12/21/24
February 26, 2004
Oops.: The NBA has admitted that referees made a bad call in last night's Lakers/Nuggets matchup. A call that pretty much cost the Nuggets the game. With Denver striving to stay in the playoff hunt and the Lakers in the middle of the seeding struggle, [this is really, really bad].
posted by Ufez Jones to basketball at 04:30 PM - 14 comments
grrr...accidental. Carry on...
posted by bcb2k2 at 05:33 PM on February 26, 2004
Yeah. I don't see how this is any bigger than the NFL refs admitting that Vinny Testaverde's helmet touchdown, which cost the Seahawks a playoff spot, was an error. Mistakes happen. It's best to move on.
posted by jeffmshaw at 06:17 PM on February 26, 2004
it's not like the refs are running down the court with those whistles in their mouths Umm, yes they are. But I'm with jeffmshaw on this one: it's over, move on. In a 16 game NFL season, mistakes are huge (which means replay is a good great thing), but in the NBA, NHL and MLB, there's too many games to get worked up about one bad call in a long season.
posted by dusted at 08:20 PM on February 26, 2004
I often times find myself yelling at the television because of poor officiating--and I think the NFL has the worst of it. But I've come to realize that for the most part, these calls even out over the course of a game or a season (unless you're the Nuggets or the NYGiants vs. the SF49ers). If I had to rate officials, by sport, from good to bad it would be: 1. NBA (above average) 2. MLB (average) 3. NCAA bball (awful) 3a. NFL (deplorable) But I agree--the best thing you can do as a player/coach/fan, it to bite your lip and move on.
posted by pwilly at 08:34 PM on February 26, 2004
pwilly, clearly you aren't one of the many SpoFite european soccer fans because you'd surely put those refs 1 or 2?
posted by billsaysthis at 08:36 PM on February 26, 2004
pwilly: I agree, NBA officials are excellent, probably because NBA management is so good. They are held accountable and review game tapes mercilessly. All that praise makes the fact that Steve Javie is still employed even more of a mystery. That man is a menace on so many levels. billysaysthis: I've noticed only one European futbol official enough to remember, but I probably noticed him only because he's a freakishly skinny bald guy. Supposedly Pierluigi Collina is one of the best referees of any sport, but even he has detractors.
posted by dusted at 10:10 PM on February 26, 2004
dusted, every professional ref surely has them these days, and they are all imperfect humans like the rest of us--though Collina is apparently so good that there's a movement to exempt him from the mandatory retirement age for World Cup officials--but I was thinking of the constant chant that Real Madrid, for instance, has refs actively looking for penalty kick opportunities.
posted by billsaysthis at 11:39 PM on February 26, 2004
I don't care if the NFL is at the bottom of the list... Ed Hoculi could beat any other ref up.
posted by swank6 at 01:57 AM on February 27, 2004
I agree that the best thing to do is move on, as the league isn't going to do a damn thing but apologize, and their hands are tied (I'm far from expecting, or even wanting, them to overturn or replay the game or something). But I saw the replay last night, during the wonderful Mavs/Spurs game might I add, and there's really not any sympathy with the refs' POV on this one. Balls don't bounce off of nets. It was a horrible call, and if I were a Nuggets fan and they miss the playoffs by a half game or something, I'd be livid. Hell, even as a Mavs fan, if they fall behind the Lakers by half a game in the standings and wind up getting a worse seed, I'll be pissed. Life goes on, but the fact remains that it was a wretched call.
posted by Ufez Jones at 09:32 AM on February 27, 2004
The Nuggets had two opportunities to make up for the bad call after it happened -- by winning the tip off or stopping the Lakers' game-winning shot. Beforehand, they had countless opportunities to put the game out of reach of a single bad call. Shit happens.
posted by rcade at 09:42 AM on February 27, 2004
Looks like the official that made the bad call got suspended and his fellow refs are none too happy about it.
posted by bcb2k2 at 10:26 PM on February 27, 2004
yeah, i saw that earlier, bcb. It'd be kind of fun and dramatic if it led to something, um, fun and dramatic. ;)
posted by Ufez Jones at 10:33 PM on February 27, 2004
That's awesome! I didn't watch any games tonight because I was traveling, but I would have loved to see that. NBA officials are just cool.* Can you see MLB umpires going all Black Panther on the league on a half day notice? *The exception of this is Steve Javie, who is not only not cool, but is a little smirking bastard with a power trip that somehow got a job as a basketball official. But I digress....
posted by dusted at 01:34 AM on February 28, 2004
I love those inadvertant whistles. I mean, it's not like the refs are running down the court with those whistles in their mouths. If that were the case, I could understand an accendental whistle now and then. But this is ridiculous. However, I would be surprised if this was the only refereeing mishap in that game. This one is just magnified by the timing.