Down In Front!

Recently the NBA announced that they will have a new policy this season telling players that they must refrain from standing for long stretches of the game. This is a response to a bunch of high-paying customers complaining that they can't see around the 6' 10" guys in front of them. Again, just like yesterday with the Tufts University story, this seems excessive to have to have a new policy installed when an usher at the game could actually do something about this. Obviously I get why the NBA is so eager to do this; they want to show fans that they come first so, please, continue to spend hundreds of dollars on courtside seats. Also, we're talking about a league that already has a dress code and a Twitter policy, so it's not like David Stern is hesitant to expand the player conduct rules.

I would feel better about this if the policy was only for the first 3 quarters of the game. As an NBA defender, one of the things that I always have to talk about when discussing the pros versus college is the fact that the college kids are crazy and always bouncing around while the pros mostly look bored during the dogs days. Well, when you have a team like my Celtics, who are usually going nuts on the bench even during a game in February versus the Grizzlies, that can make for a nice counter-argument. Now Stern is trying to take that away from me. You could at least let them stand when the game hangs in the balance. During that time I would have a policy in place that states the fans should just get off their asses if they can't see and watch the game instead of trying to get on the Jumbotron.

-I never thought I would have to defend a roughing the passer call, but after hearing the Ravens' players complain about Brady turning to the ref about a low-hit I feel I have to come to his defense. The rule is in place because the owners want it, not the quarterbacks. They're paying these guys the most and they rarely have two guys who can play at a high level so damn right they want them protected. Also, the flag was on it's way out when Brady turned to the ref, so it's not like the flag came because he asked for it. Brady is not Michael Jordan. Lastly, that call was a lot closer to the rule than the absolute terrible call that was made on a Mike Wright sack of Joe Flacco. But, the Ravens lost so I'm sure we'll never hear about that one.