Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin, who has been critical of officiating this season, has a discussion with the referee and head linesman during the Ohio University game at Neyland Stadium.
We're in trouble in the journalism business.
Because the line is blurred between journalists with college degrees and formal training, and the average blogger who knows how to type, knows how to push the spell-check button and has no problem throwing out the stupidest theories on the Internet.
Like this theory the SEC officials are doing everything in their power to ensure a battle of unbeatens in the league championship game between Florida and Alabama.
That's so ridiculous I can barely type the words. But you have some people buying into this, because fans from every SEC school truly believe officiating crews are trying to job them every week.
Granted, there have been some blown calls, such as the two celebration penalties in the LSU-Georgia game and the phantom personal-foul call against Arkansas in the Florida game. Mississippi State fans believe they got jobbed by the replay official who allowed a Florida touchdown to stand on a disputed fumble. Tennessee fans think they were overpenalized to the point that Lane Kiffin was afraid to run another play on the last possession, fearing another penalty.
Well, that's Lane's lame excuse, and he's sticking to it.
Because of all that, anyone with Internet access and an addiction to tweeting or Facebook has concluded SEC officiating is the worst in college football, that it's the worst it has ever been.
Not true. It's just more scrutinized now than ever. Every SEC game is on TV. There are camera angles everywhere and instant replay officials. Almost every SEC school has a replay board the size of a drive-in movie screen, except for Mississippi State, whose replay board is bigger than its stadium.
So immediately after a play, say a pass-interference call, that is replayed on the big board, the fan in the 55th row of the upper deck wiping mustard off his chin screams, "That's a terrible call." The fan at home in his easy chair, dipping his chip into a thick layer of nacho cheese, sputters, "You're blind, ref."
And to that I say this: Get out of your easy chair or climb down from the stands, put on a striped shirt and run down field with superbly conditioned athletes who run the 40 in 4.3 seconds. Watch them collide at full speed going for a pass. Now, make the call.
Right there, right then. No chance to wait for the replay.
Think you will get every call correct? Didn't think so.
There's never been a perfectly officiated game and never will be. Although I abhor the celebration penalty rule, officials are not trying to get the calls wrong.
It eats them up when they later see a play on tape and realize they made the wrong call.
A couple of years ago I spent a night with an NBA officiating crew at a Memphis Grizzlies game, being allowed into their dressing room before the game, at halftime and after the game. The first thing they did was go to game tape and watch close calls they made.
The crew called a great game. But ref Steve Javie was borderline distraught when he realized, after watching the tape, that he'd incorrectly called Pau Gasol for a charge.
What has bothered me the most about SEC officiating this year is some of the league's newer coaches have chosen to act like whiny kids, basically whipping their fan bases into a frenzy.
SEC commissioner Mike Slive thought he was doing the right thing when he publicly announced the suspension of the Florida-Arkansas crew, the same crew that worked LSU-Georgia. Slive wanted to show the public the league was being accountable and it wouldn't tolerate repeated mistakes.
So what happens? Coaches like Kiffin and Mississippi State's Dan Mullen suddenly think they have the leeway to publicly rip officiating. That's why Slive had to issue another edict, saying he would suspend or fine coaches, without any warnings of reprimand, if they publicly criticized officials.
Good for Slive. Just coach the game, gentlemen, and play through any questionable calls, which is what championship teams do.
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Comments » 24
DC_Vol writes:
The Meyer Muzzle rule is a good thing for the conference. A complete embarassment to UF fans. Meyer received a memo that week, but thought Slive would save him. Actually, Slive would have saved him if possible, but the SEC Commissioners phone boards were lit up by angry fans all accross the country, Slive was forced to Muzzle Meyer. Hence the Muzzle Meyer Rule. Meyer's audicity/stupidity to disparage the Referees after receiving a memo telling him it would result in suspension or fines shows his arrogance and lack of intelligence.
metalhead223 writes:
OK then explain why the call from the officials on the field and they recounted the ruling stands when the back clearly intercepted the pass in the bama lsu game? explain that to me? which in turn led to an Alabama score and in consequence led to ANOTHER alabama VICTORY?
