I would like to hear the pleas copped by Stern & Co. Simply playing the "he's a bitter criminal" card doesn't fly when it's blatant that certain players, teams and coaches get preferential treatment. What's worse is that the beneficiaries change depending on the circumstances (i.e., Lakers get the breaks against San Antonio, but get hosed against the Celtics in game 2, or Shaq bullying his way to multiple titles but being rendered ineffective against the Bulls in '07 despite using the same style).