tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15442926.post-14791497619674415792008-06-10T22:42:00.008-04:002008-06-12T13:49:49.999-04:00Despicable.<br /><br />Disturbing.<br /><br />Detestable.<br /><br />Wrong.<br /><br />The officiating in the NBA finals, even more so than the playoffs up to this point, has been the ugliest thing I've seen since Conan gave us a glimpse of what Steve Buschemi and Joan Rivers' child might look like. <br /><br />And it goes both ways. Game two was just as bad as game three. I'm watching the home team get touched as they begin their two step drive and they head to the line. I see the away team get hammered as they jump to shoot and somehow the foul occurred before they were in the act of shooting. <br /><br />I've also never seen ref who waited to see if the shot went in before he decided to call a foul. Look, it was either a foul or it wasn't. Oh, did I mention this was only ever done for the home team?<br /><br />Why is this so bad? Well, the home team is free to play smothering D knowing that nothing is going to be called. The away team is afraid to get anywhere near their opponent because if they breathe on them funny, they're going to the line. Not only that, but the away team starts to get <i>really</i> frustrated. And you can't really blame them. When the away team is 2 for 2 on free throws and the home team is 7 of 12 and it's the <i>first quarter</i> something isn't right!<br /><br />I'd like to point out to every ref who has work these last three games something that they might have overlooked in the rule book. I know, it's hard to remember all of those rules and when they do and don't actually apply. But this is kinda key: Basketball is a <b>non-contact</b> sport! And that needs to go both ways!<br /><br />It's been long believed that the NBA (more than any other league) maneuvers game outcomes so that they can land the biggest bucks. Just look at the two huge market teams in the finals. And I'm not the only one saying these things. Check out this <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3436401">court shaking article</a>.<br /><br />Something simply must be done.<br /><br />On an entirely unrelated note: our little Full House broke his leg. Well, truth be told... his daddy caused a hairline fracture in his leg. <br /><br />We were trying a friend's Wii. I was bowling, I brought my knee up and didn't realize that the little man was running toward me. My knee made contact with his head and his head made contact with the floor. We're still not sure how that broke his leg...<br /><br />He has a little blue cast on. He calls it his boot.<br /><br />Even as I type this, I cannot even begin to express how terrible I feel for the incident. Thankfully, the little guy has forgiven me, but will probably never let me pick up a Wii-mote again.<br /><br />Now, as we all know, I can't tell a "<a href="http://acesoneights.blogspot.com/2005/08/overview.html">what I did today</a>" <a href="http://acesoneights.blogspot.com/2006/01/it-aint-my-fault.html">story</a> <a href="http://acesoneights.blogspot.com/2005/08/queen-of-hearts-and-whiffle-ball.html">without</a> having a point to it. Here it is:<br /><br />What's wrong with our healthcare system?<br /><br />The injury occurred at about 7 PM yesterday. We didn't see any evidence of the injury so we thought we'd see how he was doing today. In the morning he still wouldn't put weight on it. So we called his doctor.<br /><br />Appointment 25 minutes from home: 1:30<br />Referral to radiology<br />Travel back 25 minutes to get Daddy<br />Travel 40 minutes to children's hospital<br />X-rays: 3:48<br />results confirmed<br />Cast on: 4:15<br />out of the hospital<br />Back home <i>through city traffic</i>:5 PM<br /><br />Injury to remedy: 22 hours.<br />Out of pocket expense: 0 dollars<br /><br />So I ask again, what is wrong with our healthcare system?Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15278012407263103991noreply@blogger.com