Several NBA referees "facing indictment" from the IRS
for failure to report income "have agreed to have their
cases pushed back until after" the NBA Finals, according to
Mitch Lawrence of the N.Y. DAILY NEWS. At least three
officials "facing indictment have cooperated" with the IRS
by signing extensions, "giving the IRS more time to seek
indictments." Lawrence adds that as "many as" 12 others
"are expected to agree to have their cases postponed until
late June or July." The deal "is the first indication" the
playoffs won't be affected by the investigation. One
source: "This is exactly what the league wanted. If they
had to replace all these guys by next week, the playoffs
would have been a disaster" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 4/16).
NO SHRINKING VIOLET: SI's "Scorecard" comments on NBA
female refs Dee Kantner and Violet Palmer, noting, "not much
has been heard about Kantner and Palmer. ... For the league,
that's just fine." The "consensus seems to be that Kantner
... is the more confident of the two refs, sometimes to her
detriment." One ref: "Dee's problem is that she's a little
too familiar out there." One Eastern Conference All-Star
said that in a game Kantner "rested a hand on his rib cage
as he talked to her." The player: "Why is that?" One NBA
coach says Palmer "allows herself to be overruled on correct
decisions and must 'come in with a stronger frame of mind'"
(SI, 4/20 issue). On ESPN SportsZone, Jeffrey Denberg
wrote, "Within the profession, [Palmer's] getting better
marks than [Kantner] from other referees. The knock on
Kantner: thinks she's so good" (ESPN SportsZone, 4/14).
