I need some help ? I can't find the Official NBA Rookie Rule Book.  I've come up empty on my search for the Official Superstar Rules.

Such rule books surely must exist, because they're so heavily used by NBA refs, but I can't unearth any of them.  My quest to locate copies of Rulebook for Bad Teams has been a failure.  The hunt for How To Make Calls For The Lakers has been fruitless.

The NBA has become a multi-billion dollar organization by marketing individual stars and dominant teams.  The league has an unquestionable interest in seeing the elite teams and marquee players excel.  But the practice of giving them an advantage with game officials has gone too far.

Each sport goes to the trouble of making rules and publishing them.  Every pro sports league has some form of a rules committee that spends time pondering the game to make sure games are entertaining and competitive.  Players and coaches learn the rules and figure out how to adapt their skills and abilities to maximize the opportunity for success.

In theory, it is the referees job to enforce the rules.  The refs are charged with applying the rules uniformly to all participants in each game.  There will always be bad calls, but the goal is to have a fair competition. In theory.

NBA refs have a different mandate, however.  Home teams and superstars get more calls.  Rookies, bad teams and unheralded players don't.  The NBA star system has worked marketing wonders, but it has become bad for competition.

The rulebook is straightforward, and its application should be as well.  Traveling is traveling regardless of whether it's Michael Jordan taking the extra step or William Avery.  An elbow to the face is almost always a foul whether it's Shaquille O'Neal delivering the blow or Hanno Mottola.

Complaining about the referees, long an NBA staple, is more widespread than I can remember.  Earlier in the season, I thought it was nothing more than a seeping whiny entitlement mentality.  Then I installed my satellite dish and got the NBA League Pass.  I saw for myself that not only is the officiating awful, but it's biased and unfair as well.

I watched one Chicago game in which center Brad Miller got fouled every time he made an offensive move.  Miller went to the basket aggressively time after time, but shot three free throws in the game. Then took criticism for being a poor finisher.

In a Miami-Memphis game, rookie Shane Battier was called correctly for traveling.  On the next possession, Miami guard Eddie Jones made the identical move but wasn't called.

In game between Washington and Detroit, Wizards guard Richard Hamilton was smacked around with impunity and rarely got the whistle.  Hamilton has continued going to the middle despite the non-calls, and has begun to get rewarded by officials.

The problem is that refs shouldn't be in a position to reward players for courage and persistence.  They ought to be calling the game correctly from the start.  A foul is a foul, and until David Stern insists his officials call it that way, the game results will continue to be suspect.

Stern is a smart man, however, which means I can only assume there are other NBA rulebooks in existence.  So, please give me a call if you have a copy of How To Call The Last Two Minutes Of An NBA Game.  It should make for interesting reading.