WWE FInals Game 3: How the company men do it!

It is no secret that David Stern uses 'company men' to interficiate basketball games and get the results that he wants. In Game 3 of the WWE Basketball Finals, his company men conveniently overlooked Haslem blocking Dirk like a linebacker while Chris Bosh sank what would be the game winning shot.

But before it even gets to the end of the game, the company men keep it close by making up fouls. In this play Wade flops on a rebound that he never had any chance of getting and the refs not only take away the possession from the Mavs, but they give Wade two free throws.

Announcer Jeff Van Gundy discusses Wade fooling the ref. But there was no fooling the ref. The ref called what he wanted to call. Wade just gave him the excuse he needed.

Goons! Hired goons! That's all NBA refs are. 

Bonus shout-out: Van Gundy and fellow announcer Mark Jackson have constantly criticized the officiating throughout WWE Basketball Finals game. And then at one point in Game 4, they agreed that the NBA refs are the best refs in the world.

Really? Is that your version of Heil Stern? The man on the street would be a better ref and you know it! At least bad officiation goes both ways. Stern's agenda is ruining the game and you know it. Don't just kiss ass after the fact because you're sipping more than your fair share of the gravy a-holes.

Have they ever watched an international basketball game? The refs call the game right. Flops are not rewarded. Charges are charges. Blocks are blocks. Moving screens are moving screens. Stop pretending like officiating is an amazingly difficult task. It's not (at least for a significant portion of the population). 

If  WWE Basketball wanted to fix the reffing deficiencies they would. But that is not how the WWE Basketball Leauge works. Heaven forbid a real basketball game breaks out. 

Stern desperately tries to avoid the wrong teams getting the glory (and the lower ratings). In the 2005 Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons, the two most fundamentally sound teams in league history squared off. Even Tim Duncan's nickname was 'The Big Fundamental.' 


However, that series was one of the worst rated series in the post-Jordan era. That meant less money for Stern. Sometimes even Stern's company men cannot prevent the undesirable match-ups from occurring. But they will be ever vigilant in favoring the higher rated teams. The entire world knows that.

Congress should step in and make the NBA and the referees independent of each other. That may never happen. But in the meantime we don't need Van Gundy and Jackson giving us the good news and bad news Young Guns 2 style.


What's the bad news? There's only sh*t for commentary.


What's the good news? There's plenty of it!

It's Go Time For Joey Crawford

Despite David Stern's best efforts, the Mavs and Heat series is tied two to two after four games. For marketing purposes, Stern needs two Miami victories in three games for the Dwyane Wade / Lebron James 'Dynasty' to begin.

It's time for Stern to go to his best company man, Joey Crawford. Shots Heard is predicting Joey Crawford appearances in the most pivotal games, Game 5 and Game 7. Book it.

And if for some reason we are wrong and Stern does not want to appear so blatant in using Crawford in WWE Basketball Finals games 5 and 7 two years in a row, then still expect to see Crawford in Game 6 or 7 in Miami. 

If the Mavs are up 3-2, Stern will use Crawford to stem the tide and at least get the series to a Game 7. If the Heat are up 3-2, Stern will save Crawford in the event that a Game 7 is necessary. The latter is optimal for Stern. He loves Game 7 money and having his best man on the floor when the series and financial vitality of the NBA are in the balance.

WWE Basketball...Stern predictably rigs Game 4 of Heat vs. Bulls

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.

It's ridiculous. It's not even a conspiracy theory any longer. We've seen this before. David Bowie said it best. 'The film is a saddening bore.'

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.

Miami Heat's playoff advancement is unfortuante

The Boston Celtics could have won all five of their series games against the Heat. They consistently did not execute at key moments though. The better team lost. Nonetheless, the better team did not do what they were supposed to do and they deserved to lose (on a certain level at least).

However, it is still unfortunate that the Heat advanced to the next round of the playoffs. Now basketball fans have to endure another round or two of watching the NBA put them on the free throw line any time somebody looks at them wrong.

