A ref in the Utah game tonight:
First, he calls an offensive foul when some dude is jostling with Dirk. Fine. Dirk's all frustrated and blatantly slaps the ball out of the Utah player's hand, tomahawk-style, RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE REFs (not our REF) FACE. No call. It was a clear-as-day technical. If say, WORLD PEACE pulls that, it's a T, and he's maybe even tossed. Not so with Dirk. So then stupid Watson, all pissed off, goes over to Dirk and tries to do the same thing
-- difference being that he didn't slap as hard as Dirk and jar it free.
The same ref then calls a T on Watson, for the exact same thing. This is all in a span of like 10 seconds.
On the following Utah possession, same ref calls another offensive foul, this time on Favors. Favors can't believe it and throws the ball towards the crowd on the baseline, underhanded. Definitely a T. And it's called. But then the ref, without hesitation, also throws him out of the game. It was nuts. It's a T. It's not an ejection, whatsoever. Reggie Miller couldn't believe it and kept saying as much.
Look, I don't know Utah well enough to know how key Favors was/is, I just know it was an absolutely biased ref, changing the face of the game, in a matter of seconds. It's why I don't watch much anymore.
Anyway, on the heels of that Giants/Packers bull####, I just shake my head. Is it best to
occasionally play the side you think has favoritism, if you can ascertain as much? For example, the New England Patriots this weekend?
That wasn't really meant to be a segue, just ended up like that, but might as well go there while the beer is flowing...
ETA this is not to say I would play a team because of this ####, not at all, but I am thinking that I could see adjusting some, when I think it's shaping up as such. For example, I like NE already. So it makes me feel better about adding to it. No way they get screwed, I know that much.