MVN - Most Valuable Network

Warriors and rest of the NBA un-favorite teams may now have a fair chance

It looks like the little gremlin dictator commissioner has finally started to pay attention to the REAL image of the league and has started to make changes with the NBA that compare to some of the changes made in Major League Baseball after the Black Sox scandal.  The Tim Donaghy affair and the repercussions are making ripples in the NBA pond that will affect the entire landscape and eventually save a sport that is in serious jeopardy of becoming the next WWE.  Eventually, the ‘STAR’ treatment will be a thing of the past as long as the changes that David Stern is implementing have started with the right hirings.  So far, it looks pretty good.

The changes haven’t recently just begun.  They started over a year ago when Tim Donaghy was reported under investigation for betting on NBA games last July and later found guilty of it.  Amid a ton of descrepancies in calls and much criticism, The NBA has begun to change how the officials operate.  Standing in the center of these changes will be retired 2 Star General, Ronald L. Johnson.

The NBA announced his hiring on July 1, 2008 and it looks as the the General has hit the ground running.  It seems appropriate that the little Dictator of the NBA would hire a General to clean up the mess, and anyone who’s served thier country honorably for 32 years is probably the right man for the job.  His title is Senior Vice President, Referee Operations, and it’s probably safe to say that this ‘Army of One’ will not only ‘Be All He Can Be,’ but when it comes to the integrety of the game he’ll follow the Army motto, “This we’ll defend.”

He’s got a huge job ahead of him.  Current and former players, like MVN’s Doug Christie have had plenty of complaints about the current situation of NBA officiating.  In Christie’s latest offering, he states the following:

“I am devastated to the point of feeling physically sick! Not just for myself, but for my teammates (who put their true heart and soul on the line), the fans in Sacramento (and worldwide) and the players out there on the floor right now. What’s “real” and what’s fake? So many and so much has been effected by these turn of events, not to mention that the fans didn’t get a chance to see the “true champions”.“

We feel you Doug.  I’ve been sickened by the NBA officiating for years, and it’s only gotten worse.  Now, other sports like the NFL and MLB should take a cue from THE worst offender, because their officiating has been getting more questionable as well.  Is it possible that the NBA, with all of the known discrepancies in it’s officiating could be leading the way back to true sports?  Hiring the General is definitely the proverbial step in the right direction.

It took 20 days, and the General has already made his first major move and restructured the Referee Operations Department.  The move looks as though the General is forming his own group of Untouchables, and I applaud him for it so far.  Bernie Fryer will be the Vice President and Director of Officials, Joe Borgia will be the Vice President, Referee Operations, and Ronnie Nunn will be the Director of Development.  Here’s how the NBA defines their roles:

“Fryer, who served as the NBA’s Assistant Director of Officials and Crew Chief Coordinator during the 2007-08 season, will be responsible for the day-to-day management and on-court performance of NBA referees, reporting to Senior Vice President of Referee Operations, Ron Johnson. Borgia, who has served for the last four years as the league’s Director of Officiating Programs and Development, will be responsible for administering all other aspects of the officiating program, including recruiting, training programs, team communications and oversight of the D-League and WNBA officiating programs, also reporting to Johnson. Nunn, who served as the NBA’s Director of Officials for the past five seasons, will be responsible for the teaching and development of the NBA’s less-experienced referees and the transition of referees from the D-League to the NBA, reporting to Fryer.“

Maybe now, when Shaq is manhandling an opponent, he’ll finally do it enough to be tossed from the game.  It’s possible that now star athletes, like Kobe or A.I. will have to release the ball on their second step rather than taking three or four and jamming it home.  Hopefully now, a player that is playing sound defense will no longer be called for phantom fouls…hopefully.

We’ll wait and see what develops.  You can bet we’ll be watching.  For what it’s worth, you have to be impressed with the move to FIX a problem that has gone on for years.  Let’s just hope that the ‘Untouchables’ truly are that, untouchable.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008 at 10:28 am and is filed under NBA News, Golden State Warriors. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.