Basketball On The Internet.

CHAIRGATE? Really? That's what the NBL has been reduced to now with Chuck Harmison citing Ben Madgen for his temper tantrum?

I would have thought 10 minutes in the "time-out" room would have been sufficient ... particularly if Mark Radford was taking the time-out. There's a cruel-and-unusual punishment right there that would have had Benny begging for forgiveness.

"I'll never do it again, your Honor. And I promise I also will eat all my broccoli."

What the hell is going on? 

Has Chucky even collected all the fines from the last Melbourne-Sydney game?

I guess not because to come in now and cite Madgen for "unsportsmanlike behavior" smacks of over-reaction and a bid to throw another cash penalty at a player for being a fraction over-reactive himself.

For the benefit of those who didn't see it, The Madge took a drive, hit the floor, collided with a chair over the baseline, got a fraction tangled with it and threw it away from himself in disgust.

It flew in the direction of the baseline referee who, some might argue, could have called a foul in Madgen's favor on the play.

Or not.

He chose "not".

So the conspiracy theorists, and I've been one myself at times - nothing like a good juicy conspiracy - though not on this occasion, have even suggested Madgen threw the chair AT the ref.

Wow. That's a stretch. Especially when said referee, standing there and observing at close range everything which went down, clearly didn't see it that way. Otherwise, Benny would have been teched and ejected. And reported.

Now you can debate - and many already have and will continue to - that Benny deserved a tech foul for such a show of petulance. I won't argue against that because I would not have been the least bit surprised to see that call made.

But it wasn't. So in this instance, I would back the ref's judgment. No ref who feels in any way threatened will hold back, and his partners too would jump in. Whistles, techs, expulsions, reports, much arm-waving and frantic take-control-urgency would ensue so fast that even the chair would want to slip under a table somewhere.

So if he didn't even think it warranted a tech foul, then hats off to him for allowing Madgen to vent his frustration and to understand that frustration and not penalise it.

Like I said, a tech may well have been warranted regardless.

But for two days later, Mr Harmison to now step in is just grandstanding, in my view.

Yes, we have seen a lot of officiating mistakes this season, not least of which occurred the last time these two teams played but which already were evident in Round One's Adelaide-Melbourne game.

(Not to mention Shane Heal's unwarranted expulsion in a freakin' PSST game!!)

Now the NBL Tribunal, such as it is, will view the video, hear evidence from Benny and the chair and find The Madge guilty of being a little bit silly. The chair will get off as an innocent bystander. Then Chuck will fine Ben.

But do you know what should happen?

Chuck should just give him a retrospective tech foul.

THE last chair "incident" I can recall seeing involved then-volatile Indiana coach Bobby Knight hurling one across the court in outrage at an umpiring decision during an NCAA game.

(Look it up on youtube if you haven't seen it.)

Other than that, the only NBL-related chair incident I know of occurred in a post-game function back when former coach and assistant Steve Breheny was still playing in the league.

A drunk approached him at the function and said: "Breheny, you have all the athleticism of a chair."

The Moscow Olympian thought about that for a moment, then responded with: "What sort of chair?"

WHOOPS. Before I go congratulating Townsville's Gary Ervin for claiming this week's NBL Player of the Week award, Lucas Walker's effort last week slipped through my blogging pages.

I must have been sipping a daiquiri by the pool.

Walker was sensational in a career-performance for the Tigers as they beat Wollongong 80-72 to start considering themselves something of a playoff longshot. He had 19 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks to close 2012 on a sky-walker high.

Let's hope his one-off of 2012 becomes a regular thang in 2013.

And so, to Gary, who had 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting (3-of-4 threes), nine boards and five assists as Townsville won its fifth straight game, beating Adelaide 75-61.

That gave the 2011 league MVP the PotW in a round where there was some fairly stiff competition too.

WANT better coverage in mainstream media?

Then don't duck and hide.

A couple of times this past week, as the 36ers have felt the heat more and more from fans about club inaction on an untenable coaching situation, both chairman and majority owner Daryl Simmons and his CEO Leeanne Grantham have been "unavailable for comment."

Not just once, either.

Not returning calls (or returning them very late at night and leaving a "sorry, tried to catch you" message when journos have gone home - people forget the message will also tell us the call came in at 11:09pm or whenever) is a very ordinary and unprofessional pattern of behavior which quickly will alienate whatever media outlet is seeking the input.

Not suggesting the 36ers would ever do that, perish the thought.

But hiding behind press releases is also a very amateur trick most people see through and can recognise strongly points to a keen desire to avoid answering difficult questions.

Here's a much simpler question: Do you want coverage, or only when things are going well?

Ask an AFL or NRL club what things are like when the going is rough. But I don't see too many dodging the media. That, sadly, is the domain of the minor sports world and probably goes some distance toward explaining why basketball remains just that.

 

REVIEWS

36ers v Crocodiles (M)

IT'S an Adelaide 36ers game, right? Said it a while ago that once a team loses enough times and in close games, doubt and insecurity set in and you can count on counting them out for a long time in those scenarios.

