Crawford Vs. Duncan

[Jared Kaufman]

Was there already a thread about the Duncan ejection that occurred this Sunday? If so, I can close this and beg for forgiveness 'cause I know how tough you guys are in this here sports forum.

Either way, the facial expression on Tim's face after getting two technicals, while sitting on the bench, and Horry laughing when he realized it happened a second time was quite humorous. My brother and I had the game saved on our DVR, so we kept watching it over and over last night. All I saw, both times, was Duncan laughing -- it certianly didn't look like he said anything to Crawford or at all.

Do you agree with Crawford's punishment?

[nfggc10]

Yeah I definitely agree because any sport can't allow referees to think they're bigger than the games. Like Stern said on PTI yesterday, he's had too many past instances where he's created more problems than he's negated and has been warned many times to stop that kind of conduct. I still find it funny that Crawford was the one who actually quit saying he didn't want to be associated with the NBA any longer.

[soundofthebrown]

he was a good referee, but like nfggc said, there isn't room for more ego in the nba. if we have refs thinking they are bigger and better, then we will run into problems similar to this one. duncan is a classy guy and normally doesn't even complain to the referees, so when crawford threw him out, i was surprised.

[Jared Kaufman]

Yeah I definitely agree because any sport can't allow referees to think they're bigger than the games. Like Stern said on PTI yesterday, he's had too many past instances where he's created more problems than he's negated and has been warned many times to stop that kind of conduct. I still find it funny that Crawford was the one who actually quit saying he didn't want to be associated with the NBA any longer.
Him "quitting" is such a cop out because he only did that after they told him to take a breather for the rest of the season. I think his punishment was just and that upon his return they'd make sure he didn't call any games with the Spurs and Duncan, because it has become obvious and apparent that he has some vendetta against them. Stern did a good yob here. Man, he seemed so cold and numb on PTI (greatest show ever) last night, though.

Some of the guys on Around The Horn last night were being ridiculous and saying how it wasn't fair and all of that, but Crawford basically challenged Duncan to a fight. There's no way in hell that can be tolerated and if Duncan had done that he would've received the same discipline I'm sure.

As I said, though, the footage sure is entertaining.

[nfggc10]

Him "quitting" is such a cop out because he only did that after the told him to take a breather for the rest of the season. I think his punishment was just and that upon his return they'd just make sure he didn't call any games with the Spurs and Duncan, because it has become obvious and apparent that he has some vendetta against them. Stern did a good ob here. Man, did he seem so cold and numb on PTI (greatest show ever) last night, though.

Some of the guys on Around The Horn last night were being ridiculous and saying how it wasn't fair and all of that, but Crawford basically challenged Duncan to a fight. There's no way in hell that can be tolerated and if Duncan had done that he would've received the same discipline I'm sure.

As I said, though, the footage sure is entertaining.
Haha Stern kept a straight face the whole time. I definitely agree that the ATH guys were ridiculous in their views but I rarely agree with any of them so I wasn't surprised.

[Jared Kaufman]

Haha Stern kept a straight face the whole time. I definitely agree that the ATH guys were ridiculous in their views but I rarely agree with any of them so I wasn't surprised.
Haha, they bug the crap out of me some times.

I forget what Kornheiser and Wilbon asked Stern, but one of his responses was definitely a simple and lifeless "No," haha.

[Jared Kaufman]

7-ENE5HkRBM

[soundofthebrown]

Robert Horry's reaction = amazing hahaha

[Jared Kaufman]

Robert Horry's reaction = amazing hahaha
Haha, I know, I love how he just cracks up when he realized it happened again.

[dai the flu]

i agree with crawford. duncan showed up the ref, he deserved a technical. he keeps doing it, he gets another. good call. and i don't believe for one second that crawford was asking him if he wants to fight. if duncan was too far away for crawford to hear what he was saying, then crawford was too far away to be asking duncan to fight.

