Correctable error fixed during halftime of Big East game
 

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/recap?gid=200803050508

The most memorable part of the game was the start of the second half and left Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim shaking his head. A late run that Greene started with consecutive 3-pointers gave Syracuse what seemed to be a 48-31 halftime lead. The last two points came when Scoop Jardine hit 2 of 3 free throws with less than a second to play.
Jardine had picked up a loose ball in the closing seconds, dribbled down the court and tossed up a shot just before the buzzer. Tim Higgins called a foul.
After reviewing the videotape, the officials decided the shot came before the buzzer and was outside the 3-point ring.
When the officials came on the floor for the second half, Higgins and fellow officials Bryan Kersey and Brian O’Connell watched the tape again and noticed the clock had stopped momentarily with about four seconds remaining. They ruled that Jardine never would have gotten his shot off and deducted two points, determining the error was correctable.

Jess Kersey's son?

How many times is the clock going to accidentally stop near the end of a game or a half? Not sure what is up with this... I don't remember this problem in years past.

And it only seems to be happening at home games, too.










Somewhere, fanboys are reading this and shaking their heads, going "yup, yup, yup, it's true".:D

Yes - and a great person who has taken the time to mentor many of us in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia.

I agree that this is occurring far too frequently. The NCAA should take a look into this matter.

It really seems that the Precision Timing is the issue, but it could be something else such as a programming bug in the clock system itself.

I wonder if the microphones on the officials are reacting to something that they shouldn't be (heavy breathing/crowd noise), the officials are absent mindedly or as a nervous tick clicking the switch, or perhaps the wireless transmission system is getting interference from other devices (cell phones, TV/radio transmission) in the arena.

The device can react to heavy breathing and also to the official's voice. I know there have been times when I have said oooo or oh in response to a play. The manufacturer issued instructions to have all officials take the whistle out when talking to players.

Thanks for confirming one of the possibilities, but I don't see how removing the whistle from one's mouth would prevent a problem.

If my understanding of the device is correct, the microphone attaches either to the collar of the official's shirt or to the lanyard. So moving the whistle 2-3 inches while talking wouldn't seem to move the microphone very much if at all.

Perhaps you could further help me out here.

I've never used PTS, but I've been told by those who have (while discussing this very topic) that the microphone specifically picks up the sound of air moving through the Fox 40 whistle - not just any sound. So, if you talk with the whistle in your mouth, while it may not blow out loud, the small amount of air moving through the whistle may be enough at that specific frequency or pitch or whatever it is that is special about the whistle to trigger the microphone. Taking the whistle out of the mouth eliminates this problem. The actual positioning of the microphone is secondary.

Thanks
 

Thanks JDW for saying it more eloquently. Also, that's why it is that much more important to be in shape.....less heavy breathing. ;)

Seems to me they need to dial-down the sensitivity.

I'll bet the company has a kit schools can buy to fix the issue.;)

That's as reasonable an explanation as I could have hoped to hear.

I understand physics at a fairly high level, and what it seems that you are saying is that the sensor is set to detect a certain range of sound wave frequency, which is really nothing more than some air getting pushed around as it exits the whistle's chambers.

So if that is the case, we have wonder what else is in that frequency range which could be interfering.

That's exactly the way I understand it.

Yes, or how many of the officials choose the last minute of the game to breathe too heavily. :D

Is it only happening in the last minute of the game, or is it only being noticed in the last few seconds because of the increased scrutiny?

I think that it is only being noticed in the final minute of each half because that is when the clock displays tenths of a second. The rest of the game it is hard to tell if the clock has a slight pause.