Revenge of the Referee

Well, this isn't something you see everyday. A former NBA referee seems to have a little problem with the former Atlanta Hawk and so called Human Highlight Reel, Dominique Wilkins, over a bill for some suits.

Michel, who told police he was owed money for suits purchased several years ago, hit Wilkins in the chest and also hit a security guard, Jones said. Michel, of Atlanta, has worked as an NBA and college basketball referee and previously owned his own clothing store.

Judging by the booking picture, the ref got the worst end of this deal.

Craziest Missed Dunk Ever?

The things some guys will try in garbage time of NBA games. This is Shannon Brown of the Lakers trying to throw one down on Los Suns last night in Los Angeles. Had it worked it would forever be a highlight reel dunk. Even though he missed it'll still be shown a bazillion times on ESPN.

Check out this still shot:

Kind of reminds me of the hops I had when I played in the NBA.

Oh, sorry, I was just going Dick Blumenthal there for a minute.

'I'm Not Your Punk!'

Ah, nothing like a little friendly gun play between teammates. No small irony here that they play for the team that used to be known as the Bullets.

Guess they're still the Bullets at heart.

NBA all-star Gilbert Arenas and his Washington Wizards teammate Javaris Crittenton drew guns on each other in the team's locker room during a Christmas Eve dispute over a gambling debt, The Post has learned.

League sources say the pistol-packing point guards had heat ers at the ready inside the Verizon Center, the Washington, DC, home of the Wizards -- whose name was changed from the Bullets over gun violence concerns.
It was the three- time all-star Arenas, 27, who went for his gun first, sources said, drawing on the 22-year-old Crittenton, who quickly brandished a firearm as well.

It was not clear whether other teammates saw the shocking standoff, which happened on a practice day.

The duel in DC -- unprecedented in sports history -- was sparked when Critten ton became enraged at the vet eran guard for refusing to make good on a gambling debt, a source said.

"I'm not your punk!" Crittenton shouted at Arenas, according to a league source close to the Wizards.

That prompted Arenas to draw on Crittenton, who then also grabbed for a gun, league security sources said.

A playground pal of Crittenton's from Atlanta, Kendrick "Bookie Ball" Long, confirmed the locker-room standoff and said he learned of it directly from the third-year player out of Georgia Tech.

"He [Arenas] was f- - -ing with him; he [Crittenton] was just defending himself!" declared Long, who said the dispute was over money but would not elaborate.

Considering how bad the Wizards are it's unlikely either of them would have hit anything if they indeed started shooting.

Obama Boldly Predicts Lakers in Six

Coming off his audacious pick of the favored Steelers in the Super Bowl and the groundbreaking selection of North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament, our fearless leader again taker a great leap forward by gambling his sports cred on the heavily favored Los Angeles Lakers to defeat the Orlando Magic in the NBA Finals.

Nothing like going out on a limb.

"The Lakers in six, I think," he said.

Such decisiveness.

Of course if the Lakers do win in six we'll never hear the end of it. They're still babbling about his NCAA picks on ESPN, three months later.

For the record, I'll take Los Angeles in five.

The Sound of Silence

Maybe someone in the Knicks front office can clandestinely send LeBron James a number 23 jersey now.

Just to see how it looks.

Head down and shoulders slumped, LeBron James headed off the court as the Orlando Magic streamers shot off above him.

Dwight Howard was hugging Hedo Turkoglu, dreams of Beating L.A. dancing in their heads. James wasn’t bothering to stick around to shake hands, offer congratulations or pretend there was a bright side to the Magic ousting his Cleveland Cavaliers from the East finals with a 103-90 victory in Game 6.

James was off the floor before the confetti could hit his shoulders.

He later dressed in silence in a corner of the locker room then put on some gold, oversized headphones and headed for the door. Normally one of the last to leave, he was now one of the first. With anger and frustration evident in each step, he charged through the back halls of Amway Arena without greeting anyone, got on the team bus and soon was off to the airport.

There was no looking for his mother, Gloria. There was no talking with Nike executives. And forget addressing fans and media – Mo Williams was left to answer for the defeat.

LeBron was gone. The King was silent.

LeBron James Nails Game-Winning 3-Pointer Against Magic

The Cavaliers were staring into the abyss, facing an 0-2 deficit on their way to Orlando.

With just one second left.

Then King James stepped up big.

Amazing.

