By Mark Kiszla
Denver Post Staff Columnist

San Antonio - Tony Soprano, the mobster we love, is America’s favorite wise guy.

Gregg Popovich, whose stare can kill, is the NBA’s last don.

“Yes, he’s a son of a gun,” San Antonio assistant P.J. Carlesimo said of his boss. “He’s very tough.”

Everybody, including superstar LeBron James of Cleveland, is worried Tony is going to get killed in tonight’s final episode of “The Sopranos.”

“My friends think that either the feds are going to come and get him, or he’s going to make friends with the feds and maybe snitch on a lot of people, or he’s going to get whacked,” said James, who maybe should worry more about escaping the cement sneakers the Spurs slapped on him during that opening-game beat down at the NBA Finals.

But you think Big Tony is gonna be the toughest guy on television tonight?

Fuhgetaboutit.

No Soprano is tougher than “Pop.” He’s the coach of the Spurs. The godfather of the men in black.

Don’t mess with Texas? Whoever wrote that slogan back in the day must have anticipated Popovich was coming to town.

He sets the tone for pro basketball’s most feared operation, sneers at the fawning San Antonio electronic media who trip over themselves to kiss his championship rings, then goes home and sips a glass of fine vino.

Why does the theme song from “The Sopranos” start playing in my head every time Popovich barks orders in the San Antonio huddle? Talk about a dude who was born under a bad sign with a blue moon in his eye.

“You’ve got a lot of coaches in this league who won’t yell at superstars on their team. They fear their superstars because they fear for their jobs. And ‘Pop’ doesn’t worry about that,” Spurs veteran Robert Horry said.

What makes the Spurs murder to play is not their defense so much as their steel-toed-boots attitude.

Any dope with something besides seeds in his melon knew five years ago that Popovich was smarter than Pat Riley or Phil Jackson on the bench. But a little more than 24 hours before Game 2 of the Finals, some fool finally got around to asking “Pop” if he wasn’t more famous because he failed to wear Armani suits and preach Zen.

“No,” replied Popovich, trying not to be annoyed by the flattery.

Then, the Spurs coach punctuated his disdain for celebrity, saying, “I’m not being a wise-(aleck). I don’t care.”

The Spurs, from the gutter tactics of Bruce Bowen to the 1,000-yard stare of Tim Duncan, are not easy to cuddle.

Popovich can be engaging, condescending, fascinating and infuriating. All in the same breath.

And, no, “Pop” does not really give a flip about what you think of him or his team.

Thanks for asking.

In a league where it’s generally believed millionaire players now run the show, Popovich is the last don, straight from the Soprano iron-fist school of management.

And I mean that in a good way.

Read the whole article at the Denver Post

Oh let me count the ways:

Media

The media has taken control of the NBA and because they can only increase profits through hype they continue to drive the NBA right into the ground. Year after year they choose a player to hype only to be let down. Hardcore fans are always going to watch but the casual fan is what the NBA needs to make the Playoffs and the Finals profitable. The media would rather promote exactly what the highly prized casual TV fans are tired of seeing. Thugs, big mouths and criminals! Just look at what it’s done for the NFL, need I say anymore. Why not choose a player and a team that has already proven itself! Because the media decided years ago that the unassuming Tim Duncan is boring they can’t promote the Spurs. Shame on the media! The Spurs are exactly what the casual fans would love to embrace. Talent, athletic ability and hard work; sure they play defense but you have speed and agility, shooting, tough play in the lane and the wild and crazy moves of Manu “Crazy legs” Ginobili. Nothing to see here! The bad news is that you are not going to read or see these guys in the national media or see these guy mug shots in the crime pages.

I don’t know about anyone else but I’m already tired of the LeBron James media hype. Why is this kid anointed as the savior of the NBA? I understand that “King” James has an overwhelming wealth of talent and has put in the hard work necessary to assume the throne. But what has he done to deserve that title? He has become the leader of the Cavs and has done everything it takes to make to the NBA Finals! He has put the Cavs on his back when he had to and helped to make other members of the team better. He has willed his way to the top and deserves credit for all that hard work and effort. But until he wins something I’m not quite ready to crown him!

NBA Staff

The NBA has embraced exactly what the media told them they had to have and it’s rewarded them with fans losing interest in the game. Sure TNT has drama but the NBA has chosen to manufacture drama instead of letting what we all know is a fantastic game create its own drama. I call it selling out! Change the rules to punish teams that play defense and reward teams that play only offense. The only problem with that is that San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is smarter than NBA Commissioner David Stern. Pop has built a team that not only has adapted to the rules but has stood the test of time. I’m sure he would give most of the credit to having the NBA’s best power forward ever and I believe one of the ten best of all time!

