Everyone was shocked when Tim Duncan was ejected this past weekend by power-tripping referee Joey Crawford. Apparently, NBA Commissioner David Stern was shocked and pissed off. Stern responded by suspending Crawford, one of the NBA’s most experienced officials, indefinitely. His status for the upcoming NBA Playoffs are uncertain.

“Although Joey is consistently rated as one of our top referees, he must be held accountable for his actions on the floor, and we will have further discussions with him following the season to be sure he understands his responsibilities,” said Stern.

It’s a suspension that has to be made. Duncan is one of the NBA’s brightest and classiest stars and throughout his career, he’s rarely done anything to warrant punishment from a referee. I’m not sure what Crawford has against TD but it’s obviously impairing his ability to call a game fairly. If I was in his position, I’d probably be carrying out my vendetta against Manu Ginobili. But Duncan? He can stay.

If Crawford is out of work for the playoffs, it will be very strange. He’s been in the profession for 31 years, refereeing 266 playoff games and 38 games in the NBA Finals. Those are the most by any active referee in the league. But Crawford’s actions are deplorable. All you’re supposed to do is call the game, not try to ruin it.

Say what you want about the NBA but David Stern has definitely taken some action this year. He responded to complaints about the new NBA ball and made the switch. He’s responded to criticism towards Crawford by taking action. Better yet, he hasn’t moved games to his home town for a little more income. But who’s done that?

If you missed yesterday’s game between the Mavericks and Spurs, you made the right decision. The game had absolutely zero playoff implications. But the game did generate some controversy, as referee Joey Crawford revealed one of his lifelong secrets: he hates Tim Duncan. Crawford ejected Duncan after two technical fouls, one of which came while Duncan sat on the bench. After the game, he shed some more light on the situation.

“He looked at me and said, ‘Do you want to fight? Do you want to fight?” If he wants to fight, we can fight. I don’t have any problem with him, but we can do it if he wants to. I have no reason why in the middle of a game he would yell at me, ‘Do you want to fight?”‘

Maybe Crawford was checking to see if Duncan has a soul. Tim Duncan is known for lots of things but emotion isn’t one of them. . He definitely isn’t the personality that gets T’d up twice in a game. But regardless of his personality, he’s still seven feet tall. Joe Crawford isn’t. Crawford is 55 years old, bald, and short. Had this brawl happened, I would have loved it. Duncan may be a gentle giant but he’d still stomp Crawford.

For the most part, NBA referees are a pretty obscure bunch. They don’t get the fame that NFL referees do. I can name several NFL refs, most notable the Greek God Ed Hochuli. But NBA refs? I can only think of Dick Bavetta for all the wrong reasons. Maybe Crawford is just trying to get noticed. As annoying as the Spurs can be, it’s the referee’s job to call the game fairly. He shouldn’t have a vendetta against Duncan and he sure as hell shouldn’t be challenging him to a fight.