http://s****ts.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2008/news/story?id=3392778
Monday, May 12, 2008
Commissioner wants to scale down noise, pyrotechnics
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By Chris Sheridan
ESPN.com
CLEVELAND -- David Stern's senses have been assaulted, and the
commissioner
feels it's time to turn down the noise and scale back the pyrotechnics at
NBA games.
Stern went on a rant Monday night prior to Game 4 of the Celtics-Cavaliers
series when asked if the trend toward loud, fiery in-arena entertainment
gimmicks had gotten out of hand.
"I'm going to get in trouble for this, but I think they're ridiculous. I
think the noise, the fire, the smoke is a kind of assault that we should
seriously consider reviewing in whether it's really necessary given the
quality of our game," Stern said.
Ben Wallace said the smoke from pregame fireworks in Boston prior to Game
2
worsened the dizzy condition that knocked him out of that game after just
four minutes, and the Cavs decided to keep him in the locker room prior to
Game 3 so he would not have a similar reaction during pregame
introductions
in Cleveland. The Cavs put on one of the league's most elaborate
player-introduction rituals, with four huge jets shooting large streams of
fire out of the corners of the center-court scoreboard.
"It may be that these are the maniacal rantings of a fan from a different
era, and I recognize that, but you know I'm sitting there waiting for the
next cannon to go off, and then the fire heats up the arena so the
temperature in the arena rises by 15 degrees -- that's if you can see it
because you're still waiting for the smoke, which is chemical, to clear,
which is invariably done by the end of the half," Stern said.
"But I always bite my tongue because I'm not the demographic that wants to
be assaulted by loud rap, smoke, pyrotechnics and chemicals. It makes me
sort of outdated, but I think it's time for us to say, 'Hey guys, let's
look
at it one more time,'" he said.
Stern has had similar concerns in the past, and in 1996 the league
strictly
enforced a little-known rule on maximum in-arena decibel levels when the
Utah Jazz were competing in the Western Conference finals against the
Seattle SuperSonics.
"I think that's what has happened is that very well-intentioned people
feel
that it's their obligation to root their team on to victory, to urge
them,"
he said. "But what they do is, they think if you turn up the loudspeaker
it's going to help them perform better -- even though there are babies in
the building.
"I think we should have it as a time capsule item, because in some future
century people are going to look and say, 'What were they thinking
about?'"
he said. "And I'm positive that Red [Auerbach] is watching and getting
ready
to call me, because I think we've gone over the top."
Chris Sheridan covers the NBA for ESPN Insider.
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