NBA '17

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

The Bucks will play a regular season game at the UWM Panther Arena. That's pretty freaking sweet.

"Return to the Mecca" I like it. I hope they can get a replica of the old floor for the game.

[4everwarriors]

#donedeal, hey?

[MU82]

What do you ref?

I ref youth basketball. Ages anywhere from 7 to 17. Mostly 10-12 year olds.

I also umpire youth baseball. I did a tournament over the weekend - 10 games over 2 days in 90 degree heat; yes, I have the strength of 10 men - and the "highlight" was this:

Parents of one of the teams started getting on my partner for a couple of borderline calls on the bases. The coach came out of the dugout and politely asked the parents to chill a little. And one of the fathers yells at the coach: "You just worry about the kids!"

How 'bout that?

[StillAWarrior]

I ref youth basketball. Ages anywhere from 7 to 17. Mostly 10-12 year olds.

I also umpire youth baseball. I did a tournament over the weekend - 10 games over 2 days in 90 degree heat; yes, I have the strength of 10 men - and the "highlight" was this:

Parents of one of the teams started getting on my partner for a couple of borderline calls on the bases. The coach came out of the dugout and politely asked the parents to chill a little. And one of the fathers yells at the coach: "You just worry about the kids!"

How 'bout that?

Parent are pretty boys and idiots.  I have a friend who coaches for a living.  His dream is to field a team of orphans.

[MU82]

Parent are pretty boys and idiots.  I have a friend who coaches for a living.  His dream is to field a team of orphans.

Funny.

I have been officiating for many years. By and large, the kids are great, the coaches are decent and most parents are OK. But by far those most likely to be dipshytes are parents.

I also coach, and having been an official for many years before I started coaching, it gave me some really good perspective. Refs must love the games I coach because I rarely get on their case.

[tower912]

Our league had two coaches from the same team end up in a fistfight in the middle of a game.

[StillAWarrior]

Parent are pretty boys and idiots.  I have a friend who coaches for a living.  His dream is to field a team of orphans.

I vaguely recalled that "a$$hole$" would get filtered, but couldn't remember the specifics.  Well done, filter gods.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Agree on the parents front. At one of my dad's games a few years ago after a hard foul, (not dirty just a hard foul) a parent from the other team yelled "throw that ni***r out of the game."

Now i'm not saying that's the norm and that's an extreme case but parents at athletic events are the worst, especially in the north shore.

[MerrittsMustache]

This is my third year coaching my kids' Little League team. It's been very tame so far and we have a good group of parents. Obviously, there are some coaches and parents who take things far too seriously for age 6-8 baseball, but most of them are harmless.

The only issue I've ever had with a coach or parent was when a third base coach "accidentally" got into the way of a player trying to catch a foul pop. Granted, the odds of this kid catching the ball were at best 50/50 but this coach stood completely still, hands on hips, as the ball landed a foot away from him and the 3B couldn't get around him to attempt to catch it. I later found out that this coach was removed from his coaching position for being verbally abusive to his players (again, these are ages 6-8!).

[Pakuni]

Maybe I'm just lucky, but I've coached little league for five years plus soccer for three years and I've never had a bad experience with a parent. Annoying maybe, but nothing really bad.
Other coaches, on the other hand ... The lengths some of these guys will go to for a trivial advantage in a baseball game is astonishing, i.e. illegal bats, trying to let kids pitch more than allowed, trying to rig the preseason draft, etc.

[wadesworld]

#4-1

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

Congrats to 4ever, dentist of champions!

[MU82]

After a lopsided start to the series, a very enjoyable final 3 games.

Obviously, the better team won. Every time Durant shoots, I think the ball is going in ... and it usually is. Has there ever been a smoother stroke? And when he drives, he glides to the hoop. A very graceful player, who also is tougher than he looks. He's been great for years, of course, but this was quite an official coming-out party.

And I have absolutely no problem with him choosing his team to give him a better shot at a championship. People beyotch about jocks just going for every last cent ... and then when one chooses the better chance to win over every last cent, people beyotch about that, too! If the Warriors re-sign Durant, which is likely, it's hard to imagine them not winning the next few titles.

LeBron, as usual, acquitted himself well. Van Gundy correctly criticized him for not hustling back on D once, which resulted in 2 pts for the Warriors. Guys should ALWAYS hustle, yes, but this guy does play 46-47 minutes and has so many offensive and defensive responsibilities. He had one alley-oop pass to Tristan Thompson that maybe .008% of all basketball players in the world can make. One hell of a basketball player. (This just in, right?)

Oh, and yes, LeBron pretty much whines about every call (or non-call), but so do Curry and Green (not to mention effen Zaza, who is a total hack).

