After the Pistons' loss to Utah, Saunders paraded his ineptitude before the press as he whined about technical fouls.

"My comment is that we might as well play 'PlayStation' if we are going to take the emotion out of it," Saunders said. 

Boo hoo. Could someone bring poor Flip a clean diaper?

Anyone who says T-ing up crybabies is taking the passion out of basketball is an imbecile, and needs to quit embarrassing himself and watch more college basketball -- especially in March. Do those teams (whose league doesn't tolerate whining) seem to lack passion?

Because I like the Pistons, I was pulling for Flip Saunders as their coach, but now I think I understand why the Minnesota Timberwolves choked in every playoffs but one when he coached them. I used to think that Kevin Garnett didn't have the right players around him, but it is becoming increasingly obvious Flip Saunders lacks championship mettle.

As we all know (I hope), coaching plays a far bigger role in the playoffs than the regular season. Because a team plays the same team several times in a row in the playoffs, there is very in depth analysis and adjustments that need to be made to get by a team.

It takes much more than a good game plan to win though, it takes execution. And execution requires focus (through distraction) and mental toughness (through adversity), and clearly Flip Saunders and too many other NBA professionals have neither.

Thanks to our 65" high definition television, the multiple angles the TV broadcasts often gives us, and a DVR that lets me skip back and step forward at excruciatingly slow motion, I can say with confidence that the refs certainly do miss calls, but they don't miss as nearly many calls as get complained about by NBA players and coaches. Time after time reviews show coaches and players complaining about the right call.

However, speaking of the bigger picture, it doesn't matter if a call was right or wrong though.

Those of us without multimillion dollar shoe deals have been taught by life that it isn't always fair. When injustices happen, and they always will, the winners in life shake it off and persevere despite the setback, while the losers wear their excuses like bumper stickers on a totaled, junk yard Lexus.

Once upon a time people used to joke that the NBA stood for "No Babies Allowed." Now it must stand for "Nancy Boy Actors." And overpaid ones at that. These guys are far too used to the delicate handling society gives celebrities, to the point that they demand it on the hardwood as well. This disconnection with the real world is embarrassing them and the league.

The NBA's crackdown on crybabies is LOOOONG overdue. Just like the hand checking rule when it was new, the teams that care most about winning will quickly adjust, while the others just end up showing the world their lack of championship mojo by resisting the new reality.