like that? Anyway, the Nuggets just blew away Kobe and Co., finishing with 42 fourth-quarter points. Entertaining series thus far.

– Went to the Indianapolis 500 this weekend and had a good ol' time with Nate and friends in the infield. This makes the second straight year that I've attended both the Big and Little 500s. Thinking about writing an article comparing the two of them, and would appreciate any insight from those of you that have gone to both of Indiana's classic races.

–Condolences to Mike Tyson and his family. Tyson's four-year old daughter died yesterday after an ugly household accident.

–More to come soon, but for now that's all from Bloomington. Hope everyone is having a great start to summer.

NBA Prediction, Peavy Stays In Junior League

Call me crazy, but I think I'll take the Nuggets tonight in Game Two of the Western Conference Finals. I love Kobe, Lamar Odom, and Pau Gasol, but I think the veteran leadership of Billups (and veteran, uhh, participation of K-Mart) combined with Nene and Carmelo and JR Smith and Birdman adds up to a major upset victory tonight.

Callin' it now, so that if I'm right I can gloat.

Also, apparently Jake Peavy decided he likes the retro San Diego unis (pictured) and would rather stay in the nice safe National League, where he gets to face the pitcher once every other inning. Now, I have Peavy on my fantasy team (The Double Baggers) and think his stats would probably be better over in the senior circuit (aka the junior league) but I would have loved to see him pitching at the Cell. He could have stayed under a 4 ERA and brought a ton of K's to the table.

Oh well.

Anyway, hopefully more to come tonight.

Hoping for another great NBA game!

Sox trying to get Peavy!

What a year it would be for me. I know everybody has there favorite team in sports and then they have their favorite player that isn’t on their team.

For football my favorite non-Bear’s player was Jay Cutler. I don’t know why I liked him so much I just did. That’s why I made sure I traded for him in all my fantasy teams.

Who is my favorite non-White Sox Pitcher? Non other then Mr. Jake Peavy! This would be the most fantastic year for moves if the Sox could land him. I think if Ryan was heading to Jamaica we would have to have a repeat of Jay Cutler Day. I know the trade wouldn’t be as big as the Jay Cutler trade but I know I’d be one very happy Sox fan.

Growing up with...The Blackhawks?

Over the years, one sport that has moved in and out of the spotlight is hockey. That could be because of lockout or lack of interest, or maybe just a combination of both. Either way, the light is back and brighter than ever in the Windy City.

We've read about it all year, the young talent and now the success of a team. So as I sit here at my computer after a 5-2 game 1 loss to the rival Red Wings, it has me thinking about a franchise and how far they have come...in this fan's eyes.

I went to my first Blackhawks game in 1996. I can't really remember the exact date without looking, my ticket stubs are scattered around my room. However, I did find the one from my first Bears game...November 24th, 1996, a 31-14 win over the Lions (No doubt it was a Dave Krieg gem under center).

Enough basking in mid-90's Bears glory, the moments are few and far between. My first Hawks game was against the Hartford Whalers. As an 11 year old, it didn't get any better than box seats, whatever food I wanted, and a 4-3 win. What did I know about professional hockey? The closest I had ever been to a Blackhawks player was when I was at a Dodge Dealership in Downers Grove earlier that year. Eddie Belfour (pictured) drove up in his Viper, bought a truck and left.

After that season, I drifted as a Hawks fan. With few games being televised until this year, there wasn't much exposure. Sure they were my favorite hockey team, but their last Conference title was in the 91-92 season. Their last Stanley Cup title, 1961. Continuing in the mid-90's, it's quite possible that sports fans in Chicago didn't even know we still had a hockey team, and thought the Bulls were the only team that played at the United Center. Rightfully so, as they won championship after championship. After the transformation of the past few years, the Hawks are at the forefront, the perfect mix of young talent and tradition.

You could call many of the fans bandwagon, but there is nothing wrong with that. Its not the hot and cold choice between Cubs and Sox. The Hawks are something the city can agree on and embrace. I recently went to my 2nd Hawks game ever. Round 1, game 5 with Jamie and Steve no less. A Hawks win, but an atmosphere like nothing I had ever experienced. The tradition of cheering during the national anthem began in 1985. As you stand there, you get goosebumps and feel the biggest sense of pride for a country, for a team, and for all the fans there cheering alongside.

The puck drops and there is an electricity flowing throughout the entirety of the game. That game went so well I went to Game 6 against the Canucks. Back and forth the teams went, the building was booming even more than the series before. With a Patrick Kane hat trick, the game and series were clinched. Fittingly, it was the young talent equalling the tradition of a franchise in a game Hawks fans will not soon forget.

The “One Goal” mantra applies to the team and the city, whatever goal they are promoting, we all know the ultimate goal is hoisting the Cup. They have a chance to end the drought, a drought twice as old as many of their players. I know this fan is ready, and the push continues tomorrow night in Detroit.

Tony K out, Jon Gruden in on MNF

Just wanted to give everyone a heads up that espn is reporting (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4174469) that Jon Gruden will be joining the Monday Night Football booth.


I never disliked Tony K. I felt like sometimes he tried to hard, but overall not bad. I know a lot of you will be happy about this.

I just love Jaws, when I first heard Gruden was joining the booth, I was scared he was the one getting kicked off, but thankfully he is not.

Two Funny Baseball Stories From the Weekend

Two funny stories I read in Chicago Tribune’s Redeye this morning that I wanted to share with everyone.

Joe Madden made an error filling out his lineup card for the Tampa Bay Rays and essentially accidentally forfeited his Designated Hitter for the game. So what does this mean? Well it means the Rays had to have their pitchers hit throughout the game like a national league game. Even worse, Joe Madden’s mess up forced the pitched to bat where the DH was supposed to hit in the heart of the order. Well this should mean easy outs for Cleveland pitchers right? Wrong, Pitcher Andy Sonnasnstine hit an RBI as the Rays won 7-5 over Cleveland. How can a AL pitcher get RBI’s against last place Cleveland but the White Sox can’t.

And

The Angels announced that Pitcher John Lackey is going to pitch on only two days rest! That’s pretty impressive considering most pitchers get 5 days of rest between starts. Well, actually know, in Lackey’s last start on Saturday, he threw a total of 2 pitches. Pitch 1 sailed over Ian Kinsler’s head, pitch 2… right in the ribs. (This Link has the video of the game) I think that’s a pretty good outing if you ask me. Also I would have loved to have been in LAA’s bullpen when that happened. These guys aren’t even thinking about getting ready and then BAM! In you go.