Pete Newell is a very smart man, and he thinks the rules should be changed so no one ever fouls out of NBA games. Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle quotes from a 1988 interview: "I would propose that we abolish the foul-out rule. On the sixth foul, a coach can leave his player in, but the seventh foul means two shots and possession for the other team. That's a severe penalty, maybe too severe, but we should find out, then make modifications if necessary. You have to account for a coach leaving a guy in there just to hack somebody. If it really gets bad, the ref should be able to eject or suspend not only the player but the coach for this excessive fouling. Aside from the obvious benefit of fans being able to see their favorite players for an entire game, a referee can ruin an entire game plan by calling two quick fouls on a key player. It's the official's choice: He's taking that player out. If the guy stays on the court with six fouls, now the official doesn't have to make judgments on people - punish the rookie, protect the veteran superstar or perhaps something else he has in mind. Considering the gambling that goes on, and the potential for it, the referees have too much input," said Newell, who was in his coaching prime when an East Coast game-fixing scandal cast a pall over the collegiate game in the early '50s. "We've already had a situation where the timer of an NBA game was fired because of the over-under bet. The bookies are the ones who find out about these things, because they're the ones who get hit. Rather than condemn the bookies, we should listen to 'em. It's their money out there. They're not fixing anything. I don't know why sports people don't understand that. People are always trying to get an edge. There's nothing that says it can't be a referee."
The Sun-Sentinel's Ira Winderman, who covers the Heat regularly, ranks this off-season's free agent point guards, and puts the Heat's two players, newcomer Smush Parker and grizzled veteran Gary Payton, 7th and 13th respectively. They're going to be loving him at training camp.
Neal Pollack, comedic "Alternadad" author and Suns fan: "... Some of you have written in asking my opinion about the Tim Donaghy scandal, which proves once and for all that the Suns were robbed -- robbed, I tell you -- of the NBA title that was rightfully theirs this season. And now that they've undertaken an offseason strategy of giving competent role players away to other teams for nothing in return, I doubt that the Suns will really have another shot. But that's OK. Amare Stoudemire is majoring in human cloning at Arizona State, and he'll have a full-grown clone of himself, genetically engineered to remain on the bench during controversial moments, ready to go by December."
A bunch of insight into the new arena deal in Orlando. The proposed building will reportedly be more environmentally friendly than most.
The numbers suggest that top picks who play well in their rookie season tend to be productive long-term. Those who aren't good immediately? They face a tougher road.
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