Stern Warning to Jeff Van Gundy

is on. Stern's gravest concern is that basketball fans will get the notion that NBA games are not being fairly decided by the efforts of players on the court, but instead, being legislated ahead of time by men in suits and black & white stripes.

Van Gundy probably thought the low point of his career came when he was seen dangling from the ankle of Alonzo Mourning during the Knicks-Heat playoff series several years ago. Neither Alonzo nor Larry Johnson were able to land a telling blow on one another in their fight. The coach's gallant effort to be a peacemaker from a rather low perspective ended up being more comical than effective. But going up against Commissioner Stern is no laughing matter. It is almost always a losing proposition, and just about a guaranteed way for an NBA employee to get his wallet lightened and his feelings hurt.

Although Van Gundy sometimes acts prior to thinking in the heat of battle, in the calm after the storm he has shown himself to be of reasonable intelligence. Such a person can conclude quickly and easily enough that engaging in battle with the boss is usually a lopsided mismatch in favor on the one with the bigger paycheck. So it came as little surprise that shortly after Dallas trounced Houston in Game 7, Jeff Van Gundy swallowed his accusations and pride. He publicly apologized, clarifying his previous comments by saying when he referred to an NBA official as his source, he was not talking about a game official and was intentionally vague when people inferred he meant a referee.

The NBA immediately dropped its investigation of Van Gundy, although the spokesman for the National Basketball Referees Association is less than satisfied with the quiet resolution to this matter. Referees will have their opportunity for payback, if you actually believe they would indulge in such unprofessional behavior, when the Rockets take to the court next season.

Jeff Van Gundy will most likely think long and hard before challenging the NBA commissioner's authority again. Unlike the compassionate Alonzo Mourning, when David Stern finds a pesky pest clinging to his ankle, he tends not to show mercy. He usually shakes it off, stomps on it, and scrapes the messy carnage from the bottom of his shoes.

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