"Get off your knees! You're blowing the game!" We've all been to a sporting event and heard a drunken fan spewing these words after a blown call by an official. Chances are some of you have even yelled these words yourselves. (I know I have.) When I watch a game on TV or attend a game live, I watch because I want to see talented athletes perform at the highest level possible and entertain me for a couple hours. At no point during the events leading up to the game do I say to myself, "God, I can't wait to see these guys ref tonight." Bottom line is that I don't pay to watch them officiate a game. I pay to watch the players play. DON'T BLOW THAT!
I get it. Officiating is a tough a gig. You have a split second to decide if LeBron got hacked on the way to the rack. If Donavon's knee hit the ground before he got that pass away. If Utley beat the throw from third. Games are decided by the decisions these guys (and gals) make. History can literally be altered by an umpire's call. However, they are paid and trained to get it right.
Which brings me to the reason for starting this blog. What I witnessed tonight really put things into perspective for me and Busted my Balls. I came home from work and found my folks where I usually find them on weeknights... watching the Detroit Tigers baseball game on TV. I saw that the Tigers were up 1-0 in the bottom of the 5th inning. I was happy to see they were winning but didn't think much of it because I had other things on my mind like taking a nap. My mom says to me, "Galarraga's retired 15 straight batters." Armando Galarraga was in the middle of a perfect game (only achieved 20 times in the history of baseball). I continued to watch the game on and off while doing laundry and cleaning up a bit. After seven innings, Galarraga was still perfect. I began to watch a little more intently. Eight innings: still perfect. ESPN was broadcasting a Cincinnati Reds game and cut away to let the national audience view the ninth inning of the Tigers game. This could be history! The first batter crushes the first pitch into deep left-center field. Tiger's center-fielder Austin Jackson makes a running catch over the shoulder that baseball legend Willie Mays would have been proud of. This is really happening! The second batter grounds out to short. One more out! The third batter hits a hard ground ball to 1st baseman Miguel Cabrera's right side. Galarraga runs to cover 1st. Here's the throw! He's OUUUSAFEEE! ARE YOU KIDDING ME! Maybe he pulled his foot off the bag. Maybe the runner did beat the throw. Maybe the ball was bobbled. Maybe my night was just ruined. Then the replay shows what we all thought(see for yourself). The ump blew the call. The runner was clearly out; not even that close. History put on hold because of some clown umpire. Dude, it's the final out of a PERFECT GAME! Ties do not go to the runner in this situation d-bag! And it wasn't even a tie!
Granted I am biased of this situation because I am a Tigers fan, but this situation got me thinking. Officials suck. Don't get me wrong, a lot of these guys do a great job on a game to game basis, but officiating overall sucks. Just last week NBA ref Joey Crawford T'd up Celtic player Kendrick Perkins for "arguing" a call. It was Perkins' second technical foul of the game and he was ejected in game 5 of the Eastern conference finals. The only thing was, Perkins didn't do that much arguing (by NBA playoff standards) and did not deserve to get ejected which the NBA later agreed was unjust and receded the foul. C'mon Joey! You are not bigger than the game.
These are just major examples. But the minor calls add up as well. Google "poor officiating" and you will 505,000 examples of what I'm talking about. Why is it when I go to the betting window during the NBA playoffs I have to consider who the refs will side with based on home court, series standings, star treatment, and style of play before I make my bet? None of these things should factor into the game but they all do.
Need more proof of below average officiating? In the past decade the four major sports (NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL) have all incorporated some form of video replay. Too much inconsistency has forced the leagues to take action and get these calls right. The more that games are taken out of the refs hands the better. Each sport needs to incorporate a challenge policy similar to the NFL. Why not? Get it right. It may take a few extra minutes to review, but the game depends on getting the calls right. These refs have way too large of egos to rely on their "expertise."
The NBA Finals start tomorrow. Kobe and company will get all the calls tomorrow night at Staples Center. But come game 3, when the series shifts to Massachusetts, Paul Pierce can flop around and act like he's having a seizure all he wants. Because if a defender flinches at Pierce the wrong way he will get the benefit of the doubt. Here's an idea: did he really get fouled or not. If I can see through these ridiculous antics and sell jobs why can't these trained officials? I hope I'm wrong and not a single game is affected by poor officiating, but I'm afraid that is just wishful thinking.
Until next time... call em' like you see em', and not how you think you should see em'.
