jvg may have apologized for the comments made earlier this week but his team losing by 40 points may have been the silent protest of disagreement. whether the apology is acceptable remains to be be seen,
further reading at www.houstonchronicle.com


Van Gundy apologizes for comments
Rockets coach blasts Johnson for Game 6 'shots'
By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

DALLAS - Jeff Van Gundy might have had to accept David Stern's harsh criticism, but Friday the Rockets coach offered his most fervent apology for his charges that the NBA had targeted Yao Ming for extra scrutiny. But Van Gundy made it just as clear Friday that he had no use for Avery Johnson's indignation about the matter, particularly when he supported Johnson after the Mavericks' similarly fiery coach had his own emotional outburst earlier in the playoff series. On the eve of Game 7, after Van Gundy thought he had taken "some shots," the Rockets coach fired back. "I don't think there is any doubt he was taking some shots at me," Van Gundy said. "He can feel free to use my name. He doesn't have to speak around it. And I would be the first one to admit I made mistakes. I apologized the other day. "I'm truly sorry for using the word 'bias,' for bringing another person into it, for not thinking enough about the ramifications or implications of the word 'bias' and how it can affect the integrity of the league. "I couldn't be more contrite about being sorry for those things. And yet, when it relates to him, I've done it for a long time. I made a mistake. As another coach, I would think he would be a little bit more apt to be understanding, just like when he went off after Game 1. You can make mistakes. Emotions can go overboard. "I never meant to impugn the integrity of anybody, certainly not the NBA. No one has benefited more in life from the NBA than me. Professionally, really, I owe so much to the NBA. It's done so much for me. I tried to be a positive reflection. At times, I think I have. At other times, I think I made mistakes I think I've learned from (and) said I was sorry." Johnson berated official Joe Crawford after Game 1 of the Western Conference series, drawing a $10,000 fine. After Game 6 on Thursday, Johnson offered a heated reaction to Van Gundy's comments and the attention given to his $100,000 fine. "We lost the game," Johnson said. "We didn't play well enough. We don't make excuses. We lost the game. Maybe I need to go crazy. Maybe if I do, you won't talk about who won and lost Game 6. Maybe you'll talk about the coach who went crazy. Maybe that needs to happen. This series is supposed to be about basketball."
Although Johnson did not mention Van Gundy by name, there was no question about what he was referencing. "My only point was, don't speak around it, speak to it," Van Gundy said. "If you want to come at me, I understand that. No one knows they screwed up more than I did. No one has to tell me. Well, they have, but my point is, we have a chance to reflect and think which I obvious have for a couple days. "You don't get do-overs in this position. You walk out and you speak and sometimes when you see what you said or see what you do, running out on the court tackling somebody, you just hope ... your career is viewed in its totality, not in little ... four or five seconds (of) temporary insanity. "As far as Avery coming at me, he's not the first and he ain't going to be the last.
"I just would have expected more from a coach who, after he did what he did, I tried to support him. "But I can see why Avery would take a shot at me. I brought it on myself. That's how it is."

jvg sure knows how to back peddle, he has that drill down pretty good. seems like stern closed the door too quick...wonder who jvg gave up behind closed doors. a most interesting thing is the ref's union and how far they will press to test. vg sympathizers need not to respond. must read article fron espn.com:


Referee group not satisfied, wants Van Gundy fired

ESPN.com news services

NEW YORK -- Houston coach Jeff Van Gundy clarified comments about an official telling him Rockets center Yao Ming was being targeted by referees in the first round of the playoffs, and the NBA now considers the matter closed."When I referred to an NBA official, people inferred that I was talking about a working NBA referee, instead of an official with the league," Van Gundy said Monday in a statement released by the Rockets. "I was purposely vague because I had given my word that I would keep his name out of it." The league fined Van Gundy $100,000 -- the largest assessed against a coach -- after saying that an official who was not working the playoffs told him that Yao was being targeted following complaints by Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks Houston's first-round opponent.Van Gundy subsequently apologized publicly for the comments."He has also confirmed directly to an NBA representative that, during the Houston-Dallas playoff series, he did not have any communication with a referee [working or non-working] other than, of course, during an ongoing game," NBA deputy commissioner Russ Granik said in a statement Monday. "In fact, his only conversations with league employees during the series were with league personnel in the normal course.
"In light of these circumstances, we now consider the matter to be closed."
The National Basketball Referees Association, which represents NBA officials, however, disagrees the matter is resolved and wants Van Gundy fired according to a statement reported by USA Today."Van Gundy flat out lied to the public," the statement said. "And in the process he called into question the reputations of all NBA game officials and the integrity of the game itself. ... The matter will truly be closed only when Van Gundy is fired." Lamell Morris, NBRA spokesman and lead negotiator, addressed the latest developments in the Van Gundy case on Mike & Mike in the Morning on ESPN Radio on Monday morning. "There is a tremendous amount of confusion, but the only thing that cannot be confused are the words that Jeff Van Gundy uttered," Morris said on the radio show. "And to now kind of spin it to say that he wasn't actually talking about an official, but for the last week, the integrity of the officials who officiate the games during the playoffs and during the regular season has been called into question."Fans have been enraged over the possibility of game fixing, and now he wants to come out and say a week later, after he's on a bit of the hot seat, if you will, that he actually was not talking about a referree, I think it's a bit of a stretch and I think it's unfair. And at the least he should be suspended, at the least. But I think to now say that he wasn't talking about an actual referee is a very egregious lie."Van Gundy started the saga by telling three reporters at the team hotel in Dallas that a referee not working the playoffs called him after the Rockets went up 2-0 and warned that Yao was mentioned in an online evaluation from supervisor of officials Ronnie Nunn.
Van Gundy also told the reporters that referees "were looking at Yao harder because of Mark's complaints" to the league office, referring to Cuban.
Commissioner David Stern said at the time that an investigation into Van Gundy's remarks would continue once the Rockets were out of the playoffs. Houston was eliminated by the Mavericks in Game 7 of their first-round series on Saturday night.
Stern threatened more punishment -- perhaps even banishment -- if Van Gundy did not cooperate and reveal the name of the referee who was the coach's source.
"I did not want the issue to continue, so rather than clarifying my original comments, I chose to let the matter die since I was wrong to bring the official into it to start with," Van Gundy said. "I have been honest during this process, loyal to those involved and have apologized for my comments. I look forward to putting this behind me."
Stern, in Phoenix to present Steve Nash with the MVP trophy Monday night, said he considered the case finished. "He apologized. He accepted his $100,000 fine," Stern said, "and he acknowledged that his previous statement that he got a call from an NBA referee was, shall I say, in error, was inaccurate. As far as I'm concerned, that makes it over."
In a SportsCenter interview before the Phoenix-Dallas game, Stern explained why, in a surprise, he stopped pressing for Van Gundy to name his source.
"Everybody [with every team] talks to somebody." Stern said. "I got phone calls today about officiating. That pressing [for a name ] is not necessary because as commissioner I encourage … calls from coaches, GMs, owners. This was not a question about pressing."
When told that Van Gundy said that he never said it was a referee who called him, despite stories to the contrary, Stern offered a sarcastic response to the crowd of reporters.
"The media did it again," Stern said jokingly. "We're going to bash you guys. You were taken in and you just ran with it. Shame on all of you."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.