Greg Cote Opens the Wound

I'll admit it, I'm not the biggest fan of the NBA. I've managed to avoid this "renaissance" that the 2006 NBA Playoffs have allegedly created. Aside from the occasional glance at the game last Thursday night, I haven't paid much attention to the NBA Finals.

I couldn't help but hear, read and see the reaction by the Dallas Mavericks over what happened on Sunday night. Dirk Nowitzki has been fined $5,000 (spare change to an NBA player) for kicking the ball into the stands after the Mavs controversial loss to the Miami Heat. Mark Cuban claims the NBA is "rigged" and the people in Miami, well, they think all is well with the way the series has been going, as evidenced by Greg Cote's piece in today's Miami Herald.

The only reason this appeared on my radar screen this morning is because of Cote's mention of the Seattle Seahawks's reaction to the officiating in Super Bowl XL. Cote writes "The conveniece of alleging bad calls, or even willfully biased officiating (the Seattle Seahawks conducted a remarkable seminar in early February), also is the blame-dodge of choice among teams that cannot bear to properly credit the opponent."

This basically confirms my worst fears during the aftermath of Super Bowl XL. Forgotten is the horrendous display of officiating by Bill Leavy, and what's remembered about that game was that afterwards, the Seahawks (and their fans) expressed their feelings of being robbed on the game's biggest stage.

(If you want some photographic evidence on just how bad the officiating was in Super Bowl XL, visit this site. That site will show you that, according to Bill Leavy's crew, this is a hold, while this, this, this, this and this, was not. So even though the hold on Sean Locklear negated a 1st and goal from 1, on a drive where the Seahawks (not the officials) grabbed hold of the game's momentum and were 3 feet away from the end zone and the lead, with the league's MVP (and single-season TD record holder) in the backfield, the zebras had zero affect on the game whatsoever? The obvious hold on Alan Faneca, however, only resulted in 7 points for the Steelers, provided you actually believe the ball crossed the goal line, and if you do, visit a Lenscrafters nearest you today.)

The 2005 Seattle Seahawks were not the first team to fall victim to bad officiating, and they certainly won't be the last. Everyone remembers Don Denkinger and the 1985 World Series, and if you need a more recent example of bad officiating, how about last Saturday's Italy-United States World Cup match?

Sports has a human element, and officials will, from time to time, make some mistakes. But when a game, like the Mavericks-Heat game the other night, appears to over-officiated to the side of just one team (in this case, the Heat's), the opposing players, fans, and even coaches, are going to react. And when both teams have worked equally hard and for just as long to come within inches of glory, only to have it stripped away by some guys (and gals) in striped jerseys, how can you honestly blame them?

Go MAVS! I didn't care before, but I do now. Who doesn't want to see David Stern present that trophy to Mark Cuban? Besides Greg Cote, of course...