Instead of talking up how positive it is that the Sixers are hanging in and only losing narrowly, the 36ers must face the reality that winning is what pro sports is about.

Gallant losses are for junior sport. Oh. Wait. I just remembered which club I'm talking about. My mistake.

Townsville won 75-61 on the back of a 32-16 third period after Adelaide held it to eight in the second.

"For a second there, we thought we were Cairns," Paul Woolpert assuredly did not say.

Gary Ervin and Luke Nevill were big for the Crocs while Adam Gibson fought a lone hand for Adelaide and DJ went 4-20 including 0-5 from long range.

Way to put in the hard yards.

Fire v Lightning (W)

IT was only a matter of time before the ongoing and intermittent absence of injured Adelaide and league MVP Suzy Batkovic was going to take its toll.

This was the trip that did it.

Yes, Townsville won 73-70 and should be rapt to have that scalp in the "W" column.

But let's not pretend the Fire beat the "real" Adelaide, even if the WNBL conceded as much by having the team as the "Lightening" in its official website report.

Yes, having Batgirl out definitely lightens Lightning, especially when Rachael Flanagan gets going for one of her best games of the year. Flanny had a game-high 22 points and Kayla Standish a double-double.

Laura Hodges took a whopping seven shots in this one.

Taipans v Wildcats (M)

KEVIN Lisch, come on down!

I have to agree with Perth coach Rob "The Sensei" Beveridge that a lot of talk figures on Cedric The Entertainer and The Madge, but, grasshoppers, Kevin Lisch is still the Master.

The reigning MVP had 26 points including 3-5 triples as Perth did an 85-66 number on the Taipans in Cairns.

Remember at the start of the season when many feared Cairns had recruited too many scorers and its great success as a defensive team would suffer as a consequence?

Yeah. That's this Cairns team we're talking about, right? The one which scored 9 points in the first period?

You're really going to live with Perth when you do that.

Or if you score 9 in the last quarter.

Yes. All these scorers and shooters is a nightmare for Cairns.

Capitals v Rangers (W)

MONICA Wright apparently told Mark that they are related, so her minutes immediately bumped up to half the game.

But the WNBA star showed what she could do in those minutes with 20 points on 7-11 shooting, 2-3 threes, five boards, five assists, two steals and a block as Dandenong routed Canberra 101-62.

The Caps put up a feisty first quarter but a 31-16 second by the Rangers made this academic and allowed Wright - Mark, not Monica - the luxury of spreading his minutes unusually equitably.

Michelle Cosier had her best game of the season for Canberra with 22 points and 12 rebounds. But beyond that, there wasn't much to get chirpy about.

Kings v 36ers (M)

DESPITE the mire in which Adelaide finds itself, this was a highly entertaining and exciting game of basketball before Sydney took the honors 86-82.

Ben Madgen played his heart out (and even hurt his shoulder again, having, coincidentally injured it originally against the 36ers) for 30 points at 65 per cent.

But Aaron Bruce also showed up at key times for 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting and Darnell Lazare was strong when they needed him, Corin Henry efficient when he was called upon.

There was nothing in this going down the stretch, Adam Gibson (19 points, five assists) carrying his team as always. Luke Schenscher had a dominant period as well and DJ enjoyed a 16-12 double-double to keep Adelaide in this fight.

A huge defensive block by Bruce on Gibson as the Sixers captain attempted a three-pointer, down 76-81, was one of the key plays of the night.

In his second game as a 36er, Scott Christopherson, the import brought in to replace CJ Massingale because he could not only catch-and-shoot but ALSO create off the dribble, was 0-of-0 in 13:32 of action.

He was 0-of-5 in his 22:14 of action on debut against Townsville, including 0-of-4 from range.

Not a lot there "off the dribble" but in fairness to him - yes, I'm still trialling that quality - he has hardly come into the ideal situation.

Flames v Rangers (W)

YOU see what can happen if you give Monica Wright some court time?

Clearly she liked it against Canberra so additionally went off for 31 points at 75 per cent, 11 rebounds and seven assists as Dandenong swept away surging Sydney 89-67.

Kathleen McLeod had a 21 point, 10-assists double-double in the absence of fellow London Olympian Jenna O'Hea. (OK. So now you know whose minutes Monica played.)

April Sykes showed her import quality too with 25 points for Sydney, which hung tough until Dandenong's depth exposed it with a runaway 26-10 final period.

Hawks v Breakers (M)

RHYS Martin had a career-best 28-point haul but Wollongong went down in a high-quality thriller 76-78 to New Zealand.

The Hawks, welcoming back Tiiim Cooeenraad, were off to a solid start but when Cedric Action Jackson and the usual suspects stepped it up, New Zealand was ahead 43-33 heading for the main interval.

Enter Martin with three consecutive treys and suddenly it is a 42-43 game at the half.

His 28 points came at 60 per cent and included a mesmerising 6-of-7 threes.

