Good old Papa Stern slapped Shaq with a $35,000 fine today for these comments about NBA official Bob Delaney’s job during the Celtics’ loss to Orlando on Christmas Day:
[The fans] paid all that money to watch No. 26 [Delaney] play. If I was a fan, I would be [upset]. You pay all that money for good seats, you have two of the best guys in the league sitting on the bench out of the game. That is what happens when you have control freaks out there.
To prove that a) Shaq’s right, b) I’m right, and c) I’m not just a Boston homer, here’s a look at one of Delaney’s absurd, self-indulgent calls from Saturday’s game…against Orlando:
That ten-second violation, like illegal defense, is a call that refs keep in their back pockets for when they either want to screw somebody over or they want their face on the highlight reel the next morning. Congratulations, Bob Delaney…not only did he make SportsCenter, but he got a personal shoutout from Shaq. Not that The Big Consultant has his panties all up in a bunch:
Whoopdie-freaking-do. In 20 years of playing in the NBA, I’ve paid over $90 million in federal tax, $40 million in FICA tax, and $1 million in David Stern tax.
Coincidentally, I just showed my girlfriend the “Shaq” episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm for the first time. I’m ecstatic he’s in Boston now.
