Walkers Foul?

["Greg Odegaard" <gmodegaa@longvred.rmc.com>]

FYI; Have you ever heard such biting commentary from a league official?  

And by the way for those you commented that my biting remarks about Pippen
yesterday were out of line, well let us not forget he HAS been complaining
about his contract for years, of course he has been treated badly by the
team, this is nothing more than he deserves based on his attitude through
the years (wouldn't come off the bench, etc.) and the fact that all Bulls
players other than Jordan and Kukoc get treated with some level of
disrespect, this is Chicago we're talking about.  And lastly when you beat
up your girlfriend, wife or any member of the human race, you deserve some
level of scorn and disrespect.  Ask me my opinion of The Chief later.

Also maybe 5 championships does deserve some respect, but let us not forget
the level of play, what with the watered down talent base.  Don't believe
this theory?, just watch someone like McGwire or Jr. jack out 62 next
season with the diluted pitching after the expansion.  The Celtics, Knicks,
Pistons and even Lakers have won their championships with a much higher
level of across the board competition.

Greg


NBA clears Walker on flagrant foul call 

By Peter May, Globe Staff, 11/25/97 

Antoine Walker has been vindicated. He said all along that he thought Chris
Gatling was acting, and yesterday NBA operations chief Rod Thorn said he
thought so, too. 

It has been six days since Walker was given a flagrant foul No. 2
(excessive and unnecessary contact) and ejected from the Celtics-Nets game
in New Jersey for supposedly elbowing Gatling in the face. Walker said he
never connected. Rick Pitino said his tapes showed no contact. Thorn said
his tapes showed the same thing and as a result, the flagrant 2 foul has
been rescinded. 

''We looked at it from every available angle and it looks to me like he
barely touched him,'' Thorn said. ''He may have brushed him, that's about
it. I think Mr. Gatling was trying to get the acting award.''

Walker was ejected from the game, which is standard for a flagrant 2, and
fined $1,000, also the norm. Thorn said Walker would still have to pay the
fine because Walker had earlier been assessed a technical and might well
have been given a second and ejected simply for throwing the elbow in
Gatling's direction. But there will be no further fine. 

''I don't really think he hit him,'' Thorn said. 

As for Gatling? ''He's the next Bill Laimbeer.''

This story ran on page C02 of the Boston Globe on 11/25/97. 
© Copyright 1997 Globe Newspaper Company.