Home › SEC News
SEC is silent about officials
STORY TOOLS
More SEC News
- Brooks big on Cobb, not Seiber
- Saturday's SEC matchups
- Nickson helps Vandy run over Miami (Ohio), 34-13
Share and Enjoy [?]
Get Reprints
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The SEC won't say if the officiating crew for Saturday's Alabama-Mississippi game in Oxford might be disciplined for its handling of the game's disputed ending.
SEC media relations director Charles Bloom said Tuesday the conference would not comment on any actions that might be taken against officials Doug Shows, Antinio Petty and Mike Nance because the final-seconds controversy involved "a judgment call."
The game ended with 2.5 seconds still showing on the clock after Alabama players appeared to foul an Ole Miss player who had the ball with 4.5 seconds left. But officials called no foul, and Ole Miss won 91-88. Alabama contended a foul should have been called and, if the Ole Miss player missed the free throws, the Tide could have had a chance to tie.
The Birmingham News, citing sources, reported Tuesday that the three officials are to appear before a review committee headed by Gerald Boudreaux, SEC coordinator of basketball officials.
Bloom said the conference's policy is not to say if an officiating crew is being reviewed when it involves a judgment call or to make public any decision resulting from the review.
"That's something we don't comment on," Bloom said.
With 4.5 seconds left and Alabama trailing 91-88, Rebels center Dwayne Curtis rebounded a missed 3-point attempt and Crimson Tide junior Alonzo Gee immediately wrapped his arms around Curtis, then hit him in the arm several times while staring at the officials.
When no whistle blew, Alabama's Brandon Hollinger attempted to foul Curtis as well.
"We did everything to him but throw him to the ground," Alabama coach Mark Gottfried said.
No foul was called, but the clock stopped at 2.5 seconds, and the referees convened.
Deciding the clock stopped due to a malfunction and that time should have run out, they declared the game over.
The uncalled foul drew heat from Alabama.
But Boudreaux told The News the way the crew handled the stopped clock was "according to the rule book."
Using technology available, he determined that none of the referees stopped the clock. The scorer's table operator supplied by Ole Miss told Boudreaux he did not stop the clock.
"It was a malfunction of the equipment," Boudreaux said.
© 2008, The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
- Not Favre, but Ainge leads Jets
- ESPN College GameDay set for basketball
- Williams cleared to play by SEC, says he loves UT
- NCAA tweaks clock in football
- Hooker's predictions: Vols will go 10-2
- Odd couple enjoy their shots ... at each other
- Parker bounces back from defensive lapse
- Cunningham hears Leaverton's tale
- Strange: UT's sure of defense this trip
- The 1998 Vols: Where are they now?
Please download the latest version of Adobe Flash Player, or enable JavaScript for your browser to view the video player.
Posted by Hacksaw57 on March 5, 2008 at 2:09 a.m. (Suggest removal)
They need to review T. Valentine's actions for the entire season while they're at it, as well.
Posted by 87UTVOL on March 5, 2008 at 6:17 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Amazing how the officiating goes largely unnoticed in the biggest game of the year (Memphis, national TV, highest TV audience, etc, etc), yet the officials become part of the story at Vanderbilt (not the reason we lost, but bad officiating never helps) and now this. Seems like some officials want to be part of the show, some can't call a game consistent and some are so eratic in making calls it screws up the flow of the game.
The SEC shares officials with the ACC. Wonder how they feel over there about these guys.
Posted by tigervol9802 on March 5, 2008 at 8:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)
SEC officials are beyond bad. Every time I see a group that I think is the bottom of the barrell, I only get to see a new set of cooks a few nights later to make me realize otherwise. It's an absolute joke.
And it's just not an anti-UT bais, they are horrible accross the board.
Posted by lempga on March 5, 2008 at 8:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Ted Valentine needs to be reviewed after every game. He is a hot dog.
He was ousted from the Big Ten. He is the ref that Bobby Knight threw the chair at in Indiana years ago.
Posted by Kwitcherbellyachin on March 5, 2008 at 9:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Isn't that pretty much the same thing that happened at Vandy, where we couldn't get a foul call in the final minute?
Posted by pdhuff on March 5, 2008 at 10:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I hope Lofton tonite gets an echo from when Tenn
had an announcer "BOTTOM".
Remember, "KING of the Volunteers". Days gone by.....
Posted by ggriggs939 on March 5, 2008 at 12:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The sec officials have been biased against the VOLS for years. I lived out-of-state between 1972 and 1984 and do not know what happened during that period to cause the change; likely some high muckety muck in the sec family got his feathers ruffled by somebody in the UT family, but since 1984, there have been many instances of obvious bias against the VOLS. In one game, the same sidejudge made eight bad calls. In the 98 game with Arkansas, the wrong call was made and gave the VOLS a safety instead of getting the ball on Arkansas' 4-yard line. The following year, the same crew refused to call pass interference in the end zone and let the hogs win.
Alabama is the only school to ever get the officials disciplined. They'd made a bad call against al and were suspended for a game, but the next game they called, the same crew had the game between them and the VOLS. Guess who benefitted.
Dickey was a very good AD, generally, but he was very poor in dealing with the sec and the zebras.
I hope Hamilton has bigger ba!!s.
Posted by ggriggs939 on March 5, 2008 at 12:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)
In regard to the game with Memphis, Tennessee always fares better when officials from another conference make the calls. The worst they have fared in that scenario was when they played at Ohio State and the officials protected their big dude. He played like a bull in a china shop but the fouls were never called.
Posted by ggriggs939 on March 5, 2008 at 12:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I hadn't noticed who is in charge of sec officials.
That makes me even more fearful of the zebras.
Posted by cdonsbach on March 5, 2008 at 12:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)
SEC officials are the worst in the nation this year.
Posted by volboy81 on March 5, 2008 at 12:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)
the day an SEC ref does a good job will be the day they find work at something theyre good at.
Posted by KnoxVol_in_TX on March 5, 2008 at 2:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Seriously...isnt it obvious. How are we able to see these blatant violations (against teams other than UT no less) yet no action is taken to correct the problem.
I have a girlfried who loves basketball but refuses to watch SEC play because the refs change the game. Its terrible.
Posted by milriv1 on March 6, 2008 at 8:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
No surprise to me. It comes down from the lead official who was the worst of the worst. Even John Ward used to hang his head when he saw Beaudroux announced for a game. The Florida game could easily have been lost when the official stood close by as Loften was repeatedly fouled on an attempted inbounds play in the last seconds. DC in NC
Posted by Colliervol on March 6, 2008 at 9:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Amen milfiv, they should add those 3 blind mice last night from the Florida game to the list as well. They were beyond pathetic.
(Requires free registration.)
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.