Ref: We know when we f*** up

Moderator1 · Apr 8, 2013

Burbs will enjoy this, Deadspin used the word. I enjoyed this piece.

http://deadsp.in/12Av4du

champ_kind · Apr 8, 2013

good piece, but hard to have sympathy for refs when they tell players "we'll remember that for next time" and eagerly anticipate getting hecklers removed from the arena as quickly as possible.

MileHigh · Apr 8, 2013

All officiating is tough. The higher you go, the thicker the skin you have to have. I've done football, basketball and baseball and find basketball the most difficult -- on and off the court.

Starman · Apr 8, 2013

Or take a call made by Dennis Allocco in a December 2012 game between LIU and Hofstra. After trailing favored Hofstra by double digits for most of the game, LIU began a furious comeback that found the Blackbirds down by two points with the ball out of bounds under Hofstra's basket and 1:07 remaining. LIU ran a back-screen lob play for forward Julian Boyd, who rose high to catch the ball in the air with one hand and slammed it through the hoop. Allocco blew his whistle when a helpless Hofstra defender grabbed Boyd around the waist on his way to the basket. The whistle made it a perfect highlight—exclamation point on an already-spectacular play. Boyd's dunk was the No. 2 highlight on SportsCenter's top 10 plays that night. No one in the building had an issue with the call. Certainly not the LIU players. Not even the Hofstra coach. The only person in the room who regretted the whistle was Allocco himself.

In a later interview, Allocco said he received an email from his supervisor Tom Lopes that evening. Lopes asked whether the foul was necessary. Yes, the defender had committed a foul by bumping an offensive player with a straight-line path to the basket, as per Rule 10, Section 10 of the NCAA rulebook. Lopes's argument was that the contact did not have an effect on the outcome of the play. Boyd's dunk would have been the same whether or not there was contact. Therefore, Lopes believed, there should not have been a foul called. "It probably didn't need a whistle. I should have left the game tied," said Allocco. Calling the foul gave LIU a free throw for the lead and changed the complexion of the remaining minute of play. "That subtle impact changed the game."
Click to expand...

Well, with all due respect, you stupid motherfucker, yes, it was necessary to call a foul on a defender who grabs an offensive player around the waist, you stupid motherfucker (I realize I said that twice but the situation calls for it).

Assuming this quote is accurate, Lopes should have been fired instantly and banned from ever officiating a basketball game again.

Everybody wonders why the game of basketball has been turned into a bottomless pit of shit-sludge: this is why.

Grabbing players around the waist is a fucking foul no matter how, why and when it is done. (Fuck, 90% of the time it should be an INTENTIONAL foul.)

If it ends up costing you the game, tough shit. Maybe you shouldn't have grabbed the opponent around the waist, eh?

jackfinarelli · Apr 9, 2013

MileHigh said:

All officiating is tough. The higher you go, the thicker the skin you have to have. I've done football, basketball and baseball and find basketball the most difficult -- on and off the court.
Click to expand...

Agree completely. Of the three sports mentioned here, basketball is - by far - the most difficult to officiate. I might add that ice hockey is even more difficult than basketball and I have done all four sports...

Versatile · Apr 9, 2013

So this is on the journalism board because Deadspin used profanity in a text-on-photo headline?

Riptide · Apr 9, 2013

The byline mug is a tad Spicoli-esque, I thought. I guess cute is in again?

Justin Biebler · Apr 9, 2013

I know a college ref that worked this year's Final Four. After the Big 10 tournament he called one of the former star of Podunk High for traveling late in the game. He gets home from the tourney the next day and Podunk's ex-principal calls him at home telling him Podunk's ex-star didn't travel and he blew the call. What a jackass. Those refs earn every penny.

Jake_Taylor · Apr 9, 2013

Justin Biebler said:

Those refs earn every penny.
Click to expand...

Karl Hess doesn't.

slappy4428 · Dec 15, 2014

Justin Biebler said:

Those refs earn every penny.
Click to expand...

Rockbottom · Apr 10, 2013

Baseball is tough, because calling balls and strikes isn't as easy as you'd think it is. But basketball is WAY tougher, with 10 people moving quickly and inconsistently while your old ass is trying to stay in position.

rb

Dog8Cats · Apr 11, 2013

A really well-done piece.

I, too, was put off by the "long memory" anecdote. Each game, all participants need to start from scratch.

Log in or Sign up

Ref: We know when we f*** up

Moderator1 Moderator Staff Member

champ_kind Well-Known Member

MileHigh Moderator Staff Member

Starman Well-Known Member

jackfinarelli Well-Known Member

Versatile Active Member

Riptide Well-Known Member

Justin Biebler Active Member

Jake_Taylor Well-Known Member

slappy4428 Active Member

Rockbottom Well-Known Member

Dog8Cats Well-Known Member

Share This Page

Log in or Sign up

Ref: We know when we f*** up

Moderator1 Moderator Staff Member

champ_kind Well-Known Member

MileHigh Moderator Staff Member

Starman Well-Known Member

jackfinarelli Well-Known Member

Versatile Active Member

Riptide Well-Known Member

Justin Biebler Active Member

Jake_Taylor Well-Known Member

slappy4428 Active Member

Rockbottom Well-Known Member

Dog8Cats Well-Known Member

Share This Page

Useful Searches