RASHEED WALLACE, NADERITE?

A little more sports:

Detroit Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace was fined $20,000 by the National Basketball Association on Friday for his comments following his team's Game 5 loss to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals.

The outspoken Wallace was reprimanded after his public criticism of officiating and also the use of inappropriate language, while addressing the media after Detroit dropped a 88-76 decision to the Heat.

He scored just two points while taking only three shots in 27 minutes of action.

"They (the league) want there to be a Game 7," a visibly frustrated Wallace said after the game.

(emphasis mine)

If you just read that and your name happens to be Ralph Nader, your ears probably perked up. Because three years ago...

Ralph Nader, America's best-known consumer crusader and a former presidential candidate, is morphing into a sports fans' advocate.

Incensed by what he called "notorious officiating" against the Sacramento Kings in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals on Friday, Nader has called on the NBA commissioner to order an independent review to address suspicions voiced coast-to-coast by fans and the media that the game was fixed.

(...)

During Game 6 between the Kings and the Los Angeles Lakers, Nader said, he could not believe the referees' calls that resulted in the Lakers shooting 27 free throws in the fourth quarter.

The Lakers' 106-102 victory forced a deciding seventh game, which Los Angeles won in overtime.

That meant the NBA Finals got under way Wednesday night featuring marquee player Shaquille O'Neal, a greater media draw than any of the Kings. In Game 1 on Wednesday, O'Neal scored 33 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in the Lakers' 99-94 victory against the New Jersey Nets.

Nader said the officiating in last week's Game 6 was so "spectacularly egregious" that "the suspicions are that officials were inclined to make decisions that could lead to Game 7."

"How do you dispel that? By an independent inquiry."

Are the refs once again working to keep Shaq on people's TV's? Who knows. I just found this amusing, that's all. Oh, and I put a pretty strong emotional investment into that series back in '02. We hates the Lakers, we do.