Basketball Refs or Let’s Give Two More Free Throws to the Star

Typically, if you know a ref or umpires name, it not a good thing. Nobody tunes into a game, sees the officials and thinks “Oh good. Those guys always make solid calls.” The best refs and umpires are unknown, generic mannequins in uniform that keep the action going. Remaining anonymous is the greatest compliment. Unfortunately, in recent years, sports fans have become all too familiar with their sports most notorious officials.

I don’t envy the position these men and women are in. Imagine having to make a close, judgment call in the blink of an eye to determine a playoff game. I stress over what pair of socks to wear in the morning. Refs have to apply a novel’s worth of rules during every contest while remaining neutral while members of both teams hurl insults and swears at them. When the game ends, fans of the losing team will called them bias morons who likely accepted a bribe. Trust me on this; I’ve said more insults and refs making shaky calls against the Mets this side of Bobby Valentine.

It can’t be easy. These brave souls must have thick skin and a passion for the sport. Otherwise, nobody will put on the generic, somewhat tacky uniform, and make countless decisions during a game. Sure, we might get angry when a call doesn’t go our way, but these men and women deserve credit. Without them, there would be no game at all. Or, it would be like a pick up basketball game where players call their own fouls. Do you know how that would go? There would be 30 minutes of arguing between each play. And people say that professional athletes complain too much to the refs. You have no idea how fortunate we are.

Ok, I think that’s more than enough compliments to the officials. My conscious is clear. Now, we can talk about the real point of the article – all of those suck ass calls, without feeling any guilt complaining about them.

Sports leagues implemented instant replay to stop bad calls from ruining games. I’ve never been a fan of replay, but I get the point. If we can get the call right, let’s do it, even if it slows the pace of play to a crawl. Yet despite having technology we couldn’t dream of even a generation ago, we’re still getting calls wrong, like all the time. I believe things are worse than ever.

I understand not every call can have instant replay. Games are long enough. We don’t need to tack on an additional two hours, plus awful commercials, to watch slow mo. However, the level of botching going on in baseball is absurd. Look, we’ll get to my basketball complains soon enough, but Bloggin Hood in an equal opportunity ranter.

Baseball umpires might be on the hottest seat. There’s already rumors of robot umpires taking control of the strike zone, and already two calls actually effected the ending of a game. On 4/11, the Mets, somehow reeling despite the fact it was the first week of the season, played a controversial game.* ¹

Popular player Michael Conforto was up to bat with the bases loaded in a tie game. The Mets made a 9^th inning comeback, including a dramatic Jeff McNeil homerun, complete with a more dramatic bat flip. A single would win the game. Hell, all Conforto had to do was hit a lazy fly ball 300 feet. Instead, Conforto seemed to have struck out looking. The home plate umpire began to call him out, but changed course. Apparently, Conforto was “hit” by the pitch. What? That’s quite a different there, Blue.

The Mets won via walk off Hit By Pitch. Sure, why not? Never expected to write that sentence.

The replay showed several issues with the call. First, and most damning, was that Conforto ever so slightly, leaned into the pitch over the plate. On replay, his elbow covered the corner of the plate. Now, Conforto did get hit, but the pitch was in the strike zone. Conforto made no effort to avoid the pitch. Nevertheless, after a video review, the call stood, and the Mets won. The Mets broadcast disagreed with the call, proving once again that they are the best in the business. Even I felt a little dirty about this one.

After the game, Don Mattingly, the Marlins manager, was irate, and threw the umpire under the bus. Of course, Mattingly was the Dodgers manager back in 2015, where he defended Chase Utley for breaking Mets legend Ruben Tejada’s leg on a dirty play. If a bad call has to happen, I’m glad it went against Mattingly. Better shave those sideburns buddy.

Some, namely Bloggin Hood, would call Conforto’s play crafty. We’ll leave it at that.** ²

Baseball enjoyed ending a game on a bad call so much, it did it again in just a few short days. During a Braves/Phillies game, the latter team won on a play at the plate. The umpire called the Philly’s runner safe at home despite never touching home. Despite reviewing the replay, the call stood. I mean, seriously, what’s the point of reviewing calls if we’re going to keep the bullshit decision anyway?

This decision was tough to stomach. I loved seeing the Braves lose in heartbreaking fashion, but I hated seeing the Phillies win a single game. Divisional games are really a roller coaster of emotions.

