NBA Ejections: Zarba, Goble & Poole (x4); TFFL Day 52

Umpire Olandis Poole ejected Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony & Referee John Goble ejected head coach Mike Woodson for second technical fouls; additionally, Crew Chief Zach Zarba ejected Bulls center Joakim Noah (2nd tech) and Knicks center Tyson Chandler (1st tech) for fighting in the 4th quarter of the Bulls-Knicks game. With 6:45 remaining in the 4th period, Anthony received his second technical foul of the contest, resulting in his ejection. With 5:22 remaining in the 4th period, Woodson received his second technical foul of the contest, resulting in his ejection. With 4:39 remaining in the 4th period, Noah received his second technical foul of the contest while Chandler received his first during a double technical and an automatic ejection for fighting. At the time of the final technical fouls, the Bulls were leading, 97-81. The Bulls ultimately won the contest, 110-106.

Wrap: Chicago Bulls at New York Knicks, 12/21/12

Video: Four ejected during CHI-NYK game, two for unsporting T's, two for fighting

2012-13 TFFL: Day 51 (3 Games, 1 Technical).

312: 17 Joe Crawford, 26 Pat Fraher, 58 Josh Tiven. Thunder's Durant; 4th, 2:24.

The Minnesota Timberwolves ultimately won the contest, defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder, 99-93.

2012-13 TFFL: Day 52 (10 Games, 22 Technicals, 4 Ejections).

313: 13 Monty McCutchen, 33 Sean Corbin, 68 Marat Kogut. Magic's Redick; 3rd, 2:03.

The Toronto Raptors ultimately won the contest, defeating the Orlando Magic, 93-90.

314: 41 Ken Mauer, 65 Sean Wright, 70 Brent Barnaky. Celtics' Rondo; 1st, 2:40.

The Milwaukee Bucks ultimately won the contest, defeating the Boston Celtics, 99-94.

315: 28 Zach Zarba, 30 John Goble, 50 Olandis Poole. Knicks' Anthony; 1st, 0:34.9.

316: 28 Zach Zarba, 30 John Goble, 50 Olandis Poole. Knicks' Smith; 3rd, 6:15.

317: 28 Zach Zarba, 30 John Goble, 50 Olandis Poole. Knicks' Woodson; 3rd, 6:00.

318: 28 Zach Zarba, 30 John Goble, 50 Olandis Poole. Bulls' Noah; 3rd, 2:53.

319: 28 Zach Zarba, 30 John Goble, 50 Olandis Poole. Bulls' Thibodeau; 4th, 10:53.

320: 28 Zach Zarba, 30 John Goble, 50 Olandis Poole. Knicks' Anthony; 4th, 6:45.

*Knicks' Carmelo Anthony Ejected (Second Technical Foul)*

321: 28 Zach Zarba, 30 John Goble, 50 Olandis Poole. Knicks' Woodson; 4th, 5:22.

*Knicks' Mike Woodson Ejected (Second Technical Foul)*

322: 28 Zach Zarba, 30 John Goble, 50 Olandis Poole. Bulls' Noah; 4th, 4:39 (double-323).

323: 28 Zach Zarba, 30 John Goble, 50 Olandis Poole. Knicks' Chandler; 4th, 4:39 (double-322).

*Bulls' Noah Ejected (Second Technical Foul), Knicks' Chandler Ejected (First Fighting Technical)*

^The Chicago Bulls ultimately won the contest, 110-106^ (4-pt differential within technical foul pt spread)

324: 19 James Capers, 38 Michael Smith, 60 James Williams. Wizards' Crawford; 3rd, 7:54.

The Detroit Pistons ultimately won the contest, defeating the Washington Wizards, 100-68.

325: 23 Jason Phillips, 42 Eric Lewis, 75 Eric Dalen. Pacers' T. Hansbrough; 4th, 10:39 (double-326).

326: 23 Jason Phillips, 42 Eric Lewis, 75 Eric Dalen. Cavaliers' Thompson; 4th, 10:39 (double-325).

327: 23 Jason Phillips, 42 Eric Lewis, 75 Eric Dalen. Pacers' Green; 4th, 10:26.

The Indiana Pacers ultimately won the contest, defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers, 99-89.

328: 15 Bennett Salvatore, 59 Gary Zielinski, 74 Curtis Blair. Grizzlies' Pondexter; 2nd, 8:52.

329: 15 Bennett Salvatore, 59 Gary Zielinski, 74 Curtis Blair. Grizzlies' Ellington; 4th, 10:30 (double-330).

330: 15 Bennett Salvatore, 59 Gary Zielinski, 74 Curtis Blair. Mavericks' Da. Jones; 4th, 10:30 (double-329).

