Stop Blaming The Refs!

[GP1]

After the first loss, I see the usual posts about the refs blowing the game for the Zips. I'm on the verge of throwing up and I'm putting my foot down.

Scapegoating goes as far back as the Bible (See Leviticus 16) and it isn't an honored tradition. The WPedia link does a good job of explaining it, but not descriptive enough. When the Scapegoat is cast from the town, the towns people yell at the goat as it is carrying the sins of the people with it. What the people are doing is actually a load of crap and an immoral activity because they aren't taking responsibility for their sins. Scapegoating actually destroys our humanity and is a sin. It is an ugly activity.

Those blaming the refs are committing a sin against the Zips. Scapegoating the Zips through the refs is demeaning to KD2.0, his coaching staff and all of the players. I won't participate in that activity. The blame for the loss last night falls squarely on the shoulders of the basketball team. There were 40 minutes of basketball and they could have done more to win the game. They didn't.

Early in every game, the tone for how a game will be officiated is set. It is up to the teams to adjust to how the game is being called. It looks like the Zips didn't do that. Shame on them and if so, they deserved to lose.

Now, let's go out and win a basketball game tonight!!!

[UAZip0510]

After the first loss, I see the usual posts about the refs blowing the game for the Zips. I'm on the verge of throwing up and I'm putting my foot down.

Scapegoating goes as far back as the Bible (See Leviticus 16) and it isn't an honored tradition. The WPedia link does a good job of explaining it, but not descriptive enough. When the Scapegoat is cast from the town, the towns people yell at the goat as it is carrying the sins of the people with it. What the people are doing is actually a load of crap and an immoral activity because they aren't taking responsibility for their sins. Scapegoating actually destroys our humanity and is a sin. It is an ugly activity.

Those blaming the refs are committing a sin against the Zips. Scapegoating the Zips through the refs is demeaning to KD2.0, his coaching staff and all of the players. I won't participate in that activity. The blame for the loss last night falls squarely on the shoulders of the basketball team. There were 40 minutes of basketball and they could have done more to win the game. They didn't.

Early in every game, the tone for how a game will be officiated is set. It is up to the teams to adjust to how the game is being called. It looks like the Zips didn't do that. Shame on them and if so, they deserved to lose.

Now, let's go out and win a basketball game tonight!!!

The Zips did adjust to the referees - they stopped playing aggressive defense (their bread and butter) mid-way through the game so they would still have five players left by game's end. Look, I get what you're saying - despite the referees, the Zips still made mistakes, missed opportunities, and failed to close out a game that they had in their grasp. Despite the referees, they should be 3-0 right now.

With that being said, it's also short-sighted to ignore a 38-to-7 free throw disparity. Unless you believe the Zips have little to no control of themselves on defense, and that Valpo played defense with so much more discipline, then it's clear the referees impacted the outcome of the game, which they should never, ever do.

It's over and done with, and it's now time to focus on Duquesne. LETS GO ZIPS!

[GP1]

With that being said, it's also short-sighted to ignore a 38-to-7 free throw disparity. Unless you believe the Zips have little to no control of themselves on defense, and that Valpo played defense with so much more discipline, then it's clear the referees impacted the outcome of the game, which they should never, ever do.

Maybe the Zips shouldn't have fouled so much. I never understand the basketball fan who believes the refs should be looking at the scoreboard and keeping the number of fouls even. In football, when a team has a bunch of penalties, they lose a game and it is one of the major factors in losing and that team is to blame for it. A basketball game should be looked at in the same manner.

[UAZip0510]

With that being said, it's also short-sighted to ignore a 38-to-7 free throw disparity. Unless you believe the Zips have little to no control of themselves on defense, and that Valpo played defense with so much more discipline, then it's clear the referees impacted the outcome of the game, which they should never, ever do.

Maybe the Zips shouldn't have fouled so much. I never understand the basketball fan who believes the refs should be looking at the scoreboard and keeping the number of fouls even. In football, when a team has a bunch of penalties, they lose a game and it is one of the major factors in losing and that team is to blame for it. A basketball game should be looked at in the same manner.

Did you watch the game?

Nobody is saying the referees should be tracking team fouls to make sure they are even. I am just saying that - unless you believe the Zips had that little of control on defense, and that Valpo had such great control on defense, that the referees didn't call anything close to an even game.

