Dave Parry's comments re 12/30/2010 bowls

[Rulesman]

If you think that was the worst quote of the night, you must have watched the games with the sound muted.

[Welpe]

Going back to the Music City Bowl...at what point should the umpire have stepped over the ball?  I was under the impression he was to do so when the offense started entering players?

[AlUpstateNY]

  I may have missed it somewhere but I thought CFO was to ensure that mechanics and rules were carried out the same across the country.  Sorry to rant, but this is part of our problem as Officials having to defend ourselves when a guy from Alabama, or California calls it differently than the guy from Texas or Michigan. 

You may be in the right church, but the wrong pew.  The problem isn't a lack of precise consistency between conferences, regions even games, it's the ridiculous expectation that there can ever be precise consistency on every play in ever situation, wherever the game is played.  Such consistency will ONLY be achieded right after we achieve officiating perfection. 

Surprise, surprise, Instant Replay didn't solve all the problems, doesn't correct all the errors, all it seems to accomplish is feed the needs of those who like to argue beyond the level of a gnat's eyelash.  Players don't always execute as directed, coaches don't always select the exact right play and officials make judgments, limited to the best of their abilities.  Forgive me, but the formula has worked pretty well, although not perfectly, for some 130+ years.

As Forrest Guump advised us, in football just like in the rest of life, sometimes no matter how careful we might be, ""Stuff" happens", and like it or not, we just have to deal with it.

[VA-Ump]

You are correct... but in defense of the U and the crew, having been in several similar situations, the U does not always see the incoming subs and is concentrating on getting the ball back to the hash and getting out of the way.  The R and wing (in this case the L) needed to communicate this to him both by the "iron cross" and by yelling to him that there were subs coming on, but I'm sure they were caught by surprise as well, not to mention the crowd volume.  I got caught "not" being aware of the substitutions this year but luckily it didn't hurt us.  In my haste and not anticipating A substituting, I put the crew in a bad situation.   I really learned something that day.

[TXMike]

Going back to the Music City Bowl...at what point should the umpire have stepped over the ball?  I was under the impression he was to do so when the offense started entering players?

When an offense is in a hurry up like that, most all of us, rightly or wrongly, become focused on getting the ball ready for play so they can go.  And the offense is in such a hurry to go, they SHOULD abstain from subbing because they SHOULD know the rule which would cause them to be slowed down if the sub was noticed.  

But in an ideal world, the U would have noticed the attempted subbing going on and the team already at the LOS ready to snap.  That might have spurred him to linger over the ball a bit to see if B was responding.  

[Welpe]

Thanks VA-Ump.  I was not trying to criticize the crew, I was simply just trying to understand the proper mechanic.  I know how crazy some of these situations can get and how something can get missed.

[FBREF]

More like the worst quote of the night.  First off Rogers Redding is on the committee....he isn't a coach.  5 of the voting members are not coaches, 3 of them are athletic directors and the other 2 are conference commissioners.  In fact there is a quota of how many administrators (non-coaches) must be on the committee.  And why would anyone think that the rules committee members don't know anything about the rules?


I thought (maybe the wrong thing to have done) that Rogers Redding did not get a vote.  Those words came from his mouth at our Summer Meeting last year.  He is there to act as an advisor to them.  Secondly, one of the coaches on there in a D-II conference wants everybody to know that he is on the committee and makes it a point every game to tell the officials he is on it.  This particluar coach argued with our Side Judge for 2 plays that he couldbe in the white area all day as lons as he did not interfere with the game!  This is a guy who says he wants our opinion and then he chest bumps our SJ when w fumble happened in front of him and he got mad when he gets knocked down during the scramble for the loose ball.  Guess where he was standing.  IN THE WHITE!  That is when he chest bumped the official and then got 30 yards and did not get the fumble.  

The point I was trying to make was that when you have non-officials making Rules Changes, you get what you get.  

What do you do with a dead horse?  You bury the Sucker!!!

[williebe]

Less than a minute left in a game, team behind and driving, something has to click in your brain that the team will run a hurry up and try to tie the game. Expect anything. In games like this when it is close at some point i tell the crew as soon as i can expect anything, make it big. This was big.

[Rulesman]

I thought (maybe the wrong thing to have done) that Rogers Redding did not get a vote.  Those words came from his mouth at our Summer Meeting last year.  He is there to act as an advisor to them...

You are correct... I heard the same thing. RR is there in an advisory capacity only. He is not a voting member of the rules committee.

[British Ref]

NCAA FB Rules Committee:

http://web1.ncaa.org/committees/committees_roster.jsp?CommitteeName=FBRULES

[FBREF]

Does the appointment of Will Prewitt as Commissioner of the New Arkansas/Oklahoma Division 2 conference mean that Todd Knight will have to give up his place on the committee?  That would mean 2 folks from the same conference on the Rules Committee. 

[Rulesman]

Does the appointment of Will Prewitt as Commissioner of the New Arkansas/Oklahoma Division 2 conference mean that Todd Knight will have to give up his place on the committee?  That would mean 2 folks from the same conference on the Rules Committee. 

Interesting question. (You would LOVE that, wouldn't you)? 

Or would Prewitt have to give up his seat?

