Weekend Bad Calls

In a weekend with a few bad calls - it seems like the World Series (and more specifically Philadelphia) will lead the way in the bad call department. My eyes can only be on so many games, and by going on a retreat and only being able to watch Penn State / Ohio State saturday night and the Eagles/Falcons game on Sunday followed by the Phils win last night - it seems like I was fortunate to catch the games where the umpires/referees were..... awful!

Starting with the Penn State game - I'm not going to get real picky here, because lets face it, we'd prefer the refs keep their hankies in their pockets most of the time rather than littering the field with yellow. Ohio State fans could argue that this was not an evenly called game - I believe there were only 4 calls the whole game but all of them were called on the Buckeyes. However, if you watched the game, you would have noticed that Ohio State was also repeatedly holding the Penn State's defensive end's. Quite frankly, they had no choice, the Penn State D-ends were much quicker than the OSU offensive line. This game would have not been as close as it was if the refs would have even called just a few of the obvious holding calls. Chris Fowler also mentioned this at halftime. Overall though - I thought the officials did a better job of not being overly picky with their calls.

Next - Game 3 of the World Series. Another game, another bad call. Each team has had to suffer through some bad calls, but in this game it went the Rays way and they capatalized on the opportunity. Down 4-1 in the 7th, and needing something to go their way, Carl Crawford sent a dribbler up the first base line. How any pitcher can make this play, much less, "the ageless one" is beyond a miracle. Moyer slides, scoops, and flips the ball to Howard all in one motion and beats Crawford by a half step! Great play right? Not according to first base umpire Tom Hallion. Safe was the call, Crawford would later score and the next inning we had a tie ball game. Thankfully for Hallion and Philly fans - the Phils would have the last laugh and win on a walk off single. Meanwhile, Moyer and Joe Paterno returned back home about the same time.

Jumping over to the NFL, and again we stay in Philadelphia. In yesterday's Falcons/Eagles game, a great game was interrupted with a couple of questionable calls. The first one was a horrible "lets protect the Quarterbacks" call. According to the reading eagle,

"there was little doubt that the officials erred in flagging Trent Cole for roughing the passer in the first quarter. Cole's raised hand hit Matt Ryan on the passing arm as he drove the rookie quarterback to the ground, and did not touch Ryan's helmet."

The AJC chimes in with this - which was probably the worst call of the weekend:

"The officiating crew took away any chance of a Falcons comeback. They ruled that Adam Jennings muffed a punt that the Eagles recovered with 2:22 left in the game and the Falcons trailing by six points. Replays appeared to show that Jennings did not touch the ball. The call effectively ended the game —- the Eagles scored a touchdown two plays later. The Falcons could not challenge the play because they had no timeouts left."

Lastly, the World Series game 4. It didn't take the umpires long to make their first blunder of this game. This time it happened with the Phils batting in the first. With runners on the corners, 1 out and Ryan Howard at the plate, a ball is hit back to the pitcher who mistakenly doesn't start the double play. Instead, he gets Rollins into a rundown and throws to 3rd to get him out. Rollins slide's into 3rd well after the tag of Longoria, but for some reason is called safe. Wasn't even close. Even the Philly announcers on the radio (who are the biggest homer announcers out there) are questioning the call. It was a brutal start to the game for the Rays. Rollins would eventually score, and momentum was on the Phils side the rest of the night.

To sum it up. Dave Brown @ BLS asks this important question:

"But what's with the amateurish umpiring in the series? Controversies in every game, most of them hurting Tampa Bay, and none of them reviewable by Bud Selig's holy grail, instant replay."

I hate to get into the discussion as much as anybody... but at least 2 of the 4 really bad calls could have been prevented by a quick review. I don't think missed 3rd strikes, a hit batsmen, or did he balk will ever be reviewable - but these close plays at the bases need to be reviewable! Do whatever it takes to get it done Bud!