Is Slive so scared of a team slipping in on the big match up between bama and florida that he is letting the officials clearly blowing calls? and I am NOT an Alabama nor an Lsu fan, but LSU got hosed today! which in turn set up ANOTHER game winning score, imagine that! Hey, here's an idea, let the kids play and decide the DAMN GAME SLIVE! not you or your inept officiating crews!!!!!!! Let's try that this week and see what happens, quit padding your bonus, ole boy and let the kids just play!
Vol_In_The_Ville writes:
How can you write an entire article on coaches criticizing officials and not mention the most recent incident involving Urban Meyer. You say Kiffin and Mullen whine but fail to report that Urban "I'm above the rules" Meyer just pissed in Slive's face by "whining" to the media as soon as Slive warns all coaches of ensuing fines and suspensions. Get off your knees and report the news as it happens.
Vol_In_The_Ville writes:
That last sentence may have been uncalled for. I apologize. I just hate the love affair the media has with the beloved Gators.
chbradshaw writes:
Gosh Ron..thanks for using the wisdom from your "formal training" to correct our bad behavior.
Oh, could you explain the incomplete call against LSU when the LSU defender clearly caught the ball inbounds?
Those of us without your "formal training" just can't understand.
BTW, since when do the smartest kids in a college taje journalism?
metalhead223 writes:
AMEN just preached the same point my friend and dont forget the false start foul right after an official threw a flag for bama dragging the boy down by the face mask. instead of calling offset penalties, it was called on LSU, if the ole boy had just punched him running across would it have been the same outcome? HEY SLIVE YOU CHICKENSH*T YOU GOT YOUR DAMN MATCHUP!Tell the refs to call the rest of the games RIGHT, since you got your premiere match up now.
You can do that right? Idiot commissioner.
metalhead223 writes:
preach elsewhere bubba.
truckinvol writes:
Mike Slive and the SEC referees have brought all of this upon themselves. There have been too many incorrect calls in critical situations to be a coincidence. Preferential treatment is true in all sports. The pitcher with the lowest ERA gets the borderling calls. The batters with the higher RBI's and teams with the better won-loss record get better treatment. Look back at the missed calls in these SEC games. What do they have in common? They've all come at critical times to teams on the verge of upsetting higher ranked opponents. An unbeaten Florida and Alabama in the SEC championship means the winner plays for the Nat'l Championship and the loser in a high BCS bowl followed by an LSU team in a major bowl. Follow the money.
Seriouslyorange writes:
Higgins is,was,and always will be an idiot!
The interseption LSU made and called otherwise just adds fact on top of fact that the refs AND replay officials( yes there are two, one official and a communicator calling the 'decision' back to the field)are in cahoots like The Lone Ranger and Tonto!! Remove the cancer and fire Slive!
SmokeyHound writes:
it is not even funny. like if i weree not a vols fan, i would still be saying that mike slive is up to something. i have to even say that we have gotten some bad calls too. and when you say cameras at every angle, your hurting ur point. the cameras clearly show the right call, but slive just adores florida and alabama... who ever is writing this junk is a retard. what is he doing on our site???? BOOO MIKE SLIVE!!! BOOOOOO GATORS AND BAMA!
tweetdriver63#346474 writes:
Let's see.....First there are some crappy calls that cost games. The coaches complain. Then Slive agrees and suspends a crew. Then a couple more coaches complain. Then Slives reverses himself and says nobody can publicly criticize the officials....hypocrit! Then Meyer does it anyway, and gets fined 30 grand.
Will Les Miles be the next one to get fined? If I were him, I would go to my next press conference (tomorrow, probably) with a check for $30 thousand written to the SEC.
