From: davem@uvmark.uucp (Dave Meeks)
Subject: Re: Olympic hoops referees
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 92 14:57:45 GMT
Organization: Vmark Software, Inc.

In article <l7b7c5INN1gi@exodus.Eng.Sun.COM> ma@bluedevil.Eng.Sun.COM (Shing C. Ma) writes:
>The most refreshing thing to me about the Olympic basketball
>is the referees.  No more "protect the superstar" bullshit.
>NBA referees are a bunch of jokers giving preferential treatment
>to superstars and pissing on rookies.  IMHO, all players should
>be treated the same, superstars and rookies alike.  The excuse
>of not calling fouls on superstars because fans came to watch
>them play and not sit on the bench is ridiculous.  If a superstar
>cannot play without fouling then he deserve to ride the pine.

Funny, to me it is the most frustrating.  And not because they call fouls,
but because they are very consistent.  

>
>Also the bullshit of not calling fouls at the end of a close game
>is equally ridiculous.  A foul is a foul whether it is a blow-out
>or the end of a close game.  What's this BS about the US volleyball
>team complaining about the yellow card during the game point of
>the Japan-US game? If you violate the rules you pay for it, even if
>the game is on the line.

Well, if you want to be extremely "by the rules", then the decision to
overturn the US Victory WAS incorrect, because as clearly as it states
the ruling of yellow cards, it also states the ruling of protest filing,
and the Japanese did not follow the correct procedure, and thus, the US
could have argued on that point, and according to what I have heard, would
have won if they brought that point up. In the US team officials defense,
they refused to bring this up, considering it a bad way to argue.  
The main reason for the "don't make the close call at the end of the game"
follows the general principal of letting the players determine the outcome
and not the referees.  I disagree with the US Volleyball team and their
complaining of losing, but in general I agree that the referees should let
the players play.  One of the problems with the US/Croatia match is that you
had two talented teams playing very hard, and both teams were getting hit
with little touch fouls.  This severly disrupted the flow of the game, and
the fould usually didn't affect the player at all.
>
>I just finished reading Barkley's book, "Outrageous".  I know Barkley
>is a fierce competitor, but the elbow on the Angolan player is
>absolutely unnecessary.  Daly should bench Barkley and give more PT
>to Laettner.  It ain't gonna happen cause "the fans came to see him
>(and others) play".  The NBA is heading in the direction of Pro-Wrestling
>with the rule inconsistencies.

I disagree with this and all comments about the Barkley situation.  Barkley
is a fierce competitor, and his is, above all else, genuine.  He is himself,
and refuses to compromise to anyone.  Look at most sports... In hockey,
if a player high sticks or slashes someone, should they be benched???  
What about in soccer, if someone puts on a nasty, illegal tackle, should they
be benched??? No.  They should be penalized, and if it happens frequently,they
should be ejected.  Barkley didn't hurt anyone, he elbowed someone.  While
not justifying the act, I think it has been overblown considerably due to
the fact the Dream Team gets so much coverage.  
>
>Also, the the NBA Champs was not, is not and will not be the World
>Camps.  The Deam Team will be because it played with the best the
>other countires of the world have to offer.  NBA Champs == World
>Champs --- what a joke.

The NBA Champs are the best in the world.  If you would even begin to believe
otherwise, their are some mental institutions that would love your business.
I haven't seen an international team that could even play in the NBA.  The
Croatian team, considered one of the best in Europe, has 1 NBA starter, and
1 12th man.  It has 2 other players with marginal NBA talent.  And they still
wouldn't be able to compete at the NBA level.  International Basketball has
come a long way, and is now at the level in which they can beat our college
kids, but even then, only a couple of teams can do it.  The NBA is a whole 
other level.  I agree with the "World Champs" simply because until the 
world can send a team to even challenge the US, the NBA champs are the best
team in the world.  Maybe this is arrogance.. But it is also right on the money
>
>-shing


-- 
David T. Meeks                    ||" We are jigsaw pieces, aligned on the 
VMark Software, Inc.              ||  perimeter edge, 
uvmark!davem@merk.com             ||  interlocked through a missing piece"
davem%uvmark@merk.com             ||" ...This world is totally Fugazi"
Newsgroups: rec.sport.basketball.pro