[GP1]

Nobody is saying the referees should be tracking team fouls to make sure they are even. I am just saying that - unless you believe the Zips had that little of control on defense, and that Valpo had such great control on defense, that the referees didn't call anything close to an even game.

How would you measure an even game? It appears to me the only way to do that is measure fouls. I don't buy the theory, but this is the logic of the blame the refs crowd.

If the only way to make a game evenly refed is to look at fouls, then the only way to have a fair game is to have an even number of fouls. This idea does not look at how one team might have outplayed another or one team doesn't perform the way it should. I happen to believe the Zips didn't perform up to their ability last night. The Zips lost, not the refs. It does a disservice to the Zips to blame anyone but them for the outcome last night. I think too much of this program to do that.

[UAZip0510]

Nobody is saying the referees should be tracking team fouls to make sure they are even. I am just saying that - unless you believe the Zips had that little of control on defense, and that Valpo had such great control on defense, that the referees didn't call anything close to an even game.

How would you measure an even game? It appears to me the only way to do that is measure fouls. I don't buy the theory, but this is the logic of the blame the refs crowd.

If the only way to make a game evenly refed is to look at fouls, then the only way to have a fair game is to have an even number of fouls. This idea does not look at how one team might have outplayed another or one team doesn't perform the way it should. I happen to believe the Zips didn't perform up to their ability last night. The Zips lost, not the refs. It does a disservice to the Zips to blame anyone but them for the outcome last night. I think too much of this program to do that.

You measure it by looking to see if there is a somewhat reasonable difference in fouls committed. It doesn't have to be perfectly even, but I would expect it to be within 10 or so, unless one team is just entirely outmatched by the other. 38 free throws for one team and 7 for the other is not a reasonable difference in fouls committed between two closely matched teams. I'll ask two questions once again:

1) Did you watch the entire game?

2) Do you feel like the Zips played such a low level of defense and that Valpo played such a high level of defense that 38-to-7 is a reasonable depiction of how the two teams played defensively?

Again, I agree that the Zips should have still found a way to win the game...that's what champions do, and they didn't get the job done. But I feel it does a disservice to them to ignore the incredible discrepancy in fouls committed and ignore the huge impact it had on the game.

I think too much of this program to do that.

[mivid12]

Nobody is saying the referees should be tracking team fouls to make sure they are even. I am just saying that - unless you believe the Zips had that little of control on defense, and that Valpo had such great control on defense, that the referees didn't call anything close to an even game.

How would you measure an even game? It appears to me the only way to do that is measure fouls. I don't buy the theory, but this is the logic of the blame the refs crowd.

If the only way to make a game evenly refed is to look at fouls, then the only way to have a fair game is to have an even number of fouls. This idea does not look at how one team might have outplayed another or one team doesn't perform the way it should. I happen to believe the Zips didn't perform up to their ability last night. The Zips lost, not the refs. It does a disservice to the Zips to blame anyone but them for the outcome last night. I think too much of this program to do that.

perhaps you need to differentiate between being critical of poor officiating & blaming the outcome on said poor officiating

[Dave in Green]

Everyone knows there are good refs and bad refs, and that, like players, refs have good games and bad games. Statistically, every team is going to fall victim to bad reffing at least once per season and likely several times. It's just part of the game.

I think every team's fan base has the right to vent its collective spleen when this happens to their team, get the frustration out of the system, and then move on.

If a team's fan base thinks it happens to their team more often than other teams, they sometimes start talking about conspiracies against their team. This is highly unlikely.

The other possibility is that a team's style of play tends to draw more whistles. Zips opponents have had more free throw attempts than the Zips as long as I can remember. Last season, opponents had a 768-649 free throw advantage over the Zips. That's a coaching choice. Teams that play aggressive D are more likely to draw more fouls unless their players are exceptionally skilled at avoiding fouls.

That's one of the hazards when a team focuses more on defense than offense. Teams with good offenses who can score enough points that they can afford to give up more points don't have to rely so much on tight D, are less likely to draw fouls from whistle-happy refs, and don't have their best players fouling out early or riding the bench with too many fouls.

Maybe this edition of the Zips has enough offensive firepower that KD can adjust by backing off a notch on the most aggressive D and focus on scoring more points.

[zen]

stop telling people what to do.