LSU got boned today, and there's no doubt about it, nor is there any excuse. The guy clearly intercepted the ball and got BOTH FEET down in bounds doing it!!! It's one thing for an official to make the call on the field at real-time, real-fast speed, but then for the replay official to botch it and cost a team the game, a likely SEC West championship, and possible national championship (longshot) appearance is completely inexusable. In the MSU/Florida game, the replay official may not have had the right video angles available to overturn that call, but in the LSU-Bama game there's no doubt at all that they did. It's pathetic.
tweetdriver63#346474 writes:
You are absolutely right. In last year's SEC championship game (basketball), Jarvis Varnado committed at least 10 fouls, but because he's the NCAA's all-time shot-blocking leader, he got away with almost all of them. Candace Parker used to get away with a lot at UT, too. It's everywhere.
bamavol97 writes:
You are a homophobic bible toting idiot.
bobbytodd writes:
Can you call me that too? I'll wear that badge with pride.
HowBoutThemVols writes:
To Bamavol97,
No, it is you sir who is the idiot wearing the Crimson colored glasses!
Maybe the comments by 6daysOver took a bit of a rambling turn, but it doesn't change any of the facts that he gave. Truth is, he is right on every point.
LSU was the latest victim of the strangely incompetent SEC officials.
bamavol97 writes:
Yes they were. This is a football discussion board, not a theology or political board.
HowBoutThemVols writes:
Couldn't agree with you more, Seriouslyorange. The officials continue to screw it up! They can't even get it right with a chance to fix it with instant replay. Higgins thinks he is superior to the rest of us fans as if only he can write anything of value since he has a journalism degree. What an ego trip!
And Slive - he's truly out of control. I'm not an Urban Meyer fan, but he was right on his criticism of the officials on the missed call against Tebow. It should NOT be a "crime" to call out the officials when they are wrong. The rest of us have to be accountable in our jobs, why not the SEC officials?
VolWoman writes:
Missing a live action call is one thing, missing a replay call is just BS.
midnite__VOL writes:
You are most correct, MONEY
Bigger_Al writes:
Higgins, I believe your whining about bloggers is because writers like you and Adams are upset about losing your turf. Your sour, cynical views are no longer a monopoly, and discerning fans can find more enlightening views elsewhere. How does a journalism major and "formal training" make your editorial views more accurate or insightful than the multitudes within the fan-base which possess greater intellectual capacity than you?
Madkels writes:
Don't worry, the love affair is about over. As soon as Timmy Tebow is gone and the Vols pound the Gators in 2010, it'll be over.
Madkels writes:
Here is the terrible call in the Bama game:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abuCLF...
jet writes:
You are an arrogant, smug, dork, dumbazz. Take pride in being a professional journalist, do ya? Helps ya corner the market on wisdom, does it?
I didn't major in journalism, although I am pretty educated in a much more difficult field. I didn't learn my most valuable information in the classroom, however. I learned it in life and one of the most valuable things I have learned is that the most annoying and dangerous people in the world are the ones that don't know what they don't know. That would be you.
hueypilot writes:
Hey Higgins, was that NBA crew the one with the guy who took money from mob guys or were any of them on the crew that let Michael Jordan shove the guy out of the way to clear for the game winning jumper? You could have gone all day and not come up with a worse example of objectivity than NBA referees. So your credibility died with that example
I have a problem with this whole deal of not being able to critcize the officials when everybody in the ballpark sees the terrible calls they make. The INT that was denied LSU this Saturday, the personal foul call helping Florida against Arkansas, the celebration call against Georgia, the fumnble before the Florida guy went into the end zone were all blown calls, and some compounded because they could have been rectified by instant replay and weren't. Each of these calls were game impacting calls. And each of them kept the dream games intact. How can you not criticize a pattern like that? For you to write an article that essentially says because YOU think referees are hard workers and good guys and can't be criticized is pure 100% BS.
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