Crimes and punishment

Thank you, David Stern! Thank you for ruining the best playoff series in years and virtually guaranteeing that the San Antonio Spurs will reach the NBA Finals. This was without a doubt the worst decision you have made in a season chock full of them.

When the Spurs meet the Pistons in the Finals, you can be assured that this NBA fan (along with many others) will be tuning out. I’d rather watch paint dry.

BRIAN MUSGROVE

Moorpark

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Dear Gregg Popovich,

I understand your team is aging, so let me offer a few ideas on how to beat the young, spry Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference semifinals.

1. Tell Bruce Bowen to take every cheap shot he can get away with. When people complain, remind them that he’s been on the NBA all-defensive team seven times.

2. Downplay everything. Hard fouls are now “playoff fouls.” When your players get suspended for “playoff” fouls, call the suspension “excessive.” Regarding the Suns, let the league know how “fair” you think their decisions are. And no matter how hard your guys foul, always tell the media you’ve seen harder fouls this year.

3. When momentum shifts to Phoenix, take out one or more of their stars. Send one of your guys to instigate a fight. Veterans do this best. Tell him he’s “taking one for the team.” Remember, Horry or Elson for Stoudemire or Marion is a bargain.

4. Don’t get caught. When you win the series, congratulate the “scrappy” Suns. Avoid the words “suspension,” “foul,” “dirty” and “unfair” in postgame interviews. Be sure to thank the league and officials again for their “professionalism.”

5. Repeat until Tim Duncan retires.

JOSH DRAPER

Huntington Beach

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The suspension of Amare Stoudemire for Game 5 of the Suns-Spurs series for instinctively taking a few steps after Steve Nash got clobbered is absurd. The Ron Artest incident has caused the NBA to go the Leonard Tose route.

KEN FELDMAN

Porter Ranch

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The supreme court of the NBA -- Stern and company -- has decided the case of Suns vs. Spurs 2007, and unlike our Supreme Court refuses to have the courage to overturn a poorly written and vague rule.

As for the “rules are rules” people, “taxation without representation” was a rule a couple of centuries ago. Lucky for us Stern wasn’t one of our founding fathers or we would still be flying the Union Jack.

RICK NEVLIN

Ventura

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What is the only word in NBA VP Stu Jackson’s vocabulary?

A) Justice

B) Equitable

C) Discretion

D) Draconian

Answer: D.

If the NBA moved the cash cow scorer’s billboard out five feet farther from the court, Robert Horry is simply called for a blocking foul. An ejection and subsequent two-game suspension for committing a hip check less violent than a Rick Dees commercial -- when everyone on the planet including Steve Nash knew a foul was coming -- is preposterous.

LARRY YELLS

Hermosa Beach

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The NBA may be headquartered in New York City, but it is no longer run like a big-time league.

From Stu Jackson’s suspect suspension of Stoudemire and Diaw to Kobe Bryant’s regular-season suspensions under a cloud of ambiguous standards to veteran referee Joey Crawford’s extended suspension and public humiliation, along with a fiber ball controversy brought on this season by the front office, Commissioner Stern has more than a marketing problem on his hands.

DON MACKAY

Torrance

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If the NHL had failed to suspend the Ducks’ Chris Pronger for his hit on Detroit’s Tomas Holmstrom, we all know The Times would have raked the league over the coals for continuing to pander to an increasingly violent society.

But when the league stepped up and sent a message that hits to the head would not be tolerated -- even those committed by superstar players during the Stanley Cup playoffs -- Lonnie White complains that the punishment was unwarranted. The NHL can’t win either way, and your readers are the unfortunate ones who pay the price.

DREW LACKER

Torrance