Phil Jackson Doesn't Like Joe Forte's Son

Kobe Bryant was ejected during last night's Lakers win at Seattle. Via the OcRegister, Phil Jackson told Kobe to be careful who he argues with - because come playoff time - he wouldn't want daddy to be upset at him:

Jackson had some strong words in response to Bryant's ejection by referee Brian Forte, son of longtime referee Joe Forte, who regularly works postseason games.

"I told him (Bryant) he shouldn't jump on 'Junior'; his dad might carry a grudge against him," said Jackson, who then alluded to nepotism getting the younger Forte his job. Jackson also added about Brian Forte, who gave Seattle guard Earl Watson a technical in the first quarter: "He's got a little bit of a red-ass." Forte is in his first full NBA season.

Bryant said his arm was smacked as he tried to secure an offensive rebound with the Lakers ahead, 88-57, but no call was made — much to Bryant's displeasure. Forte then appeared to wait until Watson missed a shot in transition before calling a technical foul on Bryant for arguing. Restrained by teammate Derek Fisher, Bryant went back at Forte, trailed behind him and offered up plenty of material for Forte to issue a second technical foul and automatic ejection.

"For the first technical I got, I didn't say a word to him," Bryant said.

This is the 2nd time in just a few weeks that we've mentioned Brian Forte's name around here. So far, in his first full league as an official - he hasn't earned too many supporters.

Any NFL Teams Need A Kicker?

From Thursday night's Rutgers / WVU basketball game:

Rutgers head coach Fred Hill was visibly frustrated for much of the night, which is understandable given his team's performance. How bad of a night was it for the second-year RU head man? After a travel was called on J.R. Inman in the second half, Hill kicked the scorer's table adjacent to the Rutgers bench. Mind you he wasn't upset at the call, which was caught not only by all three officials but also by the 7,826 associate referees in attendance. Hill was simply frustrated with yet another Scarlet Knights error, and took out his frustration on the scorer's table.

The "kick heard 'round the Coliseum" caught the attention of official Doug Shows, who immediately assessed Hill with a technical foul. The kick was strong enough to knock the Rutgers radio broadcast off the air.

Boy... That's one powerful boot!

westvirginia.scout.com

Joe Crawford needs to check back into Anger Management

I'm sure by now, you have seen the video or heard the story of what happened to Tim Duncan during yesterday's Spurs/Mavs showdown in Dallas. Personally I do believe that Tim Duncan is one of the many guys in the NBA who frequently complain and argue with the officials about every little ticky tack no-call, but what he did yesterday was in, under no circumstances, worthy of a technical foul (and his 2nd!) meaning an automatic ejection. After the game, Duncan went onto say that Crawford challenged him to a fight, which is probably most definitely what Duncan and Horry were laughing about on the bench. If you haven't seen the video, it's a good one: Courtesy of AA:



Side note - is it just me, or has the world become a better place since AA purchased his Tivo - do yourself a favor and subscribe to his you tube page - good stuff always!

Anyway - back to Crawford. According to his wikipedia page:

Joe developed a reputation early in his NBA career for being "the guy handing out all the technical fouls, throwing guys out of games, a hothead, a real red-ass." Among his fellow officials, he became "the guy you wanted to go to war with, someone who’d have your back and take care of business." He firmly stood behind his profession and did not tolerate players or coaches who disrespected it. His philosophy was that he had to be aggressive. Crawford would later discover about himself that he had problems controlling his temper and sought anger management after an altercation with a coach. To this day, Joe continues to battle his temper problems.

Despite his short temper on the court, Crawford is considered one of the premier officials in the NBA. He has worked more playoff and NBA Finals games than any other active referee in the league and has appeared in the Finals every year since 1986.

The best comment I have seen so far about this - and I agree, comes from reader tarheels28 over at the fanhouse. He said:

3. If David Stern is half as interested in improving the quality of his game as he is in improving the "image" of his game (dress code, zero-tolerance on griping), he needs to suspend Joey Crawford for the entire playoffs. The finals last year were an absolute debacle with regard to officiating, and the last thing we need is a situation like this ruining what could be an incredible playoffs. This game meant nothing, but what if this happened in the Western Coast Finals with the Spurs and the Mavs? A referee should not think he's the main attraction, which unfortunately, is exactly what Joey Crawford thinks.

However, now that the Lakers have clinched a playoff spot. Stern could arrange for Crawford to officiate the Lakers home games under one condition: He spends the afternoon with Jack Nicholson...