Of course, it’s not just these gigantic, game defying calls that suck. Baseball is the only sport where arguably the most important part of the game, the strike zone, varies depending on the home plate umpire. Depending on who’s behind the plate, the strike zone may expand or shrink from game to game. This effects everyone – the pitcher, the catcher, and every one who comes to bat. Hell, the strike zone can morph between innings, or even within the same at bat. If we can’t consistently get a strike called right, how the hell can we do anything else? Bring on the robots.

By the way, when an umpire has a large strike zone, it’s called a Maddux. Yeah, that’s right Braves fans. I’m sure deGrom could regularly throw 85 pitch complete games if his pitches in the opposite batter’s box “clipped the in outside corner”. Not that I’m bitter 25 years later or anything.

This isn’t only a baseball issue. The NFL has plenty of problematic calls as well. At this point, does anyone know what a catch is? I think I understand the concept, but time and time again, the refs confirm I do not. If you’re reading this and can confidently define the NFL’s definition of a catch, you’re a horrific liar. You probably respected Chase Utley’s incredibly dirty slide. Jackass.

You would think in a pass happy, offensive driven league, the NFL would have figured out the catch situation. Instead, they continuously move the needle, probably to piss off Calvin Johnson. There’s nothing more deflating then seeing a big catch, and then a seven minute review to ultimately overturn things.

It doesn’t stop with receptions, of course. Refs constantly have to made pass interference decisions that can greatly alter a drive. Pass interfere yardage is determined by where the foul occurred, so it’s a significant penalty. Time and time again, the ruling on the field does not seem to mesh with the past. This flag (or lack of flag) can cost a team yardage, a new set of downs, and increase the likelihood of points.

On the flip side, holding is an offensive backbreaker. Nearly every lengthy run or QB scramble comes with a side of a whistle and loss of ten yards. Like pass interference, these calls do not seem consistent. If a ref wants to, he or she could call a hold on nearly every play. Doesn’t that sound riveting?

I’m not saying the NFL shouldn’t have penalties. I’m just recommending, you know, following through with the rules. Why are these crucial, drive altering calls made on players uninvolved in the play? It’s mind boggling. In fact, pass interference became such a controversial topic, coaches were allowed to challenge it for a year. Great idea to slow down the game and have refs, already struggling with the basics, have to determine at 1/1000^th speed if that graze of the arm effected things. Thank God they removed it.

We’ve talked a lot about other sports, and not just to pad the word count, to get to the main event. Despite the clear issues with officiating in other sports, no athletic competition suffers more from its refs than basketball***. ³ More so than any other sport, the refs effect the outcome and flow of each contest.

Sure, as seen in the example, some of the calls in baseball and football can determine who wins. However, the vast majority of bad calls do not effect the final score often. In baseball, when the strike zone is bad, hitters and pitchers adjust their approach. They can expand or shrink their strike zone on the fly, complying to the awful umpire, but continuing relatively unscathed.

In basketball, players can adjust on the fly as well, but there’s two very important differences. Firstly each call the ref makes directly impacts the score. Basketball is the only sport where if there is a violation in the act of shooting,**** ⁴ the team is awarded free throws. Referees can actively reward teams the opportunity to increase their score on a judgment call. In a similar vein, they can alter possessions based on things like traveling, though the last travel in the NBA was called in 1994.

The second, and possibly biggest difference, is that basketball limits the number of fouls an individual player can commit. You only get five total fouls in college, and six in the NBA. Once you commit the fifth or sixth foul, you’re out for the remainder of the game. The implications here are huge. Typically, if a player picks up two quick fouls, they have to sit for a while to avoid picking up more. It changes strategy, especially in basketball, where individual players effect much more than other sports. It only takes one bad call to remove a superstar for eight to ten minutes of game time. That seems more impact than a bogus strike call.

In other sports, you’re removed from the game if you actively try to hurt another player or if you try to show up the ref. These punishments suit the infraction, even if I always laugh when players (or coaches) scream obscenities at the ref. The only sport with anything close to the foul system is hockey. Hockey removes players for two to five minutes for committing various penalties. While they players sit in a penalty box, their team plays short handed, until they either give up a goal, or the penalty time is complete.