Curry looks like a choir boy, but he's a "dirty-ish" player the same way Stockton was; when he sets screens in the lane to free the bigs, he grabs, sticks out his leg, shoves, the whole deal. Very hard for the refs to see, and he knows it. Which means it really isn't dirty (because he's not trying to hurt anybody), just smart!

Finally ... the Warriors were dropping the f-bomb so loud and so often in their postgame, on-court celebration that ABC had to keep killing the sound. And Mr. Choir Boy was as f-bomby as any of 'em. All in good fun, though. It's not their fault the cameras are 2 inches away.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

Lebron's whining to refs is totally out of control. It has gotten worse through the years.  The travel call where he landed before the pass was the worst.  Every call results in a WTF look, especially that one.  Dude, just admit you screwed up and move on.

Contrast that with Durant, who politely talks to the refs without the over dramatic performance.  Almost gentlemanly.  Combined with his great level of play, very easy to root for him.

[GGGG]

Time for the next outrage.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/06/13/warriors-will-skip-white-house-visit/

[jesmu84]

LeBron doesn't believe in superteams? Never played for one? Baffling information

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Lebron's whining to refs is totally out of control. It has gotten worse through the years.  The travel call where he landed before the pass was the worst.  Every call results in a WTF look, especially that one.  Dude, just admit you screwed up and move on.

Contrast that with Durant, who politely talks to the refs without the over dramatic performance.  Almost gentlemanly.  Combined with his great level of play, very easy to root for him.

To be honest, I didn't see an entire call that entire series where someone wasn't whining to the refs. Its part of the game now. Lebron is hardly alone.

[MerrittsMustache]

I'm a Kevin Durant fan. He's fun to watch and is clearly the second-best player in the world right now. That said, I didn't get that "Hey, good for him" feeling when GS won last night. I don't blame him for leaving OKC and I can understand wanting to play for the best team in the league, but there's still something that just doesn't sit well with me. It's one thing for LeBron, Wade and Bosh to team up and see what they can accomplish together, but it's another for a superstar to go to a team that's already the best in the league and win a title. It's not that he didn't "deserve" it and it's not like he didn't earn it. He's now the best player on the best team and the Finals MVP, but it still feels like he took a shortcut.

[Pakuni]

Lebron's whining to refs is totally out of control. It has gotten worse through the years.  The travel call where he landed before the pass was the worst.  Every call results in a WTF look, especially that one.  Dude, just admit you screwed up and move on.

Contrast that with Durant, who politely talks to the refs without the over dramatic performance.  Almost gentlemanly.  Combined with his great level of play, very easy to root for him.

Not that LeBron doesn't complain, but I can't believe someone just watched a series in which Draymond Green was a participant and came out of it feeling another player's whining is out of control.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

To be honest, I didn't see an entire call that entire series where someone wasn't whining to the refs. Its part of the game now. Lebron is hardly alone.

I know it is part of the game.  I know just about everyone, especially the star players, do it.  Curry and Green are almost as bad as Lebron.  But lobbying the refs is at least somewhat effective or else they wouldn't do it.  So yeah, it is there but it's still annoying.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

Not that LeBron doesn't complain, but I can't believe someone just watched a series in which Draymond Green was a participant and came out of it feeling another player's whining is out of control.

Draymond is almost as bad as Lebron.  My original post was only comparing Lebron and Durant.  Green's complaining is also out of control.  I'd say Lebron's is slightly worse but I was more focused on him than Green.  I can see the viewpoint of anyone claiming Green is as bad, if not worse.

[4everwarriors]

Congrats to 4ever, dentist of champions!

Gotta check if I get a ring, hey?

[Badgerhater]

Time for the next outrage.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/06/13/warriors-will-skip-white-house-visit/

Actually, that is a "tradition" I would like to see go away.

[tower912]

Time for the next FAUXRAGE.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/06/13/warriors-will-skip-white-house-visit/

FIFY

[MU82]

Lebron's whining to refs is totally out of control. It has gotten worse through the years.  The travel call where he landed before the pass was the worst.  Every call results in a WTF look, especially that one.  Dude, just admit you screwed up and move on.

Contrast that with Durant, who politely talks to the refs without the over dramatic performance.  Almost gentlemanly.  Combined with his great level of play, very easy to root for him.

I didn't mention Durant whining in my post, only Green and Curry. And, as you later acknowledged, they whine a lot too.

NBA players NEVER think they travel. That one was quite egregious by LeBron - pretty easy to see with the naked eye, let alone slo-mo. But a few minutes later, Iguodala was called for traveling (and correctly so), and he whined about it.

It's what most players do. Those who don't, such as Durant (not often, anyway), are a nice change of pace!