Several of you sent us links about Ralph Nader's unhappiness with
the NBA officiating, and we didn't post it because, well, first, what does Ralph
Nader know about basketball, anyway? We know there was a serious disparity
in foul shots, but that's the Maryland argument revisited: a big part of the
reason for the disparity would be Shaquille O' Neal, Kobe Bryant, and the other
talents on that team. They can draw fouls by the bushel.
What we wish Ralph had gone after, and where he could have made himself
useful, is the disgraceful prices of tickets, parking, and concessions.
You could probably leave tickets out, actually, because they employees on the
court do require a significant overhead. But parking is outrageous, and
5-7 dollar hot dogs are way out of line. Stadiums will try to maximize these
revenues, but fans could start a boycott on stadium prices, and Nader would be
much more in his element.