Raftery is a moron for insisting that the intentional foul called towards the end of the game was wrong. He said that the official shouldn't have called it and that it was unfair to temple. Man, when these announcers make irresponsible comments like that it really p***** me off!

Only one
 

I thought I was the only one. You are exactly correct. The official made a great call. The Temple player was mad that he missed a shot and I believe he felt he was fouled (he was not). And in his frustration, he grabbed the Michigan St. player from behind. Great call. Raferty has never been accused of being a great baskeball rules man.

Right on Gentlemen. That was a great call by the official. There was no attempt to play the ball, only to make contact with the Mich State player. Intentional foul, all the way. What really irked me was that Rafferty made the contention that since there was nothing "malicious" about the contact, it shouldn't have been intentional. Malicious does not apply to an intentional foul, only flagrant where intent is to injure, correct?

Take care all

The officials have been very consistent, all weekend, in calling intentional fouls. Morons like Rafferty and Walton have no clue what the rules really are.

Walton.
 

Did anyone see Walton ask for a flagrant foul on an Illinois player that fouled his son? The official was right on by just calling it a foul and nothing else. The Illinois player just fouled Walton hard. But Walton made some comment like, "what is an flagrant foul in college?"

I just not help but laugh.

Then Dick Enberg and Walton wanted to focus on the 30 second rule after a fouled out player. Neither of them had a clue about that either.

There is much more, but it happen so often I forgot the rest of them for the time being.

That was funny
 

They didn't even know that there was a time limit on it until after the game. But that brings a question up, what do you think about the substituation after made freethrows?

--Denny

Rulebook according to CBS
 

(1) Only Criterion for intentional foul - was the defender playing for the ball?

(2) Off-ball foul? What's an off-ball foul?

(3) The thirty second sub rule - (paraphrase here) scorer summons the teams back out with the horn whenever he feels like it.

(4)a. No BI, just call everything goaltending.
b. You can have goaltending on the upward flight (something about the backboard - are they right on this, or is it an NBA rule?)

(5) Delays due to clock mishaps and subs - bad. Delays due to media timeouts - good.

(6) In order to be certified as an announcer, the candidate must score below 25% on the rules test - he/she will have five tries.

(7) The cameraman always has better position than the on-court official, so he/she shall be provided with a whistle to blow as he/she sees fit.

(8) Travelling = funny steps with the feet (like a foul, this differs every time down the court).

(9) Clock errors should not be corrected.

(10) Officials shall get into physical altercations with coaches whenever possible - no, wait, that's the FOX rulebook.

Sad thing - most of these came from just one game - Ill/AZ.

But a great game :)

Of course I am in AZ...

Re: Rulebook according to CBS
 

Did you hear the comment that Walton made about the possible goaltending? He wanted a goaltending call and the ball was clearly not over the rim. Walton said that the shot was only not GT because the player put it to the backboard, not the other way around. I thought I was watching Def Comedy Jam. :D

When I was a tall, teen-age girl in Portland and Walton played for the Blazers, I was a complete and total fan. One winter he had season tickets to a movie series that were about next to my season seats, either one or two seats over. I went to ALL those movies, although I remember nothing about any of them except thgat I saw a lot of Bill Walton.

Twenty years later, I can't believe I was moony over such a moron. The comments he makes that irk me the most are like, "If they'd hit more baskets, their shot percentage would be better." He actually said that on national television. Is it any wonder he can't get the rules straight? Subbing after a made basket is the most burning issue in basketball today? Puleezz!! I hit the mute and just watched the refs.

Blame CBS for Walton's knowledge
 

Not saying that Walton is a great analyst, but in this instance he does have a bit of an excuse. His expertise is with the NBA game, where goaltending occurs if the defender hits the ball after it touches the board. Of course, this is not the rule in NCAA or federation. But CBS wanted him for their telecasts, so they should get blamed for that ONE thing he was wrong on.

By the way, whoever has called the perfect ballgame is the person(s) who should be criticizing the announcers. Everyone makes mistakes, and as officials, we don't appreciate it when others make a major issue of our missed calls. I realize here that we are just watching our brothers and sisters' backs who are still working. Just food for thought.

Re: Blame CBS for Walton's knowledge
 

This has nothing to do with CBS and their fault. It is the responsibility of the announcer to educate themselves on what level they are doing. If they are going to be as openly critical as Walton is, at least have enough common sense to know the rules and the differences. I am sure the rules were not the same in HS and college and the NBA during all his time of playing.

All most of us are saying is that people all over the world watch these telecasts. I believe that in anything in the media, you should not go off talking about rules or anything if you have no knowledge of what the hell you are talking about is wrong.