[nfggc10]

i agree with crawford. duncan showed up the ref, he deserved a technical. he keeps doing it, he gets another. good call. and i don't believe for one second that crawford was asking him if he wants to fight. if duncan was too far away for crawford to hear what he was saying, then crawford was too far away to be asking duncan to fight.
There's audio that confirms he asked him if he wanted to fight.

[dai the flu]

i was about to ask if that was ever proven. you answered it for me. if thats the case, crawford is out of line for saying that, but i still think duncan's ejection is warranted. he was warned, he knew what he was doing, and he kept doing it.
but i could be biased, i've hated tim duncan for years.

[thejetstolehome]

how can you hate Tim Duncan? dude's one of the classiest guys in sports.

[LeftWideOpen]

David Stern abuses his power more than any other commissioner in sports. Sometimes it benefits the league, other times it doesnt. This is one of those instances that falls into the latter.

Joey Crawford, pompous ass that he is, is one of the best refs in the league. He was out of line here and a suspension is warranted, but not to the degree Stern has issued. It was Stern, after all, who empowered these refs before the season by allowing them to be quicker with the technical fouls.

this sounds more like a personal grudge Stern has with Crawford and this was his best opportunity to have the upper hand, so he took advantage of it.

[nfggc10]

David Stern abuses his power more than any other commissioner in sports. Sometimes it benefits the league, other times it doesnt. This is one of those instances that falls into the latter.

Joey Crawford, pompous ass that he is, is one of the best refs in the league. He was out of line here and a suspension is warranted, but not to the degree Stern has issued. It was Stern, after all, who empowered these refs before the season by allowing them to be quicker with the technical fouls.

this sounds more like a personal grudge Stern has with Crawford and this was his best opportunity to have the upper hand, so he took advantage of it.
But it's easy to argue that officials had too much power for calling technicals and abused it. You could look at the best players of the last 20 years and most of them complained even though they generally got alot of calls in their favor.

As for your last comment, Stern said yesterday that he's warned Crawford several times and that he had simply had enough. I would also sacrifice one of the best refs in the game for one that didn't single-handedly take over games. The guy, after all, had to go through anger management classes so that's even more history that goes against him here.

[preppyak]

haha...the reactions are amazing...though my favorite part is Crawford then immediately calling an offensive foul on the Spurs on their next possession...usually a ref might give the team a break on the other end after throwing out their star.

[livethesounds]

I posted about this in the NBA thread, but might as well do it again.

I said on Monday that he should get a season suspension and be out for the playoffs. It's unacceptable for a ref to do that. Apparently he's been warned about doing this same thing before, and that's even worse.
I do feel bad that he's now saying hes leaving for good (apparently on his own), but maybe he realizes the gravity of what he did. That's just against what you're supposed to do as a NBA ref.

[teddy]

I saw this on Sportscenter and thought it was hilarious. I'm siding with Duncan.

[FondestMemory]

he was a good referee, but like nfggc said, there isn't room for more ego in the nba. if we have refs thinking they are bigger and better, then we will run into problems similar to this one. duncan is a classy guy and normally doesn't even complain to the referees, so when crawford threw him out, i was surprised.

i said this in the nba thread already, but tim duncan is definitely a very classy guy off the court. throughout the league and among refs though, he's known as the biggest whiner in the game. if you think duncan doesn't normally complain, you don't watch the spurs very much.

i agree with crawford. duncan showed up the ref, he deserved a technical. he keeps doing it, he gets another. good call. and i don't believe for one second that crawford was asking him if he wants to fight. if duncan was too far away for crawford to hear what he was saying, then crawford was too far away to be asking duncan to fight.

duncan was laughing on the bench. he didn't say a word. i don't understand how that's showing up the ref. the refs should be more concerned about what's happening on the floor, not the bench. players laugh with each other on the bench all the time, and even though duncan has admitted he was laughing at the call, there's no way for crawford to know that. either way, he was on the bench. why is crawford's attention even on him?