Yep, it got worse - as predicted

[Mark Padgett]

Despite the fact that TV Guide originally said the Ed episode showing a hokey basketball game would air on May 1, it ran on April 24, one week early.

If you remember, we predicted the mistakes in the game. Actually, there were two "games". The first was between Ed's old team and the team that beat them for the state title 15 years ago. There was a single ref, a young kid, who wore a long-sleeved shirt with a collar. The shirt wasn't tucked in and he wore blue and silver shoes. He had a full lanyard (expected with the collared shirt) and he did have a black whistle. The entire sequence lasted about 20 seconds. Ed's team won, 63-60. He pulled a hammy off the opening tip and sat on the bench the rest of the game. None of the females in the show, and none of his employees were in the gym. Of course, the women were shoe shopping.

In the second half of the show, he challenged the other team to let him reshoot the free throw he missed 15 years earlier that "cost the game." Actually, it didn't. They were wrong. At the time he shot it, the score was tied at 61. He had one shot. He missed, an opponent got the rebound and made a shot from the top of the key at the horn to win 63-61. If Ed had made the shot, the other team still would have won, 63-62.

Paul Shaffer reffed the free throw, as he was the ref in the old game. Here's what I predicted for the game in a previous post:

[quote]Here are my predictions:

1) Paul will wear a long-sleeved shirt with a collar and breast pocket - this happened
2) Paul will wear light colored slacks and white shoes - he wore light pants and blue shoes
3) Paul will have a full lanyard with a chrome whistle - he had a full lanyard but a black whistle, just like the kid earlier in the show
4) There will be at least one "over the back" and at least one "reaching" foul called - they didn't show any foul calls
5) Paul's mechanics will be atrocious - his FT mechanic, considering he was by himself, wasn't bad - he even stood at the trail position opposite the scorer
6) The game will end in a last second shot that will be shown in slow-motion (aren't they always like this) and the shot will miss and Ed will lose again - in the free throw challenge, Ed shot an airball completely over the backboard

All things considered, I think I did pretty well.

[Dave King]

Mark,
How 'bout a watch? Was the referee wearing a nice big watch? (They usually do in movies/TV). Or was it obscured by the oh-so-fasionable long sleeved shirt?

dk