Honestly, I think it’s kind of brilliant. The player and team are both punished for breaking the rules, but the team can avoid giving up points. While it increases their changes of giving up a goal, it’s not a guarantee. Even a penalty shot isn’t a free chance to increase the score. It’s a really good balance. Besides, hockey players constantly rotate on and off the ice. In basketball, one bad whistle can ruin a quarter, a half, or even a game by removing a star from the court.

Now, don’t miss understand. To quote 80s rapper Kurtis Blow, basketball is my favorite sport. I like the way they dribble up and down the court. Man, the 80s were a different time. Imagine making a song about the basic rules of basketball, and rhyme random sports terms, and make bank? That must have been the life. I don’t think anyone would slip me $100 for shouting “Box and one!” into a microphone, but I can dream.

While I’ve always loved basketball, it’s clear that the refs can impact games negatively. Far too often, you notice the refs when watching, a damning sign. Today, I want to point out the worst officiating offenses. I’m not saying I can do a better job. All I’m saying is somebody should.

Concept 1 – Ticky Tack Fouls

it’s a bad sign when you can’t think of a good title for the first concept. I wanted to call this bullshit fouls, but I thought that would undermine the discussion. Now, all I can think about is breath mints. Tic Tacs are very much not a sponsor, but they are pretty good. I remember being really in on the lime ones in college.

What were we talking about again? Oh right, basketball. I mean, that was a natural progression.

When I say Ticky Tack fouls, I’m talking about the “phantom” violations that barely show up on replay. Typically these are plays taking place thirty feet from the basketball where a defender barely reaches in and gets a whistle. Of course, that’s just a classic example. There’s a bunch of other places where fouls likely don’t need to be called, but what’s the point of blowing a whistle when someone is dribbling miles from the basket?

These unnecessary fouls can also occur during an entry pass where the defender is called for a foul before anything really happens. Players are allowed to compete for position and there’s a different between that and full on shoves. There’s also plenty of over the back calls where the offender never actually touches the player with position. It’s not over the back because somebody reaches over another player; it’s over the back if you make hard contact.

I’m seriously unsure if the refs know this.

There’s plenty of other examples, but they are covered in other concepts. If you’re screaming at me for not mentioning some obvious examples, trust me, they’re coming. I hope. If not, maybe I’m as inconsistent as the average ref.

The problem with these soft fouls are numerous. Firstly, they set a precedent for the rest of the game. Defenders will have to be less aggressive guarding their opponents, and players can’t crash the boards as hard. It shifts the balance to the offense, which honestly already has significant advantages. Still, this isn’t my biggest concern, as there’s time for both teams to adjust.

The true downfall is the foul limits in the sport. If a star player receives just one of these questionable, at best, fouls, the complexion of the game changes. Maybe this quick whistle is their 2^nd foul with nine minutes to go in the first. Now the player must sit and his or her team likely falls apart. Imagine losing Curry, LeBron, or Kwahi for a quarter of them game. Now, imagine those superstars were replaced by Dion Waiters.

There’s only two people happy about that, Dion Waiters and me.***** ⁵

Finally, when refs have this quick qhistle, it turns games into free throw contests. I respect free throw shooting. It’s an extremely underappreciated skill. Popular Bloggin Hood commenter Lil’ John could probably hit 24 out of 25 free throws in a hurricane, then complain that he missed the one. Few people respect how hard it is to hit two of these shots in a row.

Having said that, nobody tunes into a basketball game to watch a bunch of tall men and women shoot a bunch of uncontested shots. This completely slows down the game, ruins the flows, and decreases the quality. There’s an easy fix.

Despite popular opinion, basketball is a contact sport. Let players, you know, actually hit each other. I’m not saying look the other way at players tackling instead of setting a screen, but let them play a bit. Refs shouldn’t call fouls just to do so. Not everything needs to be called. This isn’t rocket science. If pick up basketball can function, professional and college games should get along fine with a bit of contact.

Concept 2 – Attacking the Rim

I learned at a young age that driving to the basket is the best way to score points. When I was naïve, I thought it was because you’d be closer to the basket. A layup is easier then a jump shot. However, after years of playing, that’s not really the case. Layups are hotly contested, while jump shots are not. You ever play basketball against a bunch of lumbering, uncoordinated big men? They won’t block your shots but they’ll leave you bruised. Needless to say, my basketball career involved a lot more jump shots then drives.

However, as I got craftier, I learned that driving had it’s perks. Refs can’t exactly see everything that goes on in the paint. If you drive, and appear to get fouled, officials may just call it, despite their not being contact. I distinctly remember as a third grader, I missed a layup on a drive. There was nobody really near me, but I came up short. Instead of accepting my mistake, I let out a mild “AH” as if I was hit. Guess you got to take two undeserved free throws?

I was frigging nine and figured this out. Granted, this was not the most competitive league in the world. Nevertheless, refs at the highest levels continue to fall for this basic trap, and there’s no end in sight. On nearly every drive where there’s potential contact, the defender will be called for a foul. It’s so frustrating, especially as someone who took advantage of this whenever possible.

I mean, I just wanted to shoot open jumpers. I blame the defense for trying.

At the advance levels of basketball, the offensive player has every advantage when attacking the basket. When they jump, they can lean in and draw contact from the defender, which will always be whistled in their favor. It doesn’t matter how the defenders react; they will get called for the foul. This happens, at least a dozen times per game.

Periodically, announcers will regurgitate the same tired information. Defenders much go straight up and not hit offensive players with the body. What they fail to mention is if an offensive player leans in and draws contact, it’s the defense who gets penalized 95% of the time. How is that fair? Either call the games straights up, or stop letting offensive players lean in every time. Personally, unless the defender effects the players shot by hitting him, there’s no foul.

Centers suffer the worst from this. If you’re a no name center attempting to stop a well known player’s drive, you’re definitely getting called for a foul. Honestly, you can tell once a person checks in. I imagine these players continue to get work because coaches know they are magnets for any questionable foul calls. It helps keep their star players out of foul trouble.

Plus these people are usually 7’2”. That aids in employment.

Concept 3 – Continuations

This goes along with player’s attacking the rim, but is so aggravating, it deserves its own section. I frigging hate this, because the refs determine if a foul occurred based on results and not the play. Let me explain.

My understanding of fouls is the play stops at the spot the foul took place. So, if a player is dribbling and is fouled, there are no free throws unless the team is in the bonus. Free throws are only awarded if a player is in the act of shooting. Seems simple enough, right? Well get ready to throw out everything I just said in this paragraph.

When players drive to the basket and a foul occurs, they often complete their motion. Occasionally, they are in the act of taking their shot. This means free throws should be awarded. However, there are times where a whistle in blown, and the offensive player takes an additional step before shooting. By definition of the rule, this should be a non shooting foul. Right?

Right?

For whatever reason, refs seem to think completion of a drive is part of a shot. It should not be. If the player isn’t shooting when the foul is called, the play should be waived dead. Instead, offensive players get the benefit of the doubt, occasionally getting multiple steps and being allowed to shoot. It’s insane. There should be no continuations at all, but at this point, it’s an accepted part of the game. I mean, there’s a reason I gave it it’s own section.

Another subset of this is the ref who only blows the whistle after seeing the result of the shot. If the player makes the shot, the ref doesn’t call the foul, but if the shot misses, the player is bailed out with free throws. This is infuriating. A foul is a foul. Things shouldn’t change based on the result. Refs should be fined every time they do this.

Concept 4 – Charges

It’s not all bad defenders. Sure, the offensive players get the benefit of the doubt 95% of the time, but the rule book offers a counter. Charges are the “balancing patch” for defenses. It’s meant to counter reckless drives and give defensive players a chance. In actuality, it’s just as bad as everything else.

By rule, to take a charge a defended must have his feet set and stand still on a spot. They must not do this in the restricted area (a noted semi circle around the basket) and CANNOT slide in the way of a offensive player and draw a charge. Sliding in this manner is a block and a defensive foul. This makes sense; running and stopping on a dime could be dangerous to everyone involved.

Then why the hell are moving defenders getting charge calls regularly? This is a plague on college basketball, seemingly increasing every year during the tournament.

Remember how I realized that by yelling, I could get fouls called in my favor? Well, college players figured out they’ll get charge calls at will. Defenders regularly slide into position, get bumped without setting their feet, and flop as though they’re guarding frigging Superman. Sometimes, they barely get hit and fall over in a heap and get the whistle. I’m in favor of preventing driving from being too easy, but this isn’t the solution. It’s blatant flopping but unfortunately seems here to stay.

Honestly, part of the problem is refs love calling charges. I’m serious. Have you ever seen the difference between a charge call and a block call? Refs get to wind up and point in the other direction. They definitely practice that in the mirror. The block call looks that a botched Degeneration X “suck it” pose. It’s nowhere near as fun. The committee should make the charge symbol something complex and embarrassing. I guaranteed the call will reduce drastically.

Concept 5 – Superstar Calls

This isn’t just an assumption; it’s a fact. If you don’t believe superstar players are officiated differently than role players, you’re a loon.

Sure, there are sometimes where a star players gets in foul trouble. There are situations where the players get called for ticky tack reach ins and have to sit for a quarter. But in the fourth quarter, superstars could commit aggravated assault and the refs would need to discuss who initiated the contact. It’s virtually impossible for a top player to foul out of a game unless they truly earn it.

Keep in mind, technical foul ejections are different. Those are based on conduct. Draymond Greene likely picked up a technical just reading this paragraph.

On any sort of 50-50 play involving a star and a role player, the role player is picking up the foul. Those back up centers absorb fouls like a sponge. It serves them right for trying to play defense as their job requires.

It’s an inevitable part of the game. To an extent, I get it, especially from the business side. However, players shouldn’t be operating under different rules. All I want is consistency. As Mr. Incredible so graciously said, a foul is a foul.

Concept 6 – Replay

I’ve been pretty open about hating replay, so I won’t continue repeating the same point. I believe the concept of replay is great, but the execution is horrible. Games shouldn’t pause for minutes on end waiting for a decision. If professional sports leagues employee thousands of people, each game should have designated replay reviewers who can quickly sort out any challenge. This seems obvious, but I guarantee there will be a five minute review on something this week proving it’s not.

If replay made sure calls were correct 100% of the time, I’d stomach it. However, there’s still constant errors. They can slow down plays to 1/1000^th speed and still make poor decisions. Truly, what’s the point then? If we’re not correcting half of the issues, get rid of this.

Obviously, I’m not calling for replay to review fouls. That would be a nightmare. Foul calls will always be a judgment decision. The problem is, the judgment sucks.

Concept 7 – Tim Donaghy

I removed this section before the NBA did. But I’m just saying.

Conclusion

Look, I know refs and umpires are in a tough situation. There are tons of moving parts in each game and the rules have nuisances. Not every play is the same and it’s impossible to have true 100% consistency. But, maybe, just maybe, refs and umpires could avoid completely shitting on the rules for 5 frigging seconds? That would be nice, wouldn’t it?

Fans wants the players determining the game, not the officials. The last thing professional leagues should want is a questionable call ending the game. This isn’t the WWE. Although, I’d argue the XFL should have had scripted endings. Maybe somebody would have watched.

As a fan, all I want is consistency. As long as officials don’t overstep the rules and make clean, consistent calls, most fans will be happy. Unless those calls go against the Mets. Then the umps are blind bastards who couldn’t find home plate with a map. I guess the lesson is officials should be bias in favor of my teams. And truly, who could argue against that?

Don’t answer that.

1. *This is out of 162 games. Mets fans love to panic. Among those panicking at a potential 1-3 start? Bloggin Hood, who yelled unspeakable obscenities at the TV screen. I told the ref to donate his eyes for research if he wasn’t going to use them in the Second Inning. It’s going to be a long season.
2. **No, it’s not the way you want to win a game, and Conforto said as much afterwards. I think most players would have tried this given the situation, and I do think the ref should make the appropriate call. Is it a shitty win? Sure. But how many shitty losses have the Mets had? As the Mets did that day, take the win, run, and move on. Plus, maybe the team will actually win games with their bats this year… maybe. .
3. ***I’ll hear an argument for figure skating, mostly because I enjoy conspiracy theories about corrupt scoring.
4. ****Or when teams get into the bonus, obviously. I’m trying to keep this relatively general here, but, believe it or not, I know the rules of the sport.
5. *****Personally, I love watching irrational confidence guys chuck bad shots. I could watch it all day. This might up my enjoyment, depending on who’s out of the game. If I was a GM of a bad team, I would sign fifteen irrational confidence guys and entertain myself until I got fired. So what, eight games?