Ultimate Fighter ... and a punch from Jason Terry?

Tonight's episode of The Ultimate Fighter on Spike is just one of the numerous examples of what is wrong when officials and judges have too much power. The two round fight between Tait and Josh ended in a split decision (it would have gone to a third, and deciding, round if it was tied after two). Tait won 20-18 (meaning he won both rounds) on one scorecard, but Josh won 20-18 on the other two cards, so he won the fight. Josh was the better fighter standing up, but Tait almost submitted him more than once when the fight went to the ground. It should have gone to a third round, but that isn't really the problem. The problem is that there is no consistency. If all three judges scored the fight 20-18 for Josh, then fine. But there is something wrong with one fighter winning both rounds in one judge's eyes and another judge seeing it completely opposite. Tait summed it up when we was interviewed just prior to leaving, saying "in a decision, nobody wins that fight, it's an opinion."

What are judges scoring? What decides who wins a round? In a boxing match, is it who lands more punches, who causes more damage, who has better looking boots? In ultimate fighting, is it who lands more shots, who is the aggressor, who's on top more on the ground? It doesn't seem like the judges agree with each other, and they definitely aren't on the same page as the fighters or commentators. It seems like everyone would be better off if they knew what they were trying to accomplish (other than ending the fight before it goes to the judges). [See What are we raving about?]

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Jason Terry was suspended for game six against the Spurs. Way to go David Stern and the NBA execs. Jason Terry is an important cog in the Mavericks attack. The Mavs might be able to close out the defending champs in game six, but they should be trying to do it with Jason Terry. I haven't seen any replays and wasn't in a room with a DVR last night, so I couldn't rewind in real-time. What I did see was Michael Finley jumping on Jason Terry when Terry obviously had possession while his team was calling time out. The Mavericks should have been awarded the ball without the jump ball at center court. Finley fouled Terry. Maybe Terry should have been shooting free throws. Why do officials allow players to foul others jumping on them to cause jump balls? I don't understand it ... I think it's just something they do because that's the way they do it, which isn't really a good reason to do anything.