Sunday Night Umps Blow HR Call

The umpires in tonight's Sunday Night game on ESPN have just really blown a home run call that Carlos Delgado hit. Mike Reilly is the 3rd base ump who originally called it a homerun. Replays showed the ball hit the foul pole, but after the umps got together and talked about it, they ruled the ball was foul. Upon further review, the fan that caught the ball showed evidence that the ball was marked with black spots off where it hit the pole. The pole also had a mark on it. I know umpires can't go look at video evidence, but I have a question... can they look at the pole, and ball to see if there are matching marks?

Homecourt Advantage Help Pistons Win Game 1

During tonight's game, the Orlando Magic were beating the Detroit Pistons and had all the momentum after drilling 7 3-pointers in the 3rd quarter to take a 2 point lead. However, with 5.1 seconds remaining in the 3rd, the Pistons raced the ball up the court, eventually passed it to Chauncey Billups, who took the shot and drained a 3 - but it wasn't a buzzer beater. The problem? No buzzer! There was still 4.1 seconds on the clock. The clock had actually stopped during the play and now refs had a decision to make. They circled up and talked it over, and after a lengthy discussion, they counted the basket and added .5 seconds back on the clock. Pistons were up 2 instead of down 1, not to mention, now they had the momentum heading into the 4th. They would go on to win the game by 7 even though it was a lot closer, the Magic had a chance to tie or take the lead with under a minute to play. Stan Van Gundy was letting 4 letter words fly, and can you blame him... TNT showed a replay, and a clock they added in the lower left hand corner verified it took around 5.2 or 5.3 seconds for the Pistons to get that shot off, which means it should not have counted.

First of all... I was counting in my head before TNT added the clock, and I kept coming up with right around 5 - I would have said no basket, too close to call. Especially since it was at home, and it was their mistake. Likewise if the game was in Orlando, and that happened - count the basket. I say punish the team whose clock operator makes the mistake. I know that's probably not in the rulebook, but there's gotta be a better way than to just count in your head and decide to put .5 seconds back on the clock. I mean... break out a stopwatch if you need to!!

Stu Jackson Speaks Out On Blown Call In Lakers / Warriors Game

Via fanhouse and latimes:

Many, especially Warriors fans, thought if there was a foul at all, it was committed by Fisher. Stu Jackson, the NBA's executive vice president of basketball operations, agreed.

"We did review," Jackson said Tuesday. "The call was incorrect. After looking at the play, the foul was on Fisher and not Ellis. It appeared that Fisher pulled Ellis down."

Jackson said the league informed the Warriors of its analysis. Delaney was also informed, though Jackson kept the discussions with the respected referee confidential.

In other news, Kobe Bryant just picked up another technical when he called Stu Jackson to argue the comment.

The Officials Love LA!

Well... the Bruins aren't the only team in LA getting all the calls. Warrior fans are not at all happy at what happened in Overtime of last night's loss against the Lakers:

4 Seconds Left: Inbound pass set in Faker territory. This is it. The last play of the game. Nellie’s timeout prepped the team to tie it or shoot a 3 for the win. As the whistle blew and the players wrestled for position … the unthinkable happened. Fisher fell to the ground grabbing Monta with him, and the ref Delaney, blew the whistle calling an offensive foul.

This was the 2nd call during the 2 day mini-series where Fisher had a call go his way, well... the other was a no-call when there should have been a foul called. At the end of the 3rd quarter of Sunday night's game - The Warriors threw a full court pass to Stephen Jackson who had gotten behind the defense... his intent was to catch and shoot in one motion - but Fisher fouled him knocking the ball loose... however, no call was made. I was listening to both games on the Lakers radio broadcasts, and both of these calls were questioned and criticized by the LAKERS ANNOUNCERS! Now Spiro Didas, (sp?)is a great announcer who's very unbiased, but Michael Thompson tends to be very pro-Laker, pro-Kobe, and EVEN HE questioned these calls.

Going back to UCLA for a second, over at TBL, they are trying to figure out why UCLA is getting all the calls this year - Sunday's no call takes the total to now 3 HUGE calls at the end of games that could have gone either way - but went their way... their possible explainations:

Is this the 100th year of UCLA basketball? Is the NCAA trying to get a final one for ailing John Wooden? Or is karma at play here, for the Bruins having lost the last two years in the Final Four to the eventual champion Florida Gators?