NBA Refs Suck

Maybe NBA Staff and Referees should be categorized together because they orchestrate the game together but with growing fan discontent with the referees they deserve a category all their own! I’m no conspiracy theorist and don’t believe refs intentionally decide the winners. But I do believe they know what is expected from them. Close games are a requirement because sponsors need to know that commercials purchased at the end of games will have value. I game that is over in the first half has no viewers at the end of the game. So referees will always give a team that is getting destroyed an opportunity to get back in the game. I’ve had many conversations with referees from all forms of basketball. They all try to convince me that it’s hard to control the game but all you have to do is watch a game to know that a well placed call or momentum halting call gives the opposing team an opportunity to get back in the game. I’m not buying what they are selling and neither are the fans.

Zip
6/6/07

Charley Rosen / FOXSports.com
Posted: 9 hours ago

The Spurs are in command of the Western Conference Finals after besting the Jazz 91-79 in a wild, slam-bang contest.

That’s a far cry from Utah’s blowout win in Game 3, and Monday’s loss shows why the Jazz are still a far cry from elite.
First of all, it should be noted that Steve Javie, Ken Mauer, and Joe DeRosa had worse games than any of the players. For no discernible reasons, some flops were ignored, some were penalized, and some were rewarded. And because of the routine mayhem permitted to transpire in the middle, most of the players will no doubt be suffering from scratches, bumps and bruises from their elbows to their fingertips. Things got so chaotic that whenever a whistle sounded the players had no idea what the forthcoming call would be.

Here’s an incident that showed exactly how confused the refs really were: The Spurs had the ball when a pass to the wing was clearly deflected out of bounds by Andrei Kirilenko — but Mauer indicated that Bruce Bowen had touched the ball last and awarded possession to Utah. After a quick conference, however, the three refs determined that Bowen had not touched the ball and that it belonged to San Antonio.

OK. Well done.

But one of the refs was wearing a wire, and during their deliberation Mauer said, “Kirilenko deflected the ball, and I don’t know if it went off Bowen or not.”

Really? Then why did he make the bogus call in the first place?

The only positive outcome of the refs’ collective incompetence is that it didn’t particularly favor either team.

Read Whole Article

For anyone who watched game 4 of the Jazz vs. Spurs Western Conference Championship game there’s no doubt how the fans feel about the referees, they chanted “Refs Suck” and “Javie Sucks”! I know it’s bias and coming from the fans of the Jazz! But it’s a growing trend around the NBA! A large percentage of the fans are starting to buy into the conspiracy theory, is the NBA the WWE? The league can never truly become the WWE because the players still have to score and there’s no way to fake a made three pointer and the opposing teams is never going to buy into letting the other team win! However it does seem that the NBA is manipulating games. I have to believe that the NBA doesn’t really want to hear the fans chanting that the refs suck on national TV for even the casual fans to hear.

With sites like NBARefsSuck.com rising in popularity the NBA has to have one eye on the unrest of the fans and hopefully a serious attempt to improve not just the game from a marketing stand point but improve the refereeing so that the integrity of the game can return. I believe the change in the rules to favor offensive basketball has truly damaged the game. Then there’s the media who is more than happy to promote offense over defense. This year the media decided that the always considered soft Spurs have been upgraded to the dirtiest team in the league because of one comment by Amare Stoudemire and the media’s rush to create a story just to sell something. Whether it’s true or not is up to the true fans to decide!

Zip

By Chris Sheridan
ESPN Insider

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — I’m not going to kill Cleveland Cavaliers coach Mike Brown harder than anybody else in this column — I’ll save that honor for the referees — for biting his tongue after the Eastern Conference finals Game 2 loss, 79-76, to the Detroit Pistons on Thursday, although I think he did his team a disservice by trying to take the high road by refraining from criticizing the officials in the interview room afterward.

“We’re a no-excuse team,” Brown said, a line that was echoed minutes later by LeBron James.

But make no mistake, the Cavs were absolutely livid at the lack of a call when James drove to the basket with eight seconds left and was hacked numerous times by Richard Hamilton, including a rake across his arm as he went for the shot everyone had been waiting three days to see if he would take.

I asked Hamilton in the locker room afterward if he had fouled James on the play, and Hamilton couldn’t stifle a cackle before he gave his answer: “Nah, you know. I just put my hands up.”

And let the record show that he cackled at the end of that answer, too.

Read the rest of the story!

(May 21, 2007) — The rest of the NBA playoffs aren’t likely to set any positive TV ratings records.

When your league is playing basketball in June, the Finals matchup had better be dazzling.

The Detroit Pistons vs. the San Antonio Spurs won’t be.

The two most entertaining teams in the eyes of most NBA fans — the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns — have been eliminated. At least the Mavs lost fair and square to Golden State. The Spurs might not have needed a big assist from the NBA office to beat the Suns, but they definitely got one and we’ll never know what would’ve happened had both teams been at full strength for their series-turning Game 5.

