THE WOMAN ON THE PHONE was after fresh blood. She wanted the address of the NBA so she could get a letter off - complete with "personal" written on the outside - to NBA commissioner David J. Stern.

"I'm going to tell him exactly what I think," she said. "I think he needs to hear about some things."I had this sinking sensation I was about to become an accessory to a crime.

The impetus for the letter was - what else? - Game 6 of the NBA Finals. The woman was joining dozens, perhaps hundreds, of Utahns intent on exposing the NBA's bias and/or incompetence. She and others are writing, calling, faxing and shouting, in order to get the league's attention.

The airwaves have been jammed. The newspapers have received a rash of letters to the editor and calls from fans incensed over two errant decisions by NBA officials which arguably cost the Jazz the chance for a Game 7. One was on a no-call, in which Chicago's Ron Harper made a basket that, when shown on replay, was launched after the shot clock had expired. But the one that really got the locals riled was Howard Eisley's 3-point basket that, upon review, was launched almost a full second before the expiration of the shot clock. However, referee Dick Bavetta waved the shot off.

Calling or writing the commissioner, of course, won't change the outcome. Both were judgment calls. The Jazz lost the game and the NBA Finals to the Bulls. Still, isn't complaining about officials in the Bill of Rights?

The problem with complaining to the NBA is that it doesn't use instant replays, and it doesn't comment on calls. That makes it fairly simple: The refs call 'em, and the fans and players live with 'em. In these cases, Jazz fans were left to wonder how officials Hue Hollins, Danny Crawford and Bavetta managed to get through refereeing school without spending time in the stockade. And whether any of the three is related to Michael Jordan. Still, they were hired, did (ostensibly) their best and missed some calls. Case closed.

If you're among the 2 million or so Utahns who feel cheated of a chance to see the Jazz play the Bulls in Game 7, too bad. This isn't one of your dialogue-type leagues. The NBA does all its dealing with officials in-house. It's as open as the KGB.

Not surprisingly, there is a growing sentiment that fans deserve an explanation - and in some sports, it's coming. In the Professional Indoor Football League, the officials make the calls, but those calls don't necessarily stand.

In late April the Utah Catzz and the Colorado Wildcats were locked into a tight game. With time for one play left, and the Catzz trailing 29-27, Doug Beach lined up to try a 50-yard field goal that would have given Utah the victory. But the Wildcats sent an outside rush and blocked the kick. However, league rules forbid outside rushes on field goals. One official threw a flag, then waved it off. Game over.

Well, not quite.

The Catzz protested the no-call and sent the film to league commissioner Dick Seuss in Las Vegas. Upon review, Seuss declared the rush illegal, said the officials had erred and the final nine seconds would be replayed the next time the teams met.

Three weeks later the teams lined up to play again, but before kicking off they replayed the last play of the first game. Though the kick went wide right, at least the Catzz knew they hadn't been cheated out of a chance to win by a no-call.

The difference in the two situations is that in the NBA Finals they were judgment calls; in the PIFL case it was a rules violation. And admittedly, replays in basketball would be more tricky because it's mostly continuous action. Nevertheless, the message in the PIFL is that the refs are accountable. If they miss a crucial call that could affect the outcome of the game, part of the game may be played over.

WAC commissioner Karl Benson has a similar philosophy. He hasn't changed any calls or replayed any plays, but he did publicly reprimand officials after bad decisions in at least two football games in recent years.

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Outside of losing a limb, nothing motivates officials to do well more than the threat of public humiliation.

Meanwhile, the NFL is experimenting in preseason games this year with instant replay but won't use it in the regular season.

So maybe changes are coming.

For now, though, the NBA has no plans to change. So the next time you think the Jazz got blindsided by the officials, you can do one of two things: Write the commissioner to vent your frustrations, or take your money to Orem and watch the Utah Catzz. In the PIFL when you cry, "We wuz robbed!" you may be surprised to find even the commissioner agrees.

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