1) it doesn't work

2) just because you think you are right doesn't make you right

3) irony is fun (I just told you to stop, because you told me to stop)

[Dr Z]

After the first loss, I see the usual posts about the refs blowing the game for the Zips.

You should be at the JAR when a ref makes a questionable call. Lunatic fringe.

[Blue & Gold]

After the first loss, I see the usual posts about the refs blowing the game for the Zips.

You should be at the JAR when a ref makes a questionable call. Lunatic fringe.

I referee co-ed, elementary school-aged children's church-league basketball and that's rough enough! I wouldn't want to touch high school, let alone D-1 college refereeing with the proverbial 10-foot pole.

But a 38-7 free throw shooting discrepancy should definitely cause a few raised eyebrows.

However (I didn't check the stats, but I doubt it was as lopsided as Valpo), we dropped a game to the Dukes last night & we can't blame the refs for that one.

[RowdyZip]

After the first loss, I see the usual posts about the refs blowing the game for the Zips.

You should be at the JAR when a ref makes a questionable call. Lunatic fringe.

I referee co-ed, elementary school-aged children's church-league basketball and that's rough enough! I wouldn't want to touch high school, let alone D-1 college refereeing with the proverbial 10-foot pole.

But a 38-7 free throw shooting discrepancy should definitely cause a few raised eyebrows.

However (I didn't check the stats, but I doubt it was as lopsided as Valpo), we dropped a game to the Dukes last night & we can't blame the refs for that one.

Right on the money. Akron lost game two because of themselves. They couldn't make a free throw, and we were without Rico and Nik for most of the 2nd half due to a knee issue and a temper tantrum respectively. Having been at both games, its a much more comforting feeling when we lose for ourselves. The foul discrepancy for tonights game with Valpo vs Duquesne will go a long way in toward telling me how I should feel about Friday night.

[MontrealExposloveZippy]

After the first loss, I see the usual posts about the refs blowing the game for the Zips.

You should be at the JAR when a ref makes a questionable call. Lunatic fringe.

Just ask Tom Cochrane.

[ZZZips]

Dave Carducci of the Record-Courier posted this article for tomorrow's (1/11/12) paper. He reports on a new way of assigning officials for B1G and MAC games.

http://www.recordpub.com/news/sports_article/5144438

[GP1]

Dave Carducci of the Record-Courier posted this article for tomorrow's (1/11/12) paper. He reports on a new way of assigning officials for B1G and MAC games.

http://www.recordpub.com/news/sports_article/5144438

Good point about officials talking players out of trouble.

Good refs in every sport do this. For example, many football referees will tell offensive linemen they are getting too far away from the line before they call a penalty. Same thing goes for when they tell a dlineman he is lining up "close to being offsides" before they call it.

Lots of refs could learn from that advice. There are lots of ways to keep control of a game without calling fouls/penalties. Keep the good players on the floor/field. Nobody is there to watch refs.

[FearTheRoo]

Good point about officials talking players out of trouble.

Good refs in every sport do this. For example, many football referees will tell offensive linemen they are getting too far away from the line before they call a penalty. Same thing goes for when they tell a dlineman he is lining up "close to being offsides" before they call it.

Lots of refs could learn from that advice. There are lots of ways to keep control of a game without calling fouls/penalties. Keep the good players on the floor/field. Nobody is there to watch refs.

As an official myself, it is crucial to a good officiated game to talk to the players. Typically prior to a lane violation, the official would have yelled to the offending player "get out of the key 12. get out of the key 12!". Then if #12 doesn't get out, he gets whistled. It's another reason why the only people that call it "3 seconds" are the coaches and fans. It is called a lane violation. Typically it will not get called until about 4-5 seconds.

Another common situation is rough block play. "Hands off number 6, hands off!" is usually said before the call comes. The standing joke among officials is that we don't get paid by the hour, so each time we blow the whistle the clock stops!

All this said, I take exception with the comment that it is a young officiating crew's fault that Green fouled out. If I watched the game and saw some picky calls, I might agree, but I have worked games where you know the good players and have seen them play many times. Then that player comes out and either makes stupid mistakes, plays harder than normal or is out matched by a stronger offensive player and uses his hands to compensate.

Trust me when I tell you that an official that makes it to the MAC has gone through years and years of intense training and scrutiny and deserves to be there. I would argue the officiating is the most consistent thing on the court and the play and players is what changes.