Hoops Fans Savor Whine

[filbert]

Joe Posnanski column in the Kansas City Star (free registration required):

LINCOLN, Neb. | College basketball seems to be the sport where everybody feels as if they got jobbed. Yes, all fans gripe. Football fans will often blame the referees for a blown pass-interference call or for not flagging what looks on television to be an obvious hold. And baseball fans will sometimes whine about a bad strike zone or a bad call at first base in the World Series. These are games. Fans have the right to gripe.

But it seems that in college basketball, more than any of the others, losing fans — like Missouri’s on Saturday — will have a long catalogue of complaints, a Martin Luther-length list of how their team got ripped off. This struck me earlier in the week, after Kansas beat Kansas State in what was a hard-fought but not overwhelmingly close game. There did not seem to be anything overtly controversial about the game. The next few days, I received scores of e-mails from Kansas State fans. They had two major gripes about the game:

[Jacks02]

Re: Hoops Fans Savor Whine

Nice article, alot of good points made there.

[NightHawk78]

Re: Hoops Fans Savor Whine

Yes, basketball fans love to complain about the officiating and there are a lot of judgement calls that have to made in a rushed situation. However, this article makes a valid argument that these officials might not be at the top of their game because they are often overworked, independent contractors:

http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/6495276

Refs should be whistled for traveling

Jeff Goodman / FOXSports.com

Imagine working 31 consecutive days without a break. It's only natural that you'd be exhausted, impatient and your performance would decline significantly.

That's exactly what Steve Welmer did earlier this year. But Welmer doesn't sit behind a desk in an office. He's a 56-year-old college referee who works for numerous leagues — including Conference USA, Big Ten and Big 12. He runs up and down the court for a couple hours per night and also has to deal with high-profile coaches often ranting and raving on the sidelines.

Welmer is a top-notch ref. He's considered one of the best in the business. However, there's also no arguing the fact that a month straight without a day off takes its toll — both physically and emotionally.

Even if he contends otherwise.

"I got nine hours of sleep last night," Welmer said Wednesday morning after working a game in St. Louis the previous night. "I am going to Dallas for a game tonight and will get in at noon, take a two-hour nap and then drive to Waco."

"I love Steve Welmer, he's one of my favorites," UConn coach Jim Calhoun said. "He lets the kids play and has a great personality, but can he be as effective working that many games in a row? The answer is no."

And Calhoun isn't the only Hall of Famer that feels that refs that work nearly every day aren't as efficient.

"There's no way officials should work more than three games a week," Texas Tech coach Bob Knight said.

"The NCAA has hidden behind independent employment contractors and I think that's all (expletive deleted)," Knight added. "To have some 54 or 55-year-old referee work six times a week is a real disservice." (read more)

Some food for thought........