article
 

Foul! Study says hoop refs try to even the score - Yahoo! News

Interesting article I just read.....

This has been discussed extensively on the board already, in two different threads.

Here's one thread: http://forum.officiating.com/basketb...-position.html

There seems to be more "study results" cited now. And some quotes from Irv Brown that purport he is validating some of the study's findings.

The only way to do such a study with any merit would be to actually analyze how many calls were missed in these games and overlay it with the information from this study.

Yeah, more fouls are getting called on visiting teams who are winning with lower foul counts on national TV, but is that because the refs are biased (even if it is subconsciously) or is it because visiting teams who are winning with lower foul counts on national TV are committing more fouls?

A little birdy tells me these two professors aren't qualified to study that question.

But...but...but... it says one of the guys officiates locally. Certainly that makes him qualified to study the guys who officiate nationally. ;)

I found it interesting that the authors assume the most cynical explanation for their data is the truth. More fouls are called on the leading team in nationally televised games. Okay, maybe the data demonstrates that. But why? Their answer: "Calling fouls against the leading team tends to keep games closer".

It all makes sense now. The "league office" wants to maximize television revenues. Next our intrepid authors will "uncover" that more fouls are called against teams from "small markets". Why? Because "the league" wants only "big market" teams in the final.

But they haven't published the single most damning bit of evidence yet, nor drawn the most obvious conclusion. Big, lovable old Steve Welmer ... who works almost every televised NCAA game (sometimes inexplicably simultaneously, but on different networks to avoid detection) ... the reason Steve's pants don't stay up is obvious.

That's not actually Steve Welmer. It's Dick Bavetta wearing a Steve Welmer costume that doesn't quite fit. Dick is regularly sent out by "the league" to ensure the right team wins the game. And we're all so busy drinking that we never caught on.

Perhaps they're waiting for the study to gain more traction, and possibly trying to get Billy Packer to sign on as co-author of the study, before they let that one out of the bag. :rolleyes:

Hey, Mr. Locksmith!
 

How about a merge?