[Aussie-Zebra]

Double standard for celebrations
By Mechelle Voepel
ESPN.com
January 5, 2011

Last month, the NCAA presided over a championship during which -- if flags were thrown in this sport -- hundreds might have been tossed for the excessive celebration.

This behavior exists in virtually every collegiate athletic competition, and for the most part nobody gives it any mind at all. In fact, it's not even considered a negative thing. So why is it a point of emphasis in football?............................

........... The specific rule (9-2-1d) states a penalty is justified for "any delayed, excessive, prolonged or choreographed act by which a player attempts to focus attention on himself [or themselves]."

It's absurd to suggest the salute was delayed, excessive, prolonged or choreographed. So if it's just about Hilburn "drawing attention" to himself … heck, didn't he draw attention to himself just by catching a touchdown pass? A quick salute to his team's fans after that is just too big a display of grandstanding?..................................................

Rest of story >>>>>>>>>>  http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/columns/story?columnist=voepel_mechelle&id=5990327

I discovered yesterday the reason why the unsportmanlike rules where developed so extensively - interesting story.

[TxJim]

Interesting question. (You would LOVE that, wouldn't you)? 

Or would Prewitt have to give up his seat?

Similarly, if tradition serves, Randy Edsall has to give up his seat on the Rules committee since he is going to Maryland.  He is in the the slot the Big East had originally when Rich Rodriguez got it at West Virginia.   So, another Big East coach should  take Edsall's slot for his remaining term that ends in fall 2011.  Somewhere I have an email from reply from Ty Halpin when I asked this question 3 years ago and that was his explaination as I recall.

[Aussie-Zebra]

speaking of Rich Rodriguez - he just got canned didn't he ?

[Atlanta Blue]

Double standard for celebrations
By Mechelle Voepel
ESPN.com
January 5, 2011

Rest of story >>>>>>>>>>  http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/columns/story?columnist=voepel_mechelle&id=5990327

I discovered yesterday the reason why the unsportmanlike rules where developed so extensively - interesting story.

Very interesting story.

Baseball player hits a HR, runs the bases and comes around and jumps with both feet on home plate.  Gee, isn't that remarkably similar to high stepping or diving into the end zone, which is a foul in football, but nothing in baseball.

And don't even start on the volleyball and softball celebrations.  Or is it that females are expected to celebrate and males aren't?

[Aussie-Zebra]

No I meant the Florida "Hurricanes" was an interesting story.

Explains the disparity in the NCAA rules over different sports.

[Etref]

Very interesting story.

Baseball player hits a HR, runs the bases and comes around and jumps with both feet on home plate.  Gee, isn't that remarkably similar to high stepping or diving into the end zone, which is a foul in football, but nothing in baseball.

And don't even start on the volleyball and softball celebrations.  Or is it that females are expected to celebrate and males aren't?

It is that manly man thing.....................

[Welpe]

Very interesting story.

Baseball player hits a HR, runs the bases and comes around and jumps with both feet on home plate.  Gee, isn't that remarkably similar to high stepping or diving into the end zone, which is a foul in football, but nothing in baseball.

And don't even start on the volleyball and softball celebrations.  Or is it that females are expected to celebrate and males aren't?

Well let's just let football players celebrate like volleyball players, I'm sure that will go over really well. 

Without debating the Pinstripe Bowl call, it's an interesting story but it approaches all sports with the expectation that they are all the same.  They obviously are not.

[AlUpstateNY]

Very interesting story.

Baseball player hits a HR, runs the bases and comes around and jumps with both feet on home plate.  Gee, isn't that remarkably similar to high stepping or diving into the end zone, which is a foul in football, but nothing in baseball.

And don't even start on the volleyball and softball celebrations.  Or is it that females are expected to celebrate and males aren't?

One difference might be that in Baseball, volleyball or softball games there's a distinct lack of opposing players smashing into each other, which at times may cause a tendency for aggressive behavior to esacalate beyond intended levels.  In as much as smahing into each other might also tend to escalate undesireable emotional reactions, special attention is paid to any behavior that might trigger an unacceptable response from a competitor, and the level of such potential behavior is deliberately set at a much lower tolerance level.

[Atlanta Blue]

One difference might be that in Baseball, volleyball or softball games there's a distinct lack of opposing players smashing into each other, which at times may cause a tendency for aggressive behavior to esacalate beyond intended levels.  In as much as smahing into each other might also tend to escalate undesireable emotional reactions, special attention is paid to any behavior that might trigger an unacceptable response from a competitor, and the level of such potential behavior is deliberately set at a much lower tolerance level.

Could be, but that doesn't explain why thiongs that are accepted in hockey or lacrosse are USC penalties in football.  Players are certainly smashing into each other in those sports as well.

I'm not saying the other sports are right, but football "celebrations" are treated differently.

[Diablo]

Could be, but that doesn't explain why thiongs that are accepted in hockey or lacrosse are USC penalties in football.  Players are certainly smashing into each other in those sports as well.

Never shy away from gaining enlightenment  ..... what are "thiongs"?

[TXMike]

Normaly a picture would be appropriate here but I will abstain. 

[Atlanta Blue]

Never shy away from gaining enlightenment  ..... what are "thiongs"?

A direct result of fat fingers and lazy proofreading.