Dear Commissioner Stern,
I watched Sunday's game between the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks with great interest. After all, you took the highly unusual step Friday of granting a game protest to the Miami Heat after a mistake by the Atlanta official scorer cost the Heat access to Shaquille O'Neal at the end of the game.
But wait, there's more! After Friday night's news dump by your office, an intrepid blogger noted this wasn't the first time Atlanta's official scorer had problems.
Therefore, I watched Sunday's game with pen in hand to see if I noticed any improprieties myself. Sure, Friday's Hawks-Wizards game at Phillips Arena in Atlanta went off without a hitch, but perhaps the Atlanta official scorer would feel no one was watching anymore. Regardless, I was prepared.
And that is why I write you today, Commissioner Stern. Before the game even started, there was Joakim Noah, trapped on the bench. Coach Jim Boylan had punished him in the previous Bulls game by benching him for insubordination against assistant coach Ron Adams. However, Boylan's punishment was over. Clearly, Noah should have been in this game.
I can only conclude the Atlanta official scorer accidentally forgot to erase the five fouls accumulated by Antawn Jamison in Friday's game and wrote Noah's name where Jamison's used to be on his scoresheet. (I've also assumed the official scorer is big into recycling.) Therefore, Boylan felt pressure to keep Noah on the bench to prevent him from fouling out and putting a dent in the young man's confidence.
This cover story of the Bulls' veteran players taking over the leadership of the team from the interim coach (who will likely not be back next season) and demanding Noah sit for a second game is simply too ludicrous to believe. First, this Boylan fellow tries to win over the veterans by overplaying them each game to the detriment of the real future of the franchise, Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah. Now these feted Veteran Presences have the power to shove aside the coach and dole out ostensible suspensions to youngsters? Ridiculous.
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