OK, so who's running the NBA these days, Vince Mc?Mahon?

Cheap shots, head slaps, tackles, flying elbows, forearm shivers, takedowns — is this the NBA or the WWE?

If you answered the former, then you are correct. All we're missing is the folding chairs.

Flagrant fouls and rough play are the Story of the Playoffs so far. Now the NBA has a question to answer in the off-season — what is a flagrant foul?

There are rules that supposedly define a flagrant foul, but they're fairly useless, it turns out. Like pornography, nobody can really define a flagrant foul — they just know it when they see it. And then it depends on who sees it.

At this point, things get pretty muddled. Do they call a flagrant foul against a superstar? At the end of a crucial playoff game? Is there a difference between a flagrant foul and what coaches call "a good hard playoff foul." What is "unnecessary" contact?

There is so much confusion that Stu Jackson, NBA vice president in charge of basketball operations, said this week that the NBA needs to educate players further in the nuances of the flagrant foul. Let's hope they include referees in the discussion, because they're at least as confused as the rest of us.

Flagrant fouls are defined by the NBA as, "1) Unnecessary contact committed by a player against an opponent. 2) Unnecessary and excessive contact committed by a player against an opponent. It is an unsportsmanlike act and the offender is ejected immediately. The offender will be subject to a fine not exceeding $35,000 and/or suspension."

Keep this in mind as we roll the highlight tape of the 2009 playoffs to date, and see if you don't detect a slight pattern of confusion:

Seeing Luis Scola running up court to set a screen, the Lakers' Derek Fisher lowered his shoulder and crashed into his chest, finishing the job with a forearm shiver that landed the Houston forward on his back. The refs called that a Flagrant Foul Penalty Two, and Fisher was ejected and suspended for one game. At least they got that one right.

Kobe Bryant was assessed a Flagrant Foul Penalty One for elbowing Ron Artest in the throat. Actually, the refs missed it; they didn't even call a foul. It was only after the game — and after a loud protest from Artest — that the NBA caught up with Bryant.

Rajon Rondo, the Celtics' point guard, slapped Chicago's Brad Miller in the head as the latter was attempting a sure-thing layup in the final seconds of Game 5 and Miller missed the shot. Rondo made no pretense of trying to block the shot — he was clearly going for Miller's head — but the refs didn't call a flagrant foul.