by Steven Fernandez
Daily Lobo
For at least this season, there will be no more Joey Crawford in the NBA.
Whether that is a good or bad thing, we will find out.
NBA Commissioner David Stern announced Monday the indefinite suspension of Crawford, a referee, after his absurd ejection of Tim Duncan in Sunday's game between Dallas and San Antonio.
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The suspension will last at least through this season and the
playoffs.
Duncan was sitting on the bench laughing Sunday when Crawford gave him his second technical foul and tossed him from the contest.
Strange as that was, Duncan said after the game that Crawford - who is about 73 years old and 4 feet shorter than Duncan - challenged him to a fight during
the game.
Crawford said Duncan complained throughout the game, and the Spurs forward called him "a piece of (expletive)."
Could that scenario be any more ridiculous?
If Crawford really did want to fight Duncan, then Stern probably had to suspend Crawford for his own safety.
When I grow to be an old, bald man, I don't plan on running around going toe-to-toe with 7-foot athletes.
Clearly, Crawford lost his mind, and Stern had to give him time to find a grain of sanity - not to mention protect this year's playoffs from Crawford's personal agendas against players.
But while Stern may have temporarily postponed any injuries to Crawford, did we as fans lose out with the suspension?
With the balance of power in the NBA clearly in the Western Conference and only a couple of Eastern Conference series worth watching, a couple boring games could have been spiced up with Crawford's presence.
He has been criticized for holding vendettas against players and being a referee who just wants camera time. If that's the case, maybe his verbal exchange with Duncan on Sunday was just an appetizer for what he had planned.
I can only imagine the possibilities. What if Crawford has a deep, brooding hatred for Miami center Shaquille O'Neal, who has complained about referees numerous times in his career?
I could see Shaq threatening to eat Crawford after a bad call, followed by Crawford attempting a diving tackle at O'Neal, only to separate his shoulder on Shaq's knee.
But, I could be wrong. Maybe Crawford is secretly a UFC fighter who would snap and take out the entire Heat team by himself.
Sadly, we will never find out.
Oh well, at least there are the playoffs to look forward to. After the first round - in which I don't see many upsets happening - there could be some intriguing matchups.
In the East, the only teams that have a legitimate shot of winning in the Finals are the Heat and the
Detroit Pistons. If those two meet up in the conference finals, that could be interesting.
In the West, the possibility of the Mavericks taking on the Phoenix Suns is very intriguing. They're the two most exciting teams in the league, and Dirk Nowitzki versus Steve Nash would be a classic matchup.
Unfortunately for Dallas, Phoenix, Detroit and Miami, Crawford may have already decided this season's fate.
The rest of the NBA officials are probably so terrified of making a bad call against Duncan and the Spurs that the team will get any call it wants throughout the playoffs.
If Duncan does win his fourth ring this season, somebody just better make sure Crawford is locked into a mental institution somewhere.
