James Jones Flopped, And It Sent Jeff Van Gundy On An Apoplectic Rant

ESPN basketball analyst Jeff Van Gundy has gone on rants about flopping before, but today's (sparked by a third-quarter dive by James Jones in the Heat-Knicks matchup) is one for the ages. Play-by-play man Mike Breen tries his hardest to get Van Gundy off the topic, but fails—JVG even runs over the contractually-obligated "Big Board" with his venom toward "they" (meaning the league office) who "condone" flopping.

He's right, of course, but given the cozy relationship between the NBA and ESPN it's a bit surprising; I wouldn't expect much to come of it, given there's four years left on their contract. Could flopping really be stopped with post facto penalties? Maybe, but the NBA would never enforce them anyway—not against the stars that drive TV ratings, anyway. [ABC]