NCAAW South Carolina/Stanford
 

I had to turn off the game after the five held balls in the fourth quarter and then at 1:33 the announcers were apoplectic that a kick was not called when a Stanford defender’s foot grazed the ball, and it sure looked accidental to me.

Disappointed with the commentary to say the least. As I watched it live I would have been surprised if one of the officials had called a violation.

Women's college commentators spend so much time in these situations bitching about plays all the time. It is so annoying. Just call the damn game. I get the occasional comment after a replay, but they complain about everything. What else is new. They sound like when Bilas does a game, if not worse.

Peace

Why not get an official with the commentary crew, or at least as an in-studio analyst that the on-court crew can refer rules questions to? It's done on both college football and NFL broadcasts, and Gene Steratore also does this for men's college basketball, if I'm not mistaken. An official on the broadcast crew would keep his partners informed, and make sure they don't put their feet in their mouth by saying something they don't know about. He would say, "by rule, a kicked ball is one that is intentionally struck with the leg or foot. The defender did nothing to strike the ball with her leg." For a block/charge call or a travel, the audience would get an educated, rules-based explanation of the play that everyone could understand.

I thought that it was a kick by the Stanford player because I saw deliberate movement to pull the ball towards herself with her foot after the ball made contact with it. I don’t believe that the initial contact was deliberate or illegal, but the subsequent move to bring the ball to herself certainly looked like a skilled soccer move. And yes, I also officiate soccer.