It has always seemed laughable how conspiracy theorists have inherently gravitated towards the NBA. They don't trust the corporate behemoth the league has become.
They accuse commissioner David Stern and his minions of doing everything from fixing the NBA draft lottery to manipulating the referees in order to quench the league's insatiable thirst for higher TV ratings and, inevitably, more money.
Personally, I always found it pretty funny. But after the events of this past week, it's not so funny any more. A dubious ruling by Stern and his chief disciplinarian, Stu Jackson, turned what should have been a showcase play-off series between the Phoenix Suns and the San Antonio Spurs into a disreputable fiasco that may taint the league for a long time. A totally uncalled-for cheap shot from the Spurs' Robert Horry sent the Suns' all-world point guard, Steve Nash, tumbling out of bounds near the end of a game-four victory that tied the series for the Suns.
Two of Nash's teammates instinctively and passively strolled over to see how he was and were subsequently suspended for one game a piece for leaving the bench. The two players were first-team all-star Amare Stoudemire and fellow starter Boris Diaw. Meanwhile Horry, who is a role player at best, was suspended two games for his actions. The bottom line is that an undermanned Suns team lost game five at home in the final seconds to the Spurs before losing game six and the series in San Antonio.
The Suns are clearly the most entertaining team in the NBA and having them on the sidelines will now make the rest of the play-offs a yawn fest. Of course, if you are a basketball fan it is hard to dismiss this fact so easily and this is where I am at right now.
The Spurs are a team who play brilliant defence and should they meet the Detroit Pistons in the finals, a situation that now seems highly probable, it will likely be a low-scoring and ugly affair. And I could care less.