League - Barry was fouled

Actually, it could be pro wrestling. You sometimes wonder if the outcome is predetermined.

 

The Spurs got so many calls all night long. Its a little ridiculous that everyone whines about that last play. It shouldnt have come to that. Balls don't miraculously take a hard 90 degree angle in mid air. Fisher's shot clearly hit the rim. Not to mention they had plenty of time during the dead ball to go back and look at the shot and see if they should reset the clock or not. Two free throws by Kobe and that game was over. As a Laker fan I was bitching all night long about having to compete against the refs. Now today it seems the Lakers were given the game.

Oh well ... Give the Lakers some motivation heading back to LA. Kobe is the last person on earth you want to give extra motivation.

 

Before people start whining that the fix was in, remember that the Spurs had a rather sizeable advantage in FT attempts for much of the game. Kobe Bryant didn't attempt a FT.

Could a foul have been called on Barry's last shot? You could argue that. But the team that played better last night won. Game 6 Lakers-Kings in '02 this was certainly not.

Oh, and if David Stern really tried to fix these games, wouldn't he have wanted the Spurs to win so the series would go as long as possible? Seven-game series are far better for the league's TV rightsholders than five-game series.

 

No. 1: The next person here whining will be the first.
No. 2: It's not so ridiculous when you consider the league just admitted the fuckup.

The fanboy is strong with this one.

 

Especially with the whole Tim Donaghy thing...

But to tell you the truth, I have trouble feeling sorry for the Spurs, even though the no-call at the end of the game was an absolute joke. IMHO, the Suns were screwed last season and the Spurs advanced to the championship in large part because of Donaghy and his crew's bullshit. Nobody will ever convince me Game 3 wasn't fixed.

 

Not every time. There's this from last year's NBA finals ...

http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&q=Bowen%2C%20LeBron%2C%20foul&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wv#

 

Maybe it's Mitch Kupchak.

 

Phil is always griping about the refs. Popovich said it was a good no-call because he never wants anyone blaming him for blaming the officiating. His officiating wars occur during the game i.e. Joey Crawford vs. Pops in the New Orleans series.

 

That was bad too, but I don't think it was nearly as strong as Barry's case.

 

I've never been a big fan of the shooter jumping into the defender, with no real intention of making the shot, just for a cheap foul. And while I don't give a shit who wins, I was happy that it wasn't called in this instance.

 

It's a 3-pointer at the top of the circle before the buzzer sounds. In other words, it's the same play, save for Bowen trying to get a foul called by shoving with both hands as opposed to Fisher getting caught in the air by Berry. Also, LeBron actually wanted to shoot while it appears Berry didn't intend to before the contact. LeBron a year ago had a stronger case than the Spurs here.

This is not new to the NBA by any means. It happens every year about this time.