Georgetown Wins Another on Bad Call

I didn't watch this game and as of now I have no first hand account as to what happened - but when ESPN says "controversial" before going to commercial when talking about the highlights that are coming up - you just know they're going to mention the refs. Over at the fanhouse - Charles Rich described the final seconds like this:

Scottie Reynolds [Villanova Guard] took the ball on the inbounds and tried to go to the basket. Jerimiah Rivers stayed right with him. Playing great defense, and Rivers blocked the attempt as Reynolds tried to launch a shot and draw a foul. The refs ignored any contact and properly let the play go. There was no clear advantage and this is the Big East where physical play is expected.

The ball hit the floor and bodies were all over the place and each other going for the ball. No calls. It finally went to Georgetown's Jonathan Wallace near the baseline with just over 3 seconds left.

Wallace started down one of the line, and Villanova guard Corey Stokes moved with him to prevent him to launch a heave before time expired. Wallace got past him, with the barest contact and the refs whistled a foul with 0.1 seconds on the clock.

I should mention that Wallace was over 70 feet from his own basket when he was brushed up against. Of course, Wallace would sink both free throws - ball game over. Georgetown is now 2-0 on controversial finishes this year. They are ranked #8 in the country and still #1 in the Big East.

Update: Wow! I just saw the replay on ESPN - and absolutely ridiculous. So unfair for Villanova. Played their hearts out on the road - and despite having an awful 2nd half were still in the game - and then lose the game like that. Please referees - put your whistle in your pockets unless the foul is legitimate. This call was flat out wrong and that official should be reprimanded for that call.

According to ESPN.com - there were 48 fouls called during this game. Over 1 per minute. Double WOW!

Update 2: I was listening to Steve Czaban this morning on Fox Sports Radio. They were talking about this play, and "The Czabe" said that he thought the referee should be "Richard Zednik'd". I don't know about you - but maybe it's just a little too early to be saying that.

Here's video of the play:

Super Bowl Ref @ Duke/UNC Game

Rebecca Lobo just interviewed Boris Cheek during the UNC vs Duke women's basketball game. You may ask... who the heck is Boris Cheek? Well, he happens to be the father of one of the Duke players, but he also happens to have been the Field Judge during Super Bowl 42. One of the questions Lobo chose to ask was about the great play that Eli Manning made to Tyree. To summerize: She asked Cheek if he thought the play should have been blown dead when the SuperMangician was almost sacked. Cheek responded by saying he thought Mike Carey showed great composure and poise by not blowing his whistle and allowing the play to go on. I completely agree! Imagine what we would have missed if the whistle is blown and Eli breaks free! Mike Carey should definitely be commended for not blowing his whistle there and I'm thankful that Cheek just took the opportunity to do that.

As for the question, I heard them talking about this on Mike and Mike (they weren't criticizing, just mentioning) and now Lobo chooses to ask this question. I can't even imagine why people would even question that call. Even though another guy said no one would have been surprised if referee Mike Carey blew the whistle and ruled an in-the-grasp sack. NO ONE?!? I for one would have been shocked, and I can't imagine the reaction from true Giant fans. If Carey whistles that play dead, today we would all have been talking about that blown call.

Speaking of calls... During his judgements column on CBSsportsline. Clark Judge gives the Worst Call award to the Red Hooded Rule Corrupter.

It's Belichick again, this time on a fourth-and-13 at the Giants' 31, with just under seven minutes left in the third quarter. Logic says you call for the field goal. Only Belichick didn't. Instead he keeps his offense on the field, and Tom Brady threw the ball out of bounds.

Wait a minute, didn't Belichick remember that it was a call just like that -- fourth-and-11 from the 30, to be exact -- that cost Marty Schottenheimer in last year's playoff loss to ... New England? Are you going to tell me that Stephen Gostkowski can't kick a 48-yard field goal indoors? Please. If that's the case, the Patriots should find themselves another kicker.

