I don't know man. It sure bugged me that a) bring in "all-star" refs, b) literally every single big call went against us for the first half - many of them ticky tack. The second half seemed a lot more equitable to me.
If there was some riggage it would seem to be to the effect of "The only thing we don't want is a Chiefs blowout." So once they got us playing from behind they backed off the ticky-tack penalties on every play.
Again, I really hope this isn't true. But man. The NFL knows they have first and foremost an entertainment product, they know LA fans are fickle and they DESPERATELY want to keep them engaged.
Didn't Tim Donaghy come out and say that refs Stern brought in for the Lakers/Kings game six were explicitly called in to rig the game? The refs called a foul on the Kings on almost every play, and almost everyone, even sober pundits, thinks that game was legitimately rigged. Donaghy said they didn't even have to communicate the riggage - as they refs knew what the league wanted when they brought them in for just that game. So the "all star" refs are really just "Goodell's boys" and they know they'll continue to be rewarded if they play ball (as the NBA guys were "Stern's boys" in Donaghy's terms).
Here's the story:
Quote:
"Referees A, F and G were officiating a playoff series between Teams 5 and 6 in May of 2002. It was the sixth game of a seven-game series, and a Team 5 victory that night would have ended the series. However, Tim learned from Referee A that Referees A and F wanted to extend the series to seven games. Tim knew referees A and F to be 'company men,' always acting in the interest of the NBA, and that night, it was in the NBA's interest to add another game to the series. Referees A and F heavily favored Team 6. Personal fouls [resulting in obviously injured players] were ignored even when they occurred in full view of the referees. Conversely, the referees called made-up fouls on Team 5 in order to give additional free throw opportunities for Team 6. Their foul-calling also led to the ejection of two Team 5 players. The referees' favoring of Team 6 led to that team's victory that night, and Team 6 came back from behind to win that series."
Although no teams are specifically named, it is not hard to deduce the game in question. The Lakers-Kings series was the only one that postseason that went seven games, and the officiating in Game 6 was so questionable that consumer advocate and former presidential candidate Ralph Nader called for a formal investigation.
The Lakers attempted 40 free throws to the Kings' 25 in that game, and Los Angeles made 21 of 27 from the line while Sacramento converted 7 of 9 in the fourth quarter alone.
In addition, a foul was called against Mike Bibby of the Kings after he was shoved and elbowed by Kobe Bryant, denying the Kings an opportunity to try for a tying basket. Also in that game, Kings centers Vlade Divac and Scot Pollard fouled out, and Kings coach Rick Adelman was highly critical of the officiating afterward.
"My first thought [upon hearing Donaghy's allegation] was: I knew it," Pollard said Tuesday night. "I'm not going to say there was a conspiracy. I just think something wasn't right. It was unfair. We didn't have a chance to win that game."
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Sure feels like that. Except not as blatant. They didn't need the Rams to win, just wanted to make sure we didn't jump out to a big lead and not blow them out.
Again - I sure hope this isn't really true.
But I also remember "holding Dave Szott" as like the worst sports-fandom play of my life, and start to wonder. Golden Boy Marino, Miami big market, still in Shula glow. No one's ever seen a replay of that hold.