Re: Re: Blame CBS for Walton's knowledge
 

I have to disagree with you, Rut. It's the responsibility of the network to hire commentators who are knowledgable about the game AND it's rules. It's no different than any other company that's hiring a person. Obviously, the person must possess some skill and knowledge. Alos, the best commentators do their homework. But that doesn't lessen the responsibility of the employer. If I'm a automobile mechanic, you shouldn't hire me to work on diesel trucks. Follow what I'm saying?

The only reason Walton is calling these games is because of his name and his availability. They also thought it would be "cute" for Bill to work his son's games. The choice to use a person who's been working NBA games for the last 10 years is a mistake. But the folks at CBS are no more knowledgable about the rules than Walton is. Therefore, they have no idea how bad he really is. :(

Re: Re: Rulebook according to CBS
 

What is the "off the backboard" GT rule, and what level is it called in?

Re: Re: Re: Rulebook according to CBS
 

In NF and college the rule is the same. The ball must be above the rim and have a chance to go in. If you do not have both of those things, you have nothing. The ball was not above the rim, and Walton like the idiot he is talked about how much of a blown call before they showed the replay. Then he backed off when noticed the the ball was put up against the backboard by the defender.

Re: Re: Re: Blame CBS for Walton's knowledge
 

I respect your opinion on this. I just feel that if Walton is going to do college commentating, then he needs to educate themselves about some of the basics before he starts talking about how much the officials blew a call. Walton had been doing NCAA games with NBC before this year, so still that is no excuse. Most commentators are stupid and do not have a clue, but Walton is all over the top because he makes comments that he is not really aware of. He does not do this with just officials, he does this with players and coaches too. But CBS did hire him and they take some responsibility. But if I am hired at any job, my reputation is first and foremost on the line. I guess he does not know how to shut up after overcame his stuttering problem.

Peace.

I have to agree with all of you on the comments that have been made about the annoucers from CBS this year covering the NCAA tournament. The games and officials have been GREAT! The announcing has been very poor!!
Take care.

goaltending in relation to backboard
 

Mark,

The backboard has absolutely nothing to do with goaltending except in the professional ranks (and possibly FIBA, but I have no knowledge of their rules).

For goaltending to occur, all of these elements must be present: 1) it must be a try for goal 2) it must be above the rim 3) it must be on its downward flight, and 4) it must have a chance (in the eyes of the official) to go in.

Therefore, the ball could kiss the glass and still be on the upward flight on a layup and be swatted away legally by the defense. At the professional level, once the ball touches the board, the defense can't legally touch it.

announcers should be held to the same standards as we are...
 

If I go from fed to NCAA games I am expected to knopw the rulles, regardles if I do fed every other game. Same with the NBA officials, if they go down to work NCAA they are expected to know the rules of the level they are working.

Why shouldn't announcers be held to the same standard? CBS is like a school, they hired him and assume by his credentials that he will know the proper set of rules. Wlaton fell on his face, so let's hope they don't bring him back. Besides, it hurts to listen to him talk. If stern wants to know why the NBA finals rating have dropped I have a suggestion.

Re: announcers should be held to the same standards as we are...
 

I totally agree with this. Announcers have an especially huge responsibility, since they influence so many people. What the announcer thinks about the coaches or the plays or the owners has some effect, but those people can speak up for them selves in the media and have some mitigating effect. We (presumptuously putting myself in with the NCAA tournament refs), however, very seldom get a chance to defend ourselves, even during the game itself, and especially not later to the public. And it affects even someone as lowly as me, since the public has only the announcers' words to go by. They don't EVER look at the discussion and comparison that this board constantly exercises. I would suspect that less than 10% of the general population even know that the different levels, leagues, and groupings have different rules. I wish, ta a mininum, that the announcers would be required to give a kind of "Don't try this at home" disclaimer, which would give a clue that the rules are different depending on the circumstances.

Announceritis
 

I agree with rainmaker. The annoumcers are on their soapbox proclaiming bad call or should have been this or that. The general public not knowing any better accept these views as rules in fact and this gives the officiating community a black eye. It would be nice if the network would hire an official to voice a rebuttal to the announcers wrong interpretation of the rules. I don't know how many times players and coaches insist they know the rules because they take as gospel the rantings of announcers of ball games.
Thanks I feel better now!

For NCAA tournament . . .
 

During the tourney, at least, I think CBS is allowed to go with an NCAA media rep into the official's locker room after a game, where one of the officials or alternate official will answer questions regarding interpretations of plays during each game.

Also, I think NFL has a retired official available to announcers. Not like either of these options is used.