In the interest of disclosure, Shots Heard has always been a pro-Celtics website. But our annoyance is not based on sour grapes regarding the Celtics loss. Our annoyance is based on the league manufacturing points for the Heat and taking away from the game.

Constantly throughout the Celtics Heat series, Dwy-ane Wayne (learn how to spell Dwayne) and Lebron James would drive into the lane, lunge into a defender that was standing or jumping straight up; and the refs would call the defensive fouls. Sadly, we all knew that that would be the case going into this series. The NBA's dirty tricks are well known.

The only thing, more annoying then the fact that the interficials played this shell game of pretend fouls; was watching Wade and James become enraged when the fallacious calls weren't called. At one point James jumped into the chest of Big Baby Davis and put up a shot that KG blocked (all ball). LBJ and Wade both threw their hands up like babies despite the fact that  the only possible realistic call would be an offensive foul.

Up 87-81 in Game 5, Wade drove into the lane, wildly charged into Nenad Krstic, who was standing straight up and then he threw a shot up that rolled off the rim and into a Celtic player's hands. The ref whistled Krstic for the foul. The call gave the Heat a break, two points and returned momentum to their side.

Krstic could only laugh and demonstrate that he was standing still with his hands straight up.But it's not really a laughing matter. It was not merely a missed call. It was an intentionally bad call that we have seen time and time again from Stern's company men.

We talk about the bs calls. We know they aren't a figment of our imagination. Yet under the Stern regime, the pattern ensues. That is because the pattern is not considered a problem.

It is notable that the corrupt Game 5 rigging came on the heals of Wade committing a flagrant 2 foul that dislocated star Celtics point guard, Rajon Rondo left elbow and effectively took him out of the series. Rondo had 6 points and 3 assists in Game 5. Those numbers are well below his averages. Those numbers are well below what is expected from a player known to elevate his game and constantly post triple doubles in the playoffs.

Adding insult to injury, the NBA did not bother to enforce their own rules and kick Wade out of Game 3 and suspend him for Game 4. It could have easily been the Celtics up 3-1 going into that game. The Celtics could have easily taken that rebound on the Wade miss and gone down and put the dagger into the Heat. And even had they choked, they would have likely won Game 6 at Bean Town.

The Eastern Conference Finals features arguably the three best players in the game; Wade, James and (Derrick) Rose. But the writers at Shots Heard does not plan on watching that high profile WWE Basketball match-up that is slated to go seven games (if Stern gets his way).

Let the peons that Stern is catering to, (especially) enjoy that series. It's not a series for fair minded fans though. Of course, what series is these days?

For those of you that do watch the series, enjoy watching Rose, Wade, James go to the free throw line every time someone breathes on them wrong. Enjoy watching Wade and James barrel into people and get put on the free throw line.


We at Shots Heard, were watching to see if the Celtics could rise above the fray that is Stern and his minions. It is a rooting interest that keeps fans watching sometimes. But Stern has taken away the default rooting interest; the purity of the game. Once a fan's team is eliminated, that fan has no need to 'witness' the ensuing bs.


We won't lie though. This is what the public wants. They want the Bulls and Heat. We are not so silly as to think that the ratings are not the bottom line in Stern's world. The NBA is but a microcosm of the world's corruption. We only speak to those with an embedded sense of pride; you know, the real minority.

A video tribute to David Stern and the media whores

Undoubtedly DS. You did your best to block the highlights of Game 7 of the 2010 Finals (at least for now). But this amateur video of the end of the game made it through your grimy filter. This video is also dedicated to the media whores who are supposed to be a watchdog against corruption. Yet they never once reported that a controversial official, Joey Crawford was the NBA's point man for Game 1, Game 5 and Game 7. Nor are the media whores bothering to report the shady officiating in the deciding quarter of the championship.

From this video, I do see Rajon Rondo get his face pushed by Pau Gasol who is able to then get the rebound instead of Rondo or Pierce. Unfortunately the replay is limited (as Tim Donaghy has pointed out in the past) and the commentators do not bother to even point it out.