'If Only We'd Had Al Gore, We'd Have Known What We Were Doing'

Minnesota Timberwolves coach and NBA Hall of Famer Kevin McHale reflects on the 1985-86 Celtics season when they went 40-1 at home.

"I don't know exactly all the reasons why, but we don't have that right now," McHale said. "We don't have a lot of good home mojo. We're going to have to find some."

McHale, by the way, was a part of the 1985-86 Celtics team that went 40-1 at Boston Garden. He said the Celtics didn't pay attention to their home record that year, largely because there weren't continuous news updates like today.

"Al Gore hadn't invented the Internet or global warming yet," McHale said. "If only we'd had Al Gore, we'd have known what we were doing.

"I don't even know what the hell we were doing back then. We were just playing."

Ouch. Ridicule of Algore has spread to the hardwood of the NBA.

H/T Tim Blair.

FBI Probes NBA Referee

Hey, maybe the Knick's were not that bad afterall.

FBI probes allegations NBA ref bet on games he worked

NEW YORK -- The FBI is investigating allegations that a veteran NBA referee bet on basketball games over the past two seasons, including ones in which he officiated.

According to a law enforcement official, authorities are examining whether the referee made calls to affect the point spread in games on which he or associates had wagered.

If this is true, and they can prove this guy made calls to affect points, we got trouble with a capital "T". A lot of professional sports revolves around gambling in one form or another, but it all depends on the games themselves being honest.

I wonder how many Knick's games this ref worked...

The lunatics at the PuffHost blame Bush. Naturally.

UPDATE: The referee's name is Tim Donaghy, and he has apparently already resigned from the NBA. Assuming he was connected to any wise guys, the authorities need to get him someplace safe and away from windows.

Warriors Demolish Mavs

It what is the greatest upset in NBA playoff history, the Golden State Warriors not only defeated the Dallas Mavericks, owners of a 67-15 record enetering the playoffs, they completely humiliated then, winning Game 6 in blowout fashion last night.

What happened in Oakland on Thursday night climaxed the most improbable playoff series the league has ever seen. Dallas had won 67 games to the Warriors' 42 during the regular season. They were the all-conquering masters, talking boldly of returning to the NBA Finals, while the Warriors clawed desperately into the eighth and final playoff spot on the last day of the season. That 25-game difference is what makes it historic -- and not just for the NBA. Neither the National Hockey League nor Major League Baseball has seen a disparity that great.

Making it even more delicious is we get to laugh at 9/11 Truther moron Mark Cuban, who deserves nothing but ridicule. Hey Mark, how's that Dan Rather thing working out?

They're not taking things well in Dallas.

Creating Bias Where None Exists

It's bad enough the New York Times is drenched in political correctness, but now their obsession with race has consumed the sports page. Get a load of this nonsense.

Study of N.B.A. Sees Racial Bias in Calling Fouls

An academic study of the National Basketball Association, whose playoffs continue tonight, suggests that a racial bias found in other parts of American society has existed on the basketball court as well.

A coming paper by a University of Pennsylvania professor and a Cornell University graduate student says that, during the 13 seasons from 1991 through 2004, white referees called fouls at a greater rate against black players than against white players.

Justin Wolfers, an assistant professor of business and public policy at the Wharton School, and Joseph Price, a Cornell graduate student in economics, found a corresponding bias in which black officials called fouls more frequently against white players, though that tendency was not as strong. They went on to claim that the different rates at which fouls are called “is large enough that the probability of a team winning is noticeably affected by the racial composition of the refereeing crew assigned to the game.”

Hard to fathom that people are this consumed by race, but the notion of basing a statistical study on the use of boxscores over a near 15-year period to try and concoct a racial bias of basketballs officials, is, quite frankly, insane.

The NBA polices their officials very strictly, and the idea that any officals, be they black or white, would get away with a racial bias on the court, is absurd.

Have we now descended to the level in this country where we have to go out of our way to find a problem that doesn't exist? There aren't any more useful ways to spend your academic time than by going over boxscores?

Whatever these two came up with, the NBA needs to release whatever data is may have compiled and put this nonstory to rest.

Former NBA Player Reveals He's Gay

Whatever. Nothing earthshaking, as far as I'm concerned. Though based on his playing career, he'll probably receive far more notice now that he's come out.

John Amaechi, the former NBA player and England basketball international, is to publish a book next week in which he will reveal he is gay.

The autobiography, entitled Man in the Middle, will detail his six seasons in the world's leading basketball league and its release is being eagerly awaited in the United States.