The Sports List: Officiating Disgraces

[gsf23]

Did anyone catch the Fox Sports list show on the this topic. Top five were:

1. Don Denkinger in 1985 World Series
2. The Tuck call - Raiders/Pats
3. 1972 Olympic basketball (USA loses to Soviets)
4. Phil Luckett's errors (Testaverde TD / Thanksgiving coin toss)
5. Jeffrey Maier's fan interference (Yankees vs. Orioles)

Some other that were mentioned, but I can't remember the ranks: Brett Hull in the crease, Roy Jones Jr. at the Seol Olympics, Sele and Peltier in Figure Skating at the Olympics, Miami-Ohio state pass interference, and the Giants-49ers game with the field goal snafu.

First off, I think calling it disgraces is a little harsh, second, I don't think the tuck belongs because it was, by rule, the correct call. Personally I think the three Olympic events should top the list because they were totally blatent attmepts to sway the outcome of the event. Luckett I think belongs also for screwing up the coin toss, really no excuse for that. The rest were basically judegement calls that weren't really that 'disgraceful'.

Are there any other that you think should be on the list? I think the Five downs from Colorado was it? should be on.

[Edited by gsf23 on Nov 2nd, 2004 at 11:39 AM]

[JRutledge]

I would not call Phil Luckett's coin flip a disgrace or a mistake on any level. Betis said "heads tails" and the tape caught it. Then many columnists across the country later apologized for their criticism of Luckett and that situation.

I would also take issue with the USA/Soviet Gold Medal game too. There was a documentary on HBO a few years ago that went through all the situations that led up to all the problems with the clock and stoppage of play. Maybe the officials did not do the best job, but the FIBA system of calling timeouts was in question. There was for some reason an electronic buzzer that called timeouts instead of the coach or player calling a timeout thru an official. The rules were stupid and caused the problem a bit more than the officials. Because we live in the United States, this part of the story is not widely told. Basically the officials followed the rules and got it right for the most part with some silly rules. But you do not hear that story. You just hear the same side that thinks they were screwed. Not much different from the Raiders and their complaint with the "tuck situation."

Peace