I looked at my friend when the Pats decided to go for it and wondered why they didn't at least attempt a field goal. That is one of those calls that if they make it, it's a "gutsy" move, but under those circumstances, they have to without a doubt at least attempt a field goal there. That's what being 18-0 will do to you... it gives you the false impression that you are invincible.

Joe Crawford needs to check back into Anger Management

I'm sure by now, you have seen the video or heard the story of what happened to Tim Duncan during yesterday's Spurs/Mavs showdown in Dallas. Personally I do believe that Tim Duncan is one of the many guys in the NBA who frequently complain and argue with the officials about every little ticky tack no-call, but what he did yesterday was in, under no circumstances, worthy of a technical foul (and his 2nd!) meaning an automatic ejection. After the game, Duncan went onto say that Crawford challenged him to a fight, which is probably most definitely what Duncan and Horry were laughing about on the bench. If you haven't seen the video, it's a good one: Courtesy of AA:



Side note - is it just me, or has the world become a better place since AA purchased his Tivo - do yourself a favor and subscribe to his you tube page - good stuff always!

Anyway - back to Crawford. According to his wikipedia page:

Joe developed a reputation early in his NBA career for being "the guy handing out all the technical fouls, throwing guys out of games, a hothead, a real red-ass." Among his fellow officials, he became "the guy you wanted to go to war with, someone who’d have your back and take care of business." He firmly stood behind his profession and did not tolerate players or coaches who disrespected it. His philosophy was that he had to be aggressive. Crawford would later discover about himself that he had problems controlling his temper and sought anger management after an altercation with a coach. To this day, Joe continues to battle his temper problems.

Despite his short temper on the court, Crawford is considered one of the premier officials in the NBA. He has worked more playoff and NBA Finals games than any other active referee in the league and has appeared in the Finals every year since 1986.

The best comment I have seen so far about this - and I agree, comes from reader tarheels28 over at the fanhouse. He said:

3. If David Stern is half as interested in improving the quality of his game as he is in improving the "image" of his game (dress code, zero-tolerance on griping), he needs to suspend Joey Crawford for the entire playoffs. The finals last year were an absolute debacle with regard to officiating, and the last thing we need is a situation like this ruining what could be an incredible playoffs. This game meant nothing, but what if this happened in the Western Coast Finals with the Spurs and the Mavs? A referee should not think he's the main attraction, which unfortunately, is exactly what Joey Crawford thinks.

However, now that the Lakers have clinched a playoff spot. Stern could arrange for Crawford to officiate the Lakers home games under one condition: He spends the afternoon with Jack Nicholson...

Worst Calls of All Time

In honor of Greg Oden's superslam over the weekend, Complain in Vain is in the process of compiling the Worst Calls of All Time. (well... since 1986) This is a good list so far - they are up to #8 on their list. While I don't agree with all, I think it's a good start, and at least a good way to get a nice debate going. Take a look at their list and chime in on their comments with your own.

Oh and by the way - welcome all TBL readers! Hope you enjoy what you see... please visit anytime. Feel free to email me with your tips/comments/suggestions at rigginsorama@gmail.com

Amazing... Bob Knight isn't too fond of officials

Via FoxSports:

Texas Tech coach Bob Knight was reprimanded by the Big 12 Conference for comments about officiating in a double-overtime loss at Oklahoma State.

After Saturday's 93-91 defeat, Knight said a call on a charge was "horrendous" and "maybe as bad a call as I've ever seen."
Knight's statement violated the Big 12's principle and standards of sportsmanship, which prohibit coaches from commenting critically in public about officials, the conference said. The rule "goes for coaches, players, administrators, everyone," Big 12 spokesman Rob Carolla said Thursday.

So, Bob Knight has been reprimanded. What does that mean? Is that basically a slap on the wrist? "Please Robert, don't criticize our officials. Thank you." Last time I was pulled over and given a warning for driving too fast, that slowed me down for about 2 days. The fact remains, if an official blows a call that upsets a coach, the coach's responsibility to the team should be to at least have the right to say something about it. What's your opinion on the rule that prohibits coaches from commenting critically in public about officials? I understand players shouldn't be able to, but should coaches be allowed to complain publically about officiating? Where do you draw the line?