But before we get a rematch of the 2005 Finals (San Antonio over Detroit in seven games), we have to survive a pair of mismatches in the conference finals.

San Antonio in five games over Utah.

Detroit in six games over Cleveland.

Utah’s best player is Carlos Boozer, probably the most underrated power forward in the NBA. San Antonio’s Tim Duncan probably is the NBA’s all-time best power forward and he has a much better and more experienced supporting cast.

The Spurs on Sunday in Game 1 of their series won 108-100 (it wasn’t that close) at home over the Jazz for the 17th straight time. That streak isn’t likely to end before next season.

Cleveland vs. New Jersey might have been the most difficult playoff series to watch since the shot-clock was introduced. Slow-paced, low-scoring and boring — partly because the defense was decent but mostly because the offenses were horrible. The big difference was LeBron James playing well for the Cavaliers and Vince Carter predictably playing poorly for the Nets.

Cousins Carter and Tracy McGrady were teammates in Toronto for two seasons and some people have wondered how the Raptors would’ve fared had they both stayed. Judging by their disappointing playoff histories, probably not exceedingly well.

Detroit has too much big-play experience and plays too much defense to lose a playoff series to Cleveland. James’ brilliance should help the Cavaliers win once or twice but it isn’t going to happen four times.

Link!

May 16th 2007 6:32PM
First, let me go on the record as saying that in the event that a vote comes up to change the rules about suspensions for players leaving the bench, I will vote against changing it.

Why ? Because its incredibly simple to educate players about the rule. Its a rule they fully understand and they understand the consequences of violating the rule. That makes the NBA stronger because it removes uncertainty. Can it result in a game(s) being impacted , yes. However, that impact results from an action a player knew violated the rules and was a mistake. There is no uncertainty about it. All they had to do was not leave the bench.

I actually think that more rules need to be iron clad like the “don’t leave the bench rule”. Whenever we can remove discretion in enforcement from the NBA the game is better for it.

Fans will hate the Suns not having Amare and Boris, but they all know the rule and recognize that the players knew it and fully understood it. What really gets fans, and me upset is when they can’t understand how and why a rule is enforced.

When Jason Terry was suspended for throwing a punch last year, our only argument was whether or not he actually threw a punch. If he did, all involved, including Jason knew and understood what the punishment would be and why.

When Udonis Haslem got suspended a game for throwing a mouthpiece while lying on the ground, I didn’t quite get that one. Fined for being mad at an official, that I understand all too well. The suspension I didn’t.

When guys throw an elbow to the head or a knee to the groin or have a habit of stepping under a player as he lands, its far too difficult for officials and the league to gauge intent. Its pretty much impossibIe. I think we need to take a no leeway position and make both a flagrant 2 foul. Make it a no questions asked rule. Watch how quickly teams re educate players on how to close out on shooters and how quickly player behavior changes. Not by all, but those who can’t probably are repeat offenders and deserve the penalty. A guy missing the rest of a game is a whole lot better than injuring a player and impacting his career.

It won’t completely eliminate the need for the NBA to pass judgment on player intent and dish out punishment, but it will reduce the number of times they have to do it.

To make the job of enforcing all of this a little easier, I would like to propose something publicly that I have proposed privately but was shot down.

Allow officials, at their discretion, to use instant replay to review unsportsmanlike conduct or any action that could lead to a flagrant 2 foul.

This would be an important change not only to help get the play right, but also because it lets the punitive action for a bad act take place in the game it impacts. It would also make fans feel that the officials took the appropriate action based on the best information available. It can be incredibly frustrating to everyone at the game when a replay contradicts the best efforts of an official on a matter as serious as a Flagrant Foul.

Its not a cure, but it increases the chances of penalties being relative to the game in which the problem occurred. Plus, although it wouldn’t eliminate the need for the league to take action on players, it would probably reduce the number of times they would be asked to take action over a players on court behavior.

Link to Article.

With the Spurs dubbed the new bad boys of the league and the overall favorite to not only make it to the finals but win the whole thing I’m wondering Do the jazz have a chance against the 3 time champion Spurs?

You guys got it 100% right. I could care less if refs missed stuff. Odds are, you’ll miss stuff randomly and it will even out. But manipulation of games and vendettas against players is just sickening. At least in pro-wrestling, the wrestlers know it’s scripted. In the NBA, those guys play their butts off and no matter what they do, it’s the refs who ultimately decide. Pathetic. Every year, I get closer and closer to never buying NBA League Pass again, but the regular season is reffed somewhat better than the playoffs. In the playoffs, the refs get so obvious in their manipulation that it literally makes me sick.

-Chris