Hello Hell

Talk about a cynical blogger's wet dream. Holy Jesus in a trench coat. TWO stories to piss me off in one day, and it's the OFFSEASON? God truly must be a Suns fan.

I'm sure we've all heard by now the news about Kurt Thomas. Is anyone really surprised that Dirty was traded? Is anyone still ensconced 'neath a large stone that they need to be told that the Suns number one priority this offseason was to minimize the luxury tax hit, or can we just move on with the part of this deal that truly IS surprising? Good, let's go.

Why now?

I understand why the Suns got so little return (conditional 2nd rounder and a trade exception, neither of which are likely to be used...ever) on the deal while giving up so much (two MORE first rounders?). It makes perfect business sense to give away $8 million of tax burden.

But why NOW?

The league sent out its luxury tax bills this week, sure, but they aren't payable until the trade deadline. I figured that the Suns would be smart (fool me twice) and hold onto Thomas until February, when his trade value should be much higher, and the team wouldn't have to give up two first round draft picks. More likely, the Suns would have gotten a conditional first round pick in return, instead of the conditional second round pick. (Why a second round pick would have conditions, I don't know.)

Think Charlotte, or more likely Washington wouldn't like to have a veteran big man to help out in a playoff push?

Congratulations on another bizarrely short-sighted move by Sarver and Kerr. Giving away James Jones doesn't seem all that sensible anymore.

That's just bad timing, though.

Talk about GOOD timing, 13 year veteran NBA referee Tim Donaghy was introduced to the Feds.

There is going to be a lot of speculation by everyone outside San Antonio whether this guy is responsible for helping to put the Suns in a 2-1 hole against the Spurs. Remember that miraculous comeback in game 4? Remember how the Suns battled back against the Spurs, down 11 points in the fourth quarter, then came away with a huge upset and homecourt advantage? That was also the game that was called rather favorably (read: EVENLY) for the Suns. Duncan and Parker were called for travelling. Duncan was in foul trouble. Ginobili wouldn't get away with a flop if his mother called in for him. And Robert Horry took out Steve Nash, and subsequently Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw for the next game.

Well, the game before that one was called infamously one-sided in favor of the Spurs. Bill Simmons even talked about it back in May, so I know I'm not just making it up. No sour grapes here, my friend. Only a small amount of vindication.

Tim Donaghy was on the officiating crew of that game.

I remember that game distinctly because I logged my discontent as it played out. (You'll also notice that I predicted the Suns game 4 win and, more importantly, the foul calling, though I foresaw the method inaccurately.) The Suns were playing well in the first half, despite some shaky foul calling. The third quarter turned ugly, as the free throw disparity ballooned. When the game was in hand, the Suns were finally getting calls. As D'Antoni famously implored the refs, "NOW you're going to call it?"

This is an ugly story that should get even uglier - coyote ugly, if you will - if there is any justice in the world. So far, though, David Stern is going out of his way to portray this as an isolated incident, which it may well be. But that isolated incident intersected with the Suns run to a Championship this year, and I'd wager (yeah, I know) that anyone outside San Antonio saw it for what it was at the time. The biggest sham in the NBA since Orlando won the lottery as a .500 team.

Sure, the Suns COULD have still overcome and won that series after the controversial suspension, but how does it all look now that this "alleged" game-fixing ref might have been in a position to hand the Spurs a victory? How can David Stern erase that elephant of a line connecting the game 3 officiating bias and his own arrogant interpretation of an archaic rule?

He can't.

There is nothing he can say that will convince me, as a Suns fan, that there is no connection. At the very least, I perceive it as two independently biased actions meant to put extra money into someone's pocket, for whatever reason.

Does this mean that I am so disillusioned that I will not watch the NBA next year?

Not at all. On the contrary, I'm too interested to see how the League recreates the illusion of equity within the officiating. I feel like Ralphie the night before Christmas, knowing in my heart I'm going to get that BB gun and take down Black Bart once and for all.

I've got my sight set. Seven-six-two millimeter. Full metal jacket.

*Update: I do have game 3 on my PC, but I haven't filtered the copy protection, yet. I may just watch that very closely tonight and document any suspicious calls/non-calls made by Donaghy. I remembered one specific non-call from the end of that game, and I did find it at 2:48 of the 4th quarter. This should be interesting.