Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Big East commissioner backs ref

Just watched this play for the first time.

Geez, I hate to see a game come down to that call...but it has to. It's not much contact, so it's a call I probably overlook if it doesn't force the guy out of bounds. But it did, and I can't reward a small bump that forces an opponent out.

I'd have called it too, and I'd have lived with the consequences.

In fact, I called it last week.

3 Comments:

At 8:47 AM, Blogger tommyspoon said...

I won't comment on the call itself, but what's up with Jay Bilas smacking the officials like that? His stock has taken a hit with me.

Another question: I keep hearing this refrain over and over again regarding whether or not to call something: "He's 80 feet from the basket." What does that mean? Do you have to be 20 feet from the basket in order to get a foul called? I's confused...

 
At 10:35 AM, Blogger BloggingRef said...

I had the volume down, so I didn't hear Bilas. Now I'll be sure not to.

Of course, I already know what he said: the officials shouldn't have decided the outcome blah blah blah travesty blah blah blah only a tenth of a second blah blah blah taking it away from the kids blah blah blah.

The key question, for Bilas, however, is that with a tenth of a second left, what's the defender doing ANYWHERE NEAR an offensive player so far from the basket?

It's about the philosophy of advantage/disadvantage. Some officials hate it and some love it, but it is at the core of a lot of officiating philosophy. The question is...did the contact create an advantage or a disadvantage? If so, call it. If not, let the players play on.

A little contact way outside can be overlooked (according to this philosophy). Closer to the basket, not so much.

The key to this play, as I see it, is that the contact forced the player out of bounds. The official is left with a choice: either call the out-of-bounds violation, thus rewarding the bump, or call the bump, even if it's slight. I say call the bump--it created an advantage by pushing the player out of bounds.

Make sense?

 
At 7:21 AM, Blogger tommyspoon said...

Wow! You must be psychic! That's pretty much what he said. Too bad, I like him when he's on Tony Kornheiser's radio show. He's one of the few basketball pundits who can talk about the game in a way that I can understand. And he's a pretty funny guy and not overly critical, most of the time.

Anyway, thanks for the primer. Yes, that makes a bit more sense to me. I'm continually amazed by how y'all can make such calls when the game moves so fast!

 

Post a Comment

<< Home

Add Me! - Search Engine Optimization