David Stern to Jim Rome: Have You Stopped Beating Your Wife Yet?

[SHAQATTACK]

I don't belive the lottery is fixed .  Luck is strange. And in one sence this mediated act of fairness helps throw water on the outrage of the NBA refings obvious skewing during certain games .

I'm 100% sure the NBA refs bend the call to suit the NBA when it comes to their top five players, can't watch certain games and not think otherwise.  It was obvious MJ got the special STAR treatment during games.  Outside of games I don't have an issue  putting certain FRANCHISE players  on any pedistal Stern wishes.

Just call the game fairly.

Who ever owns the refs controls the NBA.

[Moranis]

That was childish of Stern no matter what some of you say! I don't get what is wrong with Rome asking the question, is it a stupid question... probably, to people who know the answer but for the LARGE MAJORITY of NBA watchers they want to hear Stern answer that question because they don't know! Stern could have handled the question in many different ways other than the way he did, for instance he could have said... "I realize a lot of NBA fans want to know if the lottery is fixed, well... all they need to do is search online to find that answer, we are open with how the process is done and the details are easily found, otherwise it would take too long for me to answer the question in a way that would be suitable. Me just saying no wouldn't do anything to stop the question, maybe if you understood the process you would understand how impossible it is for it to be rigged. Thank you."

You truly expect Stern to answer a question like that? If Stern knows for a fact that the lottery isn't fixed he should be offended by such a question and refuse to answer it. Rome made it personal with that question. No need for that. Good thing Stern is way to smart for Rome.

Stern answered the question NO and then said shame on you for asking.  Rome then kept pressing.  Stern said it is a ridiculous question.  Rome pressed again, then Stern made the statement. 

I don't think people actually listened to the full sequence. 

[2short]

At the least isn't the NBA going to fine Stern for comments detrimental to the image and integrity of the league 

[Celtics4ever]

Could you please cite the study you used for the claim that half to one third of calls are blown calls? Thanks in advance.

That was not a study just opinion.   Listen to the groans from the  jumbroton.   I did find this article though.

http://walterfootball.com/nbarefs.php


Nut nothing ever happens to same old bad refs.  They blow call after call and yet they still have work.   That might not be a conspiracy but it is hardly a best practice in business.

[Bahku]

A sad display of two grown men acting like children, and doing it in a forum where it can be forever replayed for the world's amusemnt and their own disparagement.

You'd think that they would each want to behave a bit more maturely for the sake of prosperity and their family's integrity, but instead they both stoop to a level far below what should be coming from two guys representing "professionalism" in sports.

 Have to say, though, (much as I dislike the guy), Stern was just reacting here, and Rome was clearly just trying to get under his skin, (which he succeeded at, obviously). It was a question that Jim knew would only be answered with a "no", and therefor only served a confrontational purpose.

Two of my least favorite sports representatives arguing over a question that both knew would only come to a very negative and pointless ends. Rome has always been a jerk and a sensationalist, and he goes about it with a complete lack of class.

Stern responded with the same level of childishness, and these guys just plain deserve each other, IMHO. Give 'em some gloves and let them go at it, (Stern would probably win, though, with a payment to the ring official, and Rome would whine about it for a month).

[Eja117]

That was childish of Stern no matter what some of you say! I don't get what is wrong with Rome asking the question, is it a stupid question... probably, to people who know the answer but for the LARGE MAJORITY of NBA watchers they want to hear Stern answer that question because they don't know! Stern could have handled the question in many different ways other than the way he did, for instance he could have said... "I realize a lot of NBA fans want to know if the lottery is fixed, well... all they need to do is search online to find that answer, we are open with how the process is done and the details are easily found, otherwise it would take too long for me to answer the question in a way that would be suitable. Me just saying no wouldn't do anything to stop the question, maybe if you understood the process you would understand how impossible it is for it to be rigged. Thank you."

You truly expect Stern to answer a question like that? If Stern knows for a fact that the lottery isn't fixed he should be offended by such a question and refuse to answer it. Rome made it personal with that question. No need for that. Good thing Stern is way to smart for Rome.

Stern answered the question NO and then said shame on you for asking.  Rome then kept pressing.  Stern said it is a ridiculous question.  Rome pressed again, then Stern made the statement. 

I don't think people actually listened to the full sequence. 

Stern saying you can't ask me about that is like maybe President Johnson saying you can't ask me about Vietnam or Reagan saying you can't ask about Iran Contra or the president of PSU saying you can't ask about Sandusky.  I can ask and you can like it

[pearljammer10]

Hate everything about Jim Rome, Stern is the man for that.

[Junkyard Dawg]

Two of my least favorite sports representatives arguing over a question that both knew would only come to a very negative and pointless ends.

TP.  The problem is that the NBA has a credibility problem.  When you have referees calling techs on players on the bench (crawford and tim duncan), calling techs for staring (Doc during the Hawks game), star players shooting more FTs than opposing teams, specific allegations of all types with references to specific instances (Donaghy), you have a serious credibility problem.  Everyone groaning that the lottery is fixed is just symptomatic of this.

I'm disgusted by both of these men more than words can describe, and although I don't personally think the draft is fixed, I also don't think it's so outlandish that it's totally off-limits as a question.  Clearly Stern was uncomfortable, and if that's what it takes to get him to address the problems in the game then great.

[Swoopz]

It was a stupid question and a childish answer. I mean, even if the lottery is fixed, is Stern going to admit that on radio? Rome was clearly just trying to get a reaction from Stern and he did.

[Brendan]

Stern knew who Rome was going into the interview.

Stern was actually mad about the Seattle quip - which was totally fair IMO.

-B

[Kwhit10]

It's just a rhetorical tool to display the absurdness of the question.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loaded_question

I can't stand Rome, and I like how Stern asked him the question.

As to the fact that the lottery was fixed is absurd.  Yea the NBA owns the team but it's not Stern owning the team, it's really the other owners owning 1/29th of the team if I'm not mistaken.  Why would they want it to be fixed in anothers favor instead of their own.  Also they near impossibility of fixing a lottery system in which they draw a number code to relate to a team, plus all the witnesses.

[pearljammer10]

Love this by Stern. Shows an edgy sense of humor and puts that assclown Rome in his place.

[LarBrd33]

I say again the only reason you would sequence the combinations for each team is to to be able to rig it, don't want a certain team number to appear make sure that ping pong ball that correspnds that that teams ping ball near appears. Every teams combinations all have one number in common, now ask yourself why you order it like that other than to be able to rig it? They may not rig all the time, but the point is that they have designed it so it can be easily rigged. iN 2007 all of the celtics and memphis combinations from memory has 1's and 2's, guess which numbers never came out of the lottery machine.  

Did you read my post?

[Moranis]

Rome should have framed his question much differently.  Something like this, I think would have been a more appropriate question and still would have been good copy for Rome

"Mr. Commish, while I know that the lottery is not fixed, there seems to be some people that do, what can the league do to eliminate that perception?"

[Celtics4ever]

One is a psuedo journalist and one is a commish, it was an fair question I thought but poorly worded as Moranis aptly demonstrates.   I thought the response was neither clever or proper.  He gets paid the big bucks to answer stuff like that and the fact that there is such insinuations out there about the draft  wasn't helped by an immature and defensive answer.

Stern is arrogant as they come.  Pride commeth before the fall...