True to the spirit of my word, I have not followed the Eastern Conference Finals charade. I know that the WWE has the higher rated Miami Heat slated for a victory. There is no need to watch a rigged fight. But just for fun, I flipped the channel to overtime of Game 4 of the Heat/Bulls. I did not bother to watch regulation.
First thing I did was to identify which company men were on the case.
Right away, I spotted Joey Crawford's bald shiny head (He is Stern's number one man). Bennett Salvatore was on the case. He is another Stern favorite. The third referee was Ed Malloy. He seems to have a Tim Donaghy heir about him. Malloy was the company man that needlessly ejected Paul Pierce during the fourth quarter of the 2011 Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 2 Miami Heat win against the Celtics.
Stern was clearly serious about getting the Heat a crushing 3-1 lead against the Bulls. The line-up paid dividends.
Late in overtime, Lebron James drove to the basket, barreled into the chest of Joakim Noah and made a lay-up. James wanted the 'and one.' These days, 'stars' not only expect to have their offensive fouls ignored, they whine when they are not rewarded with free throws in such instances.
It's the Kobe Bryant Syndrome. How many times have we seen Bryant throw elbows, push defenders away and then drive to the basket get then get a ghost foul and one. I for one have seen it enough to know just how rigged the NBA is. But this is nothing new. Back in the 98 WWE Finals, Michael Jordan two hand pushed Bryon Russell away and then nailed a wide open shot to win the championship.
The no-calls are a huge weapon in the company men's arsenal. Never was this more true than in overtime of the Heat and Bulls. In overtime, the interficials (refs) swallowed their whistles when Lebron James traveled and when Dwyane Wade goal tended.
On the traveling no-call, James pump faked, and the defender lunged forward and closed out without fouling. With the shot clock winding down, James now had no space to take a good shot. That was no problem, he simply had to switch his pivot foot while literally taking two steps to free himself from the defender. It was an amazingly obvious travel, but the refs did not want to call the travel against their dog in the fight. James subsequently made the jump shot.
On the very next possession, Derrick Rose drove to the hoop, shot a scoop shot that was on its downward path when Dwyane Wade blocked the shot. Once again, the company men swallowed their whistle.
That four point swing sealed the win (and essentially the series) for the Heat. Stern gets what he wants; LBJ/Wade championship ratings. The company men will get rewarded with their per diem championship games and playoff bonuses.
Picture 1: 'This is my house!' Ed Malloy tells Paul Pierce. 'Get out of here! My Heat are going to win this thing! I don't care if Wade has to take out Rondo in Game 3! This is our series!'
Picture 2: No amount of pleading by Avery Johnson was going to stop Bennett Salvatore from fallaciously putting Dwyane Wade on the free throw line during the 2006 WWE Basketball Finals.
Picture 3: 'You'll get your chance smart guy!' Joey Crawford shows fans just how far he's willing to go to shut up the competition.
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