Then we see Rasheed Wallace fouled out on a blocking call. Yes he was in the circle. But no he was not going for a charge. He was holding his ground to contest the shot. I thought the point of the circle was to prevent players from quick slides to take charges. Apparently it has the dual purpose of allowing superstars to recklessly slam into the lane and get a blocking call.

Actually, these complaints though are somewhat tame compared to the officiating in the first six games. It is just that there is added magnitude given the timing of these calls. David Stern and the media. You have relegated scrutiny to fringe blog sites like this. Follow the money though. We know what is going on. Fans need to demand more. Unfortunately, they likely will not. And until the next Tim Donaghy scandal breaks, this is what we can expect from the NBA. 

Note: This post is dedicated to Michael Wilbon, who used to have journalistic integrity. But all series long he was too busy kissing up to Magic Johnson (to put it politely) to care about fairness. Even in the post game show, he was quick to disregard a huge no-call (Gasol traveling) with 1:30 left in the game and the Celtics down four. We used to be able to count on you bud. Where's the outrage? You gone soft. You do not work for the people any more. You are just another enabler.

2010 NBA Finals Prediction / Message to the NBA

Despite the Los Angeles Lakers victory in Game 1 last night (due in large part to the company man, Joey Crawford), Shots Heard picks the Boston Celtics to win this series. Also I believe that I forgot to post the predictions for the conference finals. But the two teams I would have picked (Celtics, Lakers) did win.

Also I'd like to note that I have been seeing the company men officiate key games in the playoffs. Game 1's, close-out games, pivotal games, etc. The NBA is non-transparent organization when it comes to the regulating of officials. Monetary bonuses are not disclosed. Also, officials get paid per diem during the playoffs. So when David Stern (NBA commissioner) get the results he wants, the NBA plugs referees back into other key games to do more of the same (as John Kerry and President George W Bush are fond of saying). Because of this pathetic reality, I would not even bother watching these finals if my Celts were not in it.

I did not bother to watch one minute of the 2009 Finals in which I knew a good team (Orlando Magic) could beat the Lakers. I knew it simply would not be allowed. Last night's Game 1 was painful to watch. They called ghost fouls on the Celtics at one end and then allowed the Lakers to body the Celtics up at the other end. I even watched one play where the ball hit out of bounds off of the Lakers right in front of the referee. But instead of giving the Celtics the ball out of bounds, he allowed the Lakers to go on a successful fast break. I watched at one point as the Celtics were making a comeback, that Kobe was bailed out on two consecutive plays. So instead of the Celtics getting transition plays, they watched Kobe take four free throws and keep the game in check.

The NBA has ruined the integrity of the game and no propoganda campaign to put the corruption onus on Tim Donaghy is going to change that. So my suggestion to the NBA, when it comes to this serial use of company men, GET THE FLOCK OF HERE!

Picture 1: Two peas in a pod: Tim Donaghy may be the convicted felon, but David Stern is every bit the criminal that he is.

Picture 2: Kobe Bryant is constantly buddying up to Joey Crawford. At one point during Game 1 of the Finals (2010) he literally covered his mouth and whispered a secret to him.

Picture 3: Once, Crawford gave Tim Duncan two technical fouls while he sat on the bench and was not even talking to Crawford. Yes, that is not made up. The NBA pretended to punish him by suspending him. But he was back on the job in time to fix some playoff games.

Picture 4: It was Crawford who allowed Derrick Fisher to foul Brent Barry during Game 4 of the Conference Finals against the Lakers. Instead of awarding Barry the three free throws and consequently the series tie, the Lakers took the commanding 3-1 series lead. Even worse officiating allowed the Lakers to not be down 2-0 in that series. In Game 2 of the series, with the Lakers down 20 and the Spurs having a 1-0 lead and the following two games in San Antonio, the Lakers were allowed to foul at will.

Picture 5: Lakers always smile when they are around Joey Crawford. Just ask Derrick Fisher.

Picture 6: I put it to you Gregg (Poppovich). Would you have this problem if you were coaching the Lakers?