The NBA has never had a better collection of players, though
they may be "surly, combative and human time bombs," according to
Randy Galloway in the DALLAS MORNING NEWS. The flip side is that
the "NBA has never had such a critical shortage of competent
referees." Galloway sees quality refs in Joey Crawford, Mike
Mathis, Jess Kersey, Hugh Evans, Steve Javie, Ed Rush and "maybe
10 more." But the fall-off from that group is "horrendous." Of
the NBA Chief of Officiating Darell Garretson, Galloway notes,
"Obviously, he has friends in high places, namely David Stern and
Rod Thorn, but among rank-and-file NBA types, there is nothing
but disapproval over Garretson's job performance." Galloway
notes all three recent incidents between NBA players and refs
involved Garretson's "young clones," including his son Ronnie.
"The inside word" on the referees lockout is that Garretson
divided the union by threatening jobs of young and old refs.
Coaches and players around the league "privately" say the refs
don't work as a team anymore, and it's a reflection of the union
vote (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 4/17).
TV TALK: ESPN's David Aldridge agreed with the Magic
Johnson suspension: "He should not have hit the official, but
you cannot equate this with what Nick Van Exel did. Intent was
not there on Magic's part, other that to get the official's
attention. Certainly, not intent to injure as I think Van Exel
was going to do if he had not been separated from Ronnie
Garretson." ESPN's Jack Ramsay: "For the most part, the
officials do a terrific job. But, I've seen some isolated
situations where officials have instigated confrontations with
either players or coaches. I watched Ron Garretson direct a
stream of expletives at a coach who merely asked for a
clarification on the call. That's not his job" ("NBA Today,"
ESPN, 4/16).