Wollongong's 13-of-25 from beyond the arc ensured this game was a cracker.

Down to the wire and typically it was a former Hawk in CJ Bruton who buried the dagger from range to push the Breakers to 12-3 at the top of the table.

Will Hudson had a 14-10 double-double for the Breakers, Alex Pledger also with 14 points to emphasise Wollongong clearly is missing centre Larry Davidson (ribs) in its run of narrow outs.

Thunder v Lightning (W)

The bottom finally fell out of Adelaide as Logan handed it a thorough 86-59 bitch-slapping.

Patching up holes, players filling in for others, injuries etcetera finally took its toll as Lightning cracked and the Thunder bolted.

No, that wasn't a weather report, Emma Langford and Laurie Koehn burying Adelaide with 25 and 22 points respectively and Kristen Veal controlling play with eight assists and nine rebounds.

Logan had just nine turnovers and did not feel the vaunted Adelaide defensive pressure much at all.

The Lightning shot at 34 per cent, Olympians Laura Hodges and Jenni Screen with 15 and 12 points respectively and Amy Lewis also piping up with 12.

The Thunder played the spoiler role perfectly  and Adelaide now will need to regroup.

Tigers v Kings (M)

IT'S rare when your two imports both go 11 and 9 but Seth Scott had 11 points, 9 boards and Jonny Flynn 11 points and 9 assists in Melbourne's vital 74-71 win over Sydney.

This was just another terrific game in a round full of them as the Kings belied fears they could not keep up by setting the pace but Chris Goulding - MVP of the All Star Game - again led the way with 18 points for the Tigers.

Adam Ballinger also bobbed up with some important buckets as Ben Madgen, Aaron Bruce, Darnell Lazare and Corin Henry again were Sydney's mainstays, the Kings ahead 40-39 at halftime.

Ian Crosswhite (9 pts, 6 rebs) stayed out of foul trouble and Bennie Lewis showed why he won the Slam Dunk Contest in another memorable game between the nation's two biggest city teams.

Spirit v Boomers (W)

AFTER winning last round's PotW, Alice Kunek showed her confidence was up as she nailed a halftime prayer to have Bulleen back within 11 of Bendigo at halftime.

If that doesn't sound like much, the Boomers were 16 in the hole during the period and that shot ignited a third quarter fightback which dragged them within four.

Harrower time. (Kristi, not Bernie.)

The point guard with the touch of magic strung together 12 straight points and that was all she wrote, Bendigo cruising on to an 84-67 victory.

The door was ajar for Bulleen as Spirit centre Gab Richards was out.

But Kelly Wilson early and Kelsey Griffin late made sure this would not go down to the wire.

BEEF of the WEEK

WE surely cannot constantly lament the great lack of characters in our leagues at present, then jump on anyone who dares show some color in our bland black-and-white world.

Yes, I am referring to the whole Chairgate incident again.

I must confess, I LOVE that it happened.

There. I said it.

For days on Twitter and, no doubt, on various forums and maybe even around the odd water cooler, Madgen's chair toss created profound interest and comment, for and against.

THAT'S WHAT WE WANT!

THAT'S WHAT OUR GAME NEEDS!

No, not chair-throwing per se.

But moments of emotion and/or passion which ignite the imagination of friend or foe alike and get them talking about our sport.

Better yet, moments that get non-basketball fans talking and paying attention.

Moments that bring a crowd to voice.

Say what you will (and you will) about Benny Madgen but you cannot say he isn't passionate, that he doesn't care, that he's a sporting mercenary or a bland pro-baller who only cares who is signing his pay-cheque.

He thrills and inspires Kings fans, irritates and fires up opponents and their fans.

Like Shane Heal did. Or Cal Bruton. Or even Grant Kruger.

Let's not come down on that like a tonne of bricks when it is what so many of our coaches and administrators have steadily dulled out of our game, to our game's great detriment.

We don't want robots. We want characters.

The Big Winners/Losers

MELBOURNE is the NBL's biggest winner, the Tigers' narrow win over a Sydney playing twice within a day-and-a-half not that dazzling in itself. But moving up into fifth spot on the iiNet NBL Championship ladder on the back of the win is.

As ADELAIDE plummetted to its record-equalling eighth-straight loss and further into controversy over its direction (down), it is impossible to go past it as the league's biggest loser.

DANDENONG was the big weekend WNBL winner, torching Canberra by 39 (some rated the Caps as championship contenders this season remember? Albeit, with LJ playing...), then pulled the rug out from under Sydney by 22. That's a very solid road trip in anyone's books.

Missing Suzy Batkovic made ADELAIDE the round's biggest loser, beaten by Townsville and thrashed by Logan in its road trip. Bear in mind, Lightning swept that trip last time and also had to deal with casualties on that occasion.

PS

ADELAIDE 36ers icon Brett Maher, who before the NBL season tipped-off said the 2012-13 line-up was the best Adelaide team since the 1998-99 champion, has amended that again to the 1991 West Adelaide Bearcats' WNBL team which went 0-22.