PSU/Purdue Big Ten Officials may be Fired

[jimpiano]

What calls were involved are not specified but :http://www.sportingnews.com/experts/.../949483-p.html

[Sonofanump]

I did not see the game, anyone remember any calls that stood out?

[TXMike]

Tiller puzzled by several calls in loss to Penn State

Associated Press - November 7, 2007

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) - Several calls in last week's loss to Penn State left Purdue coach Joe Tiller scratching his head.

Receiver Selwyn Lymon appeared to catch a touchdown pass from Curtis Painter, but it was ruled incomplete. Purdue ended up settling for a field goal.

Lymon also caught a pass and ran out of bounds, but the official kept the clock running. The Boilermakers were forced to call a timeout with 2:10 to play, one they could have used later while trying to drive for a tie.

Tiller says he's talked to the Big Ten office about the calls. But he's watching what he says in public.

He says he finds himself mentally correcting himself and trying to make sure he doesn't say anything inappropriate.

[JugglingReferee]

It says that the crew is working this weekend, but that the crew will be suspended for games on Nov 17, and some of the crew may be fired?

And they're supposed to work their best this weekend knowing that next weekend they will be suspended and possibly lose their job after that?

There's a great way to boost morale: publicize this crap. Just more proof that other people's dirty laundry belongs nowhere in the public eye.

Why can't this stuff stay private where it belongs?

I, as a member of the public, only care when good things happen to people!

[jimpiano]

Originally Posted by JugglingReferee

It says that the crew is working this weekend, but that the crew will be suspended for games on Nov 17, and some of the crew may be fired?

And they're supposed to work their best this weekend knowing that next weekend they will be suspended and possibly lose their job after that?

There's a great way to boost morale: publicize this crap. Just more proof that other people's dirty laundry belongs nowhere in the public eye.

Why can't this stuff stay private where it belongs?

I, as a member of the public, only care when good things happen to people!

And when "bad things" happen you prefer not to know?

[TXMike]

Worst call I have seen talked about was late in the game a Purdue receiver caught a pass close to the sideline and then stepped out of bounds to stop the clock but covering official would it, apparently ruling "forward progress". I am looking for the video of it.

[JugglingReferee]

Originally Posted by jimpiano

And when "bad things" happen you prefer not to know?

Correct; at least not in this case. It doesn't affect public safety. I don't see what good it does either. How about this:

Does your employer publish a news article when you make a mistake?

[reddevil19]

Originally Posted by TXMike

Worst call I have seen talked about was late in the game a Purdue receiver caught a pass close to the sideline and then stepped out of bounds to stop the clock but covering official would it, apparently ruling "forward progress". I am looking for the video of it.

I saw this play. The receiver did not run out of bounds forwards. He caught the ball coming back and went out of bounds running backwards. Doesn't the clock continue to run if you go out of bounds backwards?

[Kirby]

Not if the player goes out of bounds on his own with no contact from a defensive player.

[jimpiano]

Originally Posted by JugglingReferee

Correct; at least not in this case. It doesn't affect public safety. I don't see what good it does either. How about this:

Does your employer publish a news article when you make a mistake?

You are going to have to come to grips with the fact that officials' mistakes happen in front of millions of people. The integrity of the sport depends on players and fans knowing the officials are the best the league can employ.

A coach with a losing record is also no threat to public safety, but when he gets fired it usually is published and broadcast to the world.

[reddevil19]

That was my original thought. But the official seemed so sure of himself on the call that I figured he must be right and Tiller just had an awesomely bad brain-cramp on the rule.

This being the case, that seems like a very, very bad error on the part of the official.

[JugglingReferee]

Originally Posted by jimpiano

You are going to have to come to grips with the fact that officials' mistakes happen in front of millions of people. The integrity of the sport depends on players and fans knowing the officials are the best the league can employ.

A coach with a losing record is also no threat to public safety, but when he gets fired it usually is published and broadcast to the world.

Ya thanks bud. Thanks for explaining it to me.

[PSU213]

I had a varsity game on Sat. so I was forced to watch the game on tape. First let me say--Joe Tiller has a history of whining big time (almost to the level of Joe Paterno!), so I would take what he says with a grain of salt.

The potential TD (ruled incomplete) that was mentioned looked like a TD to me on replay. It was never reviewed by the booth (plus Purdue has a challange at their disposal). ESPN only showed 1 or 2 replays on TV, but I feel it was fair to say that it could have gone either way.

As for the foward progress situation...here the officials were 100% correct. A5 catches the ball while moving back toward the original LOS. Gets 1 or 2 feet inbounds, steps OOB about 2 yards back (toward the LOS) from where A5 first touched the ball. Textbook case of forward progress ending in bounds. LJ correctly spots where he completed the catch (i.e. first touched the ground with the ball) and winds the clock. The TV guys on ESPN said the call was terrible, said it needed to be looked at upstairs, and went so far as to call the LJ by name (a point that really ticked me off considering he made the right call...but then again, they were interested in hearing themselves talk and creating some sort of controversy...plus Andre Ware knows everything, ha!).

[Texas Aggie]

A5 catches the ball while moving back toward the original LOS. Gets 1 or 2 feet inbounds, steps OOB about 2 yards back (toward the LOS) from where A5 first touched the ball. Textbook case of forward progress ending in bounds. LJ correctly spots where he completed the catch (i.e. first touched the ground with the ball) and winds the clock.

From this description, that's not forward progress if he's "moving back toward the LOS". The ball should be spotted where he stepped out of bounds, not where you say his forward progress was if he wasn't forced back by a defender. Thus, he went out of bounds on his own, and the clock should be stopped.

[TXMike]

Originally Posted by PSU213

I had a varsity game on Sat. so I was forced to watch the game on tape. First let me say--Joe Tiller has a history of whining big time (almost to the level of Joe Paterno!), so I would take what he says with a grain of salt.

The potential TD (ruled incomplete) that was mentioned looked like a TD to me on replay. It was never reviewed by the booth (plus Purdue has a challange at their disposal). ESPN only showed 1 or 2 replays on TV, but I feel it was fair to say that it could have gone either way.

As for the foward progress situation...here the officials were 100% correct. A5 catches the ball while moving back toward the original LOS. Gets 1 or 2 feet inbounds, steps OOB about 2 yards back (toward the LOS) from where A5 first touched the ball. Textbook case of forward progress ending in bounds. LJ correctly spots where he completed the catch (i.e. first touched the ground with the ball) and winds the clock. The TV guys on ESPN said the call was terrible, said it needed to be looked at upstairs, and went so far as to call the LJ by name (a point that really ticked me off considering he made the right call...but then again, they were interested in hearing themselves talk and creating some sort of controversy...plus Andre Ware knows everything, ha!).

Wha choo talking 'bout Willis???

That is not the NCAA ruling (don't have a clue about Fed) No contact caused him to go backwards, no forward progress.