Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site hou2b.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxl!houxm!hou2b!sims
From: sims@hou2b.UUCP (J.SIMESTER)
Newsgroups: net.sport.hoops
Subject: General Flames on Officials
Message-ID: <220@hou2b.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 21-Feb-84 16:13:06 EST
Article-I.D.: hou2b.220
Posted: Tue Feb 21 16:13:06 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 22-Feb-84 02:29:29 EST
Organization: Bell Labs, Holmdel NJ
Lines: 43

Just for grins (and because the local traffic seems rather low in
this group) - anybody interested in discussing the relative
ineptitude of officiating in various conferences? I would think
such a discussion would avoid the high-BTU flames of debating which
is the "best" conference (we all have our personal opinions on that),
and I'm frankly curious how the quality of refereeing is perceived by
others for the various conferences.  I've heard statements in the past
that the Big Ten was "physical," while the ACC tended more towards the
"finesse."  Such tendencies must in part be due to how the games are called.

My personal experience is mostly limited to the Big Ten from my days as
a grad student at Illinois.  From them, and from the games I catch on the
tube, I would have to rank Big Ten officials near or at the bottom of
almost any stack you could name.  What concerns me the most is not so
much the apparent lack of fundamental understanding of the rules of the
game of basketball (I have yet to watch a Big 10 game in which there
were fewer than 4 or 5 calls I just couldn't understand), but rather the
almost total lack of consistency on the part of many of the officials.

For example, I can't count the number of times I've seen the *exact* *same*
*play* called charging at one end of the court and blocking at the other.
Or the games in which brutal physical play is allowed inside throughout
a game, only to have a ticky-tacky touch foul called outside in the final
minute.  It also seems at times that all calls under the basket have been
relegated to the official at mid-court rather than the referee standing
directly in front of the action (yes, I know that an official can sometimes
be screened, but not THAT often).

BTW, the above opinions are not the result of partisanship or a flame at
any particular game.  The quality of officiating (or lack thereof) is
maintained for almost all games, regardless of who is playing (though I
must admit that blown calls against the Illini tend to boil my blood,
while those against other teams simply make me shake my head in
disbelief).  I have heard (purely gossip) that Big Ten officials are
selected through a "good ole' boy" network rather than on the basis of
any sort of quality evaluation - this would certainly help explain my
above complaints (anybody out there heard anything similar??).

Enough for now.  Anyone else have any thoughts on the topic?  Mail welcome,
or add your logs to the fire here!
-- 
                                    Jim
                            ..!houxm!hou2b!sims