331: 15 Bennett Salvatore, 59 Gary Zielinski, 74 Curtis Blair. Grizzlies' Hollins; 4th, 10:30 (false).

The Memphis Grizzlies ultimately won the contest, defeating the Dallas Mavericks, 92-82.

332: 48 Scott Foster, 35 Kane Fitzgerald, 63 Derek Richardson. Clippers' Odom; 2nd, 4:05.

333: 48 Scott Foster, 35 Kane Fitzgerald, 63 Derek Richardson. Clippers' Barnes; 4th, 2:27.

The Los Angeles Clippers ultimately won the contest, defeating the Sacramento Kings, 97-85.

334: 54 Nick Buchert, 10 Ron Garretson, 20 Leroy Richardson; Warriors' Barnes; 4th, 0:36.4.

The Golden State Warriors ultimately won the contest, defeating the Charlotte Bobcats, 115-100.

2012-13 TFFL Standings Update

1. (77 pts) Bino.

2. (76 pts) Boredcravens.

3. (67 pts) youthministeradam.

4. (65 pts) cyclone14, Drjjulius.

Website Temporarily Unavailable

Greetings all,

Due to unforeseen circumstances, new content on Close Call Sports will be unavailable for an indefinite period of time. Existing content will remain visible. We apologize for this inconvenience though rest assured, TFFL and other CCS content will continue to be created "off-line" and will be uploaded to the website when the issue is resolved.

Thank you and most pleasant regards for this holiday season,
Gil

2012-13 TFFL: Day 50, Technical Fouls 307 - 311

2012-13 TFFL: Day 50 (11 Games, 5 Technicals).

307: 24 Mike Callahan, 42 Eric Lewis, 72 J.T. Orr. Pistons' Drummond; 4th, 12:00.
The Toronto Raptors ultimately won the contest, 97-91.

308: 7 Kevin Fehr, 36 David Jones, 41 Ken Mauer. Nets' Humphries; 1st, 4:32.
The New York Knicks ultimately won the contest, defeating the Brooklyn Nets, 100-86.

309: 49 Tom Washington, 47 Bennie Adams, 60 James Williams. Hawks' Horford; 3rd, 9:07.
310: 49 Tom Washington, 47 Bennie Adams, 60 James Williams. Hawks' Smith; 3rd, 3:12.
The Oklahoma City Thunder ultimately won the contest, defeating the Atlanta Hawks, 100-92.

311: 25 Tony Brothers, 20 Leroy Richardson, 54 Nick Buchert. Clippers' Barnes; 2nd, 6:19.
The Los Angeles Clippers ultimately won the contest, defeating the New Orleans Hornets, 93-77.

2012-13 TFFL Standings Update

1. (63 pts) Bino, youthministeradam.
3. (62 pts) cyclone14.

4. (61 pts) Boredcravens, ump89.

2012-13 TFFL: Day 49, Technical Fouls 302 - 306

2012-13 TFFL: Day 49 (10 Games, 5 Technicals).

302: 17 Joe Crawford, 30 John Goble, 78 Scott Bolnick. Hawks' Teague; 3rd, 8:32 (double-303).

303: 17 Joe Crawford, 30 John Goble, 78 Scott Bolnick. Wizards' Crawford; 3rd, 8:32 (double-302).

The Atlanta Hawks ultimately won the contest, defeating the Washington Wizards, 100-95.

304: 38 Michael Smith, 34 Kevin Cutler, 58 Josh Tiven. Raptors' Lucas III; 4th, 9:09.

The Toronto Raptors ultimately won the contest, defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers, 113-99.

305: 43 Dan Crawford, 65 Sean Wright, 74 Curtis Blair. Heat's Haslem; 2nd, 5:20.

The Miami Heat ultimately won the contest, defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves, 103-92.

306: 9 Derrick Stafford, 26 Pat Fraher, 50 Olandis Poole. Pacers' West; 3rd, 0:26.7.

The Milwaukee Bucks ultimately won the contest, 98-93.

2012-13 TFFL Standings Update

1. (62 pts) Bino, youthministeradam.

3. (60 pts) cyclone14, Boredcravens, ump89.

Umpire Therapists, Actors & Helpless Punching Bags

MLB.com's Zack Meisel has published an article regarding the lighter side of manager ejections, those in which skippers deviate from their standard argument to vent about their team or something else not related to the game at hand. In these situations, umpires often must act in order to further the show. Former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda explained one reason behind this act: "'You have to throw me out because I have 48,000 people in the ballpark.'"

Featured are umpires Bob Davidson, Tom Hallion, Ted Barrett and Dale Scott, with comical stories of some memorable skipper ejections, including:

— Davidson's ejection of Lasorda. Lasorda discussed the perils of dining at an Italian restaurant.
— Barrett's ejection of an anonymous manager. The manager vented about his team's poor performance.
— Scott's ejection of retired Twins skipper Tom Kelly: "'[My batter] can't run in the [stupid] running lane.'"
—Scott's ejection of former Angels manager Terry Collins: "'I know that was the right call. But we [stink].'"
—Davidson's ejection of Rays manager Joe Maddon. The duo went nose-to-nose sharing cordialities.
—Barrett's ejection of Maddon, who replied "I love you" to Barrett's "one more word" ultimatum.
—Barrett's ejection of former Yankees skipper Joe Torre. Torre vented about his own playing career.

Davidson's May 15 ejection of Charlie Manuel received the 2012 Ejection of the Year Award, while Barrett, joined by Jim Joyce, was named 2012 Honorable Umpire. Davidson was also named Most Improved Umpire.

News: Skipper vs. ump arguments not always as they seem (MLB.com)

2012-13 TFFL: Day 48, Technical Fouls 298 - 301

2012-13 TFFL: Day 48 (6 Games, 4 Technicals).

298: 41 Ken Mauer, 47 Bennie Adams, 56 Mark Ayotte. Magic's Davis; 2nd, 1:18.

The Orlando Magic ultimately won the contest, defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves, 102-93.

299: 9 Derrick Stafford, 34 Kevin Cutler, 36 David Jones. Clippers' Barnes; 4th, 5:52.

The Los Angeles Clippers ultimately won the contest, defeating the Detroit Pistons, 88-76.

300: 15 Bennett Salvatore, 52 Scott Twardoski, 61 Courtney Kirkland. Spurs' Popovich; 3rd, 7:00.

The Oklahoma City Thunder ultimately won the contest, defeating the San Antonio Spurs, 107-93.

301: 25 Tony Brothers, 45 Brian Forte, 75 Eric Dalen. Suns' Gortat; 4th, 4:40.

The Phoenix Suns ultimately won the contest, defeating the Sacramento Kings, 101-90.

2012-13 TFFL Standings Update

1. (61 pts) Bino.

2. (60 pts) youthministeradam, cyclone14, Boredcravens.

5. (57 pts) ump89.

2012-13 TFFL: Day 47, Technical Fouls 292 - 297

2012-13 TFFL: Day 47 (4 Games, 6 Technicals).

292: 49 Tom Washington, 44 Eli Roe, 65 Sean Wright. 76ers' Brown; 3rd, 10:39.
The Los Angeles Lakers ultimately won the contest, defeating the Philadelphia 76ers, 111-98.

293: 14 Ed Malloy, 33 Sean Corbin, 29 Mark Lindsay. Nuggets' A. Miller; 1st, 1:38 (double-294).
294: 14 Ed Malloy, 33 Sean Corbin, 29 Mark Lindsay. Kings' Brooks; 1st, 1:38 (double-293).
295: 14 Ed Malloy, 33 Sean Corbin, 29 Mark Lindsay. Kings' Cousins; 1st, 1:38 (double-296).
296: 14 Ed Malloy, 33 Sean Corbin, 29 Mark Lindsay. Nuggets' Faried; 1st, 1:38 (double-295).
297: 14 Ed Malloy, 33 Sean Corbin, 29 Mark Lindsay. Kings' Smart; 3rd, 10:28.
The Denver Nuggets ultimately won the contest, defeating the Sacramento Kings, 122-97.

2012-13 TFFL Standings Update

1. (60 pts) Bino.

2. (59 pts) youthministeradam, cyclone14, Boredcravens.

5. (56 pts) ump89, yawetag.

2012-13 TFFL: Day 46, Technical Fouls 288 - 291

2012-13 TFFL: Day 46 (10 Games, 4 Technicals).

288: 19 James Capers, 28 Zach Zarba, 56 Mark Ayotte. Hawks' Drew; 3rd, 12:00.
289: 19 James Capers, 28 Zach Zarba, 56 Mark Ayotte. Warriors' Curry; 4th, 7:19.
The Golden State Warriors ultimately won the contest, defeating the Atlanta Hawks, 115-93.

290: 23 Jason Phillips, 61 Courtney Kirkland, 58 Josh Tiven. Bucks' Pryzbilla; 4th, 1:36.
The Los Angeles Clippers ultimately won the contest, defeating the Milwaukee Bucks, 111-85.

291: 25 Tony Brothers, 45 Brian Forte, 75 Eric Dalen. Grizzlies' Bayless; 4th, 8:50.
The Memphis Grizzlies ultimately won the contest, defeating the Utah Jazz, 99-86.

2012-13 TFFL Standings Update

1. (60 pts) Bino.
2. (59 pts) youthministeradam, cyclone14.
4. (56 pts) ump89, yawetag.