Should refs swallow whistