losing team wants ref apology

[SCalScoreKeeper]

Sorry Trotwood-Madison but as I read a very biased article and watch tape of this play I too think your guy fouled him! I am reminded about the first words of every pre-game coaches meeting-"Coaches, sportsmanship starts with you.Coach your kids and not us!" This school should be ashamed of their behavior. Think about this question:"Was it the officials who made your kids miss shots or free throws in this game?Was it the officials who could not come up with a defensive stop late to force the overtime?"No, it was your kids,all they had to do was play straight up fundamental defense and not go for the block. They didn't, your opponent made the free throw, so move on!


Here's an article about a regional game in Southern California where the losing coach did the same thing!

King coach blames refs

12:13 AM PDT on Sunday, March 15, 2009

By JIM ALEXANDER
The Press-Enterprise

LOS ANGELES - It is customary, after being defeated in a big game, to congratulate your opponents, bemoan your own mistakes and downplay any disagreements you might have with the officials.

That may be because in most leagues and associations, when you criticize the refs it costs you money.

Evidently, however, high school basketball coaches aren't subject to getting fined. Or if they are, Riverside King coach Tim Sweeney Jr. has a rainy-day fund he can dip into.

In the wake of his team's 53-39 pasting by LA Westchester in Saturday night's Southern California Division 1 regional final at Pauley Pavilion, Sweeney laid the ultimate responsibility on the officiating crew.

Those three officials, whose names were not listed in the official box score, actually called more fouls on Westchester than they did on King, and the Wolves shot almost twice as many free throws (and missed 10 of 23).

The officials did, however, call a technical foul before the game began, citing sophomore Adam Smith for dunking in warmups.

And as the game wore on and his team slipped further behind, Sweeney received a technical two minutes into the second quarter, and then was ejected before the start of the fourth for what he said was a private conversation involving two of his assistant coaches.

"It's a travesty to play in an event like this and have that happen," Sweeney said afterward, knowing full well his words would be printed.

"Some people should be fired for assigning referees. Why did we even go play these (regional) games this week, is what I ask the state of California. Why did we play the games? We were better off ending it at Mater Dei, if you're not gonna give kids a fair shot. Period."

Sweeney was asked if he'd had problems with those officials before.

"Never," he said. "I want to know who assigns them. I think I know who but I'm not going to say anything.

"First off, they started with a phantom technical foul, on a slam dunk that did not happen. My coach was just standing there. Their guys are down there doing the same layup drill that we are, OK?

"The last technical, on which I got thrown out, my dad (Tim Sweeney Sr.) and Dr. Powers (assistant coach Fred Powers) are standing towards the huddle, and the guy (the official) is standing outside, and they're talking to each other, and they called a technical on them for talking to each other.

"They never gave our kids a chance from the get-go. They never let us play against Westchester. This game was decided before the ball was tipped up tonight, and that's a shame. I never, ever, in my whole career, said a thing in the newspaper about officials. But everybody in here saw it tonight. There was something wrong. There's something wrong with that."

With the naked eye, King's 11-for-43 shooting seemed more of a factor. Or their dismal foul shooting. Or the fact that besides forward Kawhi Leonard (16 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks, three steals), no one else in a white jersey stepped up against a longer, quicker, more athletic Westchester team.

"I don't want to take anything away from Westchester," Sweeney said. "Westchester is a great team and will represent well. Coach (Ed) Azzam and his players should be very proud. But it was not allowed to be decided on the floor tonight."

And just how did the officiating lead to what -- again to the naked eye -- seemed like a woeful effort by King?

"I could not stand up and coach my team because of the (early) technical foul," Sweeney said. "Talk about an unbelievable advantage, communicating to your ballclub. I cannot even begin to explain. I can't call the plays, I can't get up, I can't get them in helpside defense, I can't instruct from sitting from the bench.

"That factor alone, my team knew. The communication factor right from the beginning was just (missing), and then just the whole rhythm and flow of the ballgame was affected before it even went up. Questionable calls to say the least ... not the same on the other end.

"And that's not to take away from Westchester. They did what they needed to do. My team was not tired. It was not fatigue. This was completely a ballclub being taken out of their rhythm of being able to play basketball like they're supposed to be able to play."

But Sweeney's words, while powerful, were also hollow. The scoreboard, after all, never lies.

Reach Jim Alexander at 951-368-9543 or [email protected]

[Mark Padgett]

Originally Posted by SCalScoreKeeper

12:13 AM PDT on Sunday, March 15, 2009

By JIM ALEXANDER
The Press-Enterprise

With the naked eye, King's 11-for-43 shooting seemed more of a factor. Or their dismal foul shooting. Or the fact that besides forward Kawhi Leonard (16 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks, three steals), no one else in a white jersey stepped up against a longer, quicker, more athletic Westchester team.

