RefStripes.com
Football Officiating => General Discussion => Topic started by: TXMike on December 07, 2010, 03:02:03 PM
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And I would say that even if he were not bashing Texas officiating
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/yb/153191653 (http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/yb/153191653)
Sometimes being biased worse than being bad in refs
By Edward Carifio, The Sun, Yuma, Ariz.
Dec. 07--Incompetence vs. bias.
Both are bad in referees. But which is worse? After Saturday's 31-27 loss to Blinn in the Heart of Texas Bowl, I would wager AWC players, coaches and officials would say bias.
As required by law, here's the setup. Arizona Western is losing in Copperas Cove, Texas, to the Buccaneers, who are from Brenham, about two and a half hours away. They close the gap to 31-27 after a touchdown. The Blinn returner fumbles the ball and AWC's Nathan Mayfield emerges from the bottom of the pile with the ball, seemingly setting up the Matadors on the Blinn 20.
Except the referee ruled that the returner was down before the ball came loose. Blinn ball. The Bucs go on to run out enough clock for the win.
Now, that's just one call. And normally, I would just shrug that off. Calls like that happen. You have to expect bad calls on the road -- and with a central Texas crew officiating the game, make no mistake about it. This was a road game.
But what makes this really, to borrow a phrase from the great Peter Griffin, grind my gears is that the same play happened earlier in the game. Well, almost.
On a kick return after Blinn went ahead 10-0 late in the first quarter, Brock Ringo fumbled the football after a big return, although from the press box it was pretty clear the ground caused the fumble. But he was ruled in play, and Blinn took over on their 45. Four plays later they had a 17-0 lead.
Both plays happened on the side of the field closest to my vantage point, which was along the Matador sideline. Both looked like they could -- dare I say should -- have gone AWC's way. Obviously, the Matadors feel like they got robbed. And Blinn coach Brad Franchione was noncommittal on commenting on the plays after the game. Of course, he didn't have a very good vantage point on the far side of the field. Besides, what's he going to say? "Yeah, we got lucky there. I'm going to go ahead and give AWC this trophy." I don't think so.
There were some other calls that seemed iffy. But there was a ton of penalties on both teams, and it's not like the Matadors were strangers to the color yellow. At least early in the season. But it was those two plays that stood out, to me anyway, as contradictory and even suspicious.
But, like AWC running back Reggie Bullock said after the game, that's just Texas. As someone who spent three years in the Lone Star State, I learned two things. One is that there is no city like Austin. But more importantly, Texas officiating crews are generally biased.
That means the home team is going to get all the calls, whether it's Salado playing at Troy in a 2A battle, a Dallas team playing one from the suburbs in a 5A clash or AWC playing Blinn at the junior college level.
At least incompetence knows no bias. If a ref thinks there are three downs and not four or it's 20 yards to a first down, at least that will be applied both teams equally. If it's applied equally, then incompetence in an officiating isn't really a hurdle.
But if you have a Texas crew working a Texas game against an out-of-state team, pride is going to take over. Maybe at a subconscious level, but it will happen.
As AWC coach Tom Minnick said Saturday after the loss, maybe next year's bowl game, hosted by Arizona Western and the Caballeros de Yuma, will have Arizona officials so he can finally get a call.
Or a the very least, maybe they'll think a touchdown is worth four points. You know, be incompetent but neutral. Then we can get a better gauge of who the best team is.
Edward Carifio can be reached at ecarifio@yumasun.com or 539-6882
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Sounds like another journalist cry baby. I'm always amazed that people think that officials can clearly see how a call they make effects the outcome of a game. Most of us make calls based on our rules and philosophy and never on the score or momentuem.
Just be glad they didnt have to play Blinn last year with Cam Newton on the field.
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Yes, pretty attrocious writing for a professional journalist (I doubt he is).
Brad
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And how about these player quotes:
http://tinyurl.com/2czxf2q
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Wrote this to bubba:
As a fellow journalist, one with 15 years in newsprint as a writer and editor - ironically, the same number of years I have worked as a football official - your attempt at a story suggests to me that you need to do take an officiating clinic.
Work a few games, and you will realize that what you think you see, what you actually see, and what actually happens are often different things. You will make mistakes. This, I assure you. You will make many. Your objective in those first, fumbling, haze-filled little-kids games will be to minimize the number of colossal goofs you make in a game.
Eventually, if you stick with it, by year three or four - if you're really good - you'll have the colossal errors reduced to maybe one or two a season. Your minor slips will bother you. You will then focus on those, trying to reduce your minor slips. Eventually, after a few more years, you'll get those minor slips down to one or two every three or four games.
At that point, if you're good enough, you'll start getting high end varsity assignments. The players move damned fast, and you'll probably make goofs again. But you'll adapt. Your errors will be back under reasonable control... and you will kick yourself silly over every single one. Well, you will if you're good.
You'll have to endure fans yelling at you - and you'll know enough to realize they haven't a clue. Applying NFL rules to NFHS games, for example. Wishing for stuff that isn't there.
Eventually, if you're really good, a decade maybe, you may get some playoffs. It's an honour, usually only given to the very, very good. The best of the bunch. You and your peers will likely execute a perfect game: because the best of the best are so good, they don't have many minor flubs, let alone major errors.
And yet, despite that, you'll have to endure idiot fans, ill-informed people who get their rules for Friday games from Sunday games. Coaches will yell at you, parents will hate you, threaten you even - and worse, journalists with not one whit of applicable knowledge, save, maybe for some Sunday TV watching, will call you biased. You will be insulted, but you will pity them, for they have not one whit of understanding as to the time, energy and effort it took to work to the game they watched.
Yes, a clinic. Take one. It might open your eyes.
(Signature)
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Seems to me that the best way to get back at this kind of crap is ignore it, unless of course it hits a nerve. Perception is one of our biggest allies and also our biggest enemy. Treat this as water of a ducks back.
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Hey... I am from Copperas Cove ;D.....but now in Alaska... :(I have kept track over the last two years and I have asked 15 people I work with to come out and try to officiate football, so far none have taken me up on the offer... but I still hear them every week complain about 'NFL and NCAA dum@$$ refs'... If you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem...
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Seems to me that the best way to get back at this kind of crap is ignore it, unless of course it hits a nerve. Perception is one of our biggest allies and also our biggest enemy. Treat this as water of a ducks back.
Sadly, ignoring something will never "get back at it". Silence is interpreted as acquiesence. If someone accuses you of being biased and you don't say anything in return, that's tantamount to admitting to the charge. It's not fair, but that's the perception.
We flag coaches and players for accusing us of cheating or being biased because it violates the rules of the game we officiate. You can't, however, flag a reporter for being a blithering moron. Your only option is to respond in a calm and logical manner to the rantings of a clueless "homer".
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Outstanding response, Livin'! :bOW
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LOL, there are 4 comments for that article on their website, but you can't read them and there's no way to add any more. Think they've had enough? pi1eOn
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Wow. I don't even know what to say. Just, wow.
Though I LOVE Fadamor's comment to the "story" in Bama's link.
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I had a "response" from the sports editor. One I deemed rather lame.
On Tue, 2010-12-14 at 14:26 -0800, Matthew Maxson wrote:
> Thanks for your message. The article Edward wrote is called a column.
> It's where a reporter remarks on his own opinion in given situations.
> Therefore, you can not call it biased since it represents his point of view.
> I'm sorry you disagree with his opinion, but he is entitled to it and afforded the space to write it.
>
> Matt Maxson
> Sports Editor, Yuma Sun
>
I understand quite well the concept of a column. I've probably written oh, something on the order of 200 in the last four years. More of them in my career than I can shake a stick at. Might have won an award for one or two.
And I understand the merits of opinion. I have those, too. I write about them, on occasion.
As an editor, I wouldn't have allowed it. Period. And yes, I've kicked back several things of this nature in my time, going "you gotta balance this, or it ain't going."
In other words, your rookie reporter made an acute error by allowing his clear favouritism to ruin what objectivity he might have had, and this error was compounded by an editor that did not serve as the second sober oversight that should have taken place.
The end result was an amateurish, blog-like missive that borders on actionable because of its slanderous content.
I trust you have the ... fortitude ... to publish my original letter.
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To "Livin' in the pit".
tiphat: tiphat:
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Wow. I don't even know what to say. Just, wow.
Though I LOVE Fadamor's comment to the "story" in Bama's link.
Meh. Just realized these were colleges. Just goes to show how working high school games all year warps your brain. hEaDbAnG