David Stern must be reading our blog...

Some of you may recall our recent recent post that condemned the excessive complaining in the NBA.  Well, apparently our own complaints reached the highest levels of the NBA hierarchy.


As reported by ESPN:

At the referees' annual meeting in Jersey City, N.J., on Thursday, the league announced the guidelines for technical fouls will expand to include "overt" player reactions to referee calls.

Referees have been instructed to call a technical for:

• Players making aggressive gestures, such as air punches, anywhere on the court.

• Demonstrative disagreement, such as when a player incredulously raises his hands, or smacks his own arm to demonstrate how he was fouled.

• Running directly at an official to complain about a call.

• Excessive inquiries about a call, even in a civilized tone.

(Read the full article here.)

Who knows if these measures will actually work, or even be enforced.  After all, NBA referees seem to have trouble keeping track of how many steps LeBron takes on his way to the rim.  But let's give everyone the benefit of the doubt and look forward to a less acrimonious future.