But Sweeney's words, while powerful, were also hollow. The scoreboard, after all, never lies.

Reach Jim Alexander at 951-368-9543 or [email protected]

Kudos to the author of the article for telling it like it is. This coach should be locked in a closet with Earl Strom's ghost for about 30 minutes. That would take care of him.

[JugglingReferee]

Originally Posted by Mark Padgett

Kudos to the author of the article for telling it like it is. This coach should be locked in a closet with Earl Strom's ghost for about 30 minutes. That would take care of him.

Too bad you didn't mention Mendy R. That might have brought JR out of the woodwork...

[Mark Padgett]

Originally Posted by JugglingReferee

Too bad you didn't mention Mendy R. That might have brought JR out of the woodwork...

I think I read in Earl's book that one year, the league (and coaches) wanted him and Mendy to work the entire NBA final series. Incredible.

[Nevadaref]

Looks like that writer stuck it to that coach pretty good.

[daveg144]

The best way to end this whole fiasco would be for the TM Coach, who played at Ohio State, to give a quote to the newspaper...

"We didn't lose the game because of the foul at the end of the game. We lost because of the following reasons: we fell behind at the beginning 22-8, we missed easy shots in the 4th quarter, we didn't make all of our free throws, etc. etc. etc. It was a great basketball game and I wish Centerville well."

End of story.

I have been on the floor with both of these team. They are both very good and for the most part, very well coached. I've worked with two of the officials and would gladly take the floor with them in any game in the future.

The camera angle I've seen sucks. I'd like to see a better angle. However, the officials on the floor saw what they saw. The lead had a good angle. He decided it was a foul. We do that every time we're on the floor...we judge contact to be a foul or to let it go. None of us can say for sure if it was a good or bad call. We have to trust the officials on the floor. I do and I respect their integrity. I can say with certainty, they do not care who wins the game.

Probably any official on this board would love to be on the floor in such a meaningful game. I also think that most of us on the board would not back down from making (or passing) on a play at the end of the game.

As someone said earlier, the OHSAA should pull the Dayton Daily News credentials for the rest of the tournament for publishing one of the officials names.

[TussAgee11]

As for publishing the official's name, I can say that if I were the official, I wouldn't really care.

They get printed at the NCAA level if its D-3. Why not the FED level if its a championship game?

ESPECIALLY, if I knew I got it right.

Mine was almost printed last year over a baseball rules incident. The reporter used the word "controversy" but then correctly wrote what happened and what was enforced. Anyone who cared to open a rule book knew I was right. A bit different with a judgment call, but who cares?

If you want to remain unbiased, you have to let all this slide off your shoulders. Who cares what anyone thought? You saw what you saw, you called what you called. IMO, being upset if your name is printed would be the first step to becoming a soft official.

That being said, I passed on an 83 footer at the buzzer last night who might have gotten brushed on a run by, but I didn't lose any sleep over it...

Anyone hear back for our principal friend? As a future educator, that stuff makes me even more pissed...

Get a response from the princiPAL yet?

[fullor30]

Originally Posted by daveg144

The best way to end this whole fiasco would be for the TM Coach, who played at Ohio State, to give a quote to the newspaper...

"We didn't lose the game because of the foul at the end of the game. We lost because of the following reasons: we fell behind at the beginning 22-8, we missed easy shots in the 4th quarter, we didn't make all of our free throws, etc. etc. etc. It was a great basketball game and I wish Centerville well."

End of story.

I have been on the floor with both of these team. They are both very good and for the most part, very well coached. I've worked with two of the officials and would gladly take the floor with them in any game in the future.

The camera angle I've seen sucks. I'd like to see a better angle. However, the officials on the floor saw what they saw. The lead had a good angle. He decided it was a foul. We do that every time we're on the floor...we judge contact to be a foul or to let it go. None of us can say for sure if it was a good or bad call. We have to trust the officials on the floor. I do and I respect their integrity. I can say with certainty, they do not care who wins the game.

Probably any official on this board would love to be on the floor in such a meaningful game. I also think that most of us on the board would not back down from making (or passing) on a play at the end of the game.

As someone said earlier, the OHSAA should pull the Dayton Daily News credentials for the rest of the tournament for publishing one of the officials names.

No need for a better camera angle, it was a foul and they saw it clearer than we did. Watch the replay, if you don't see the foul in slo-mo, along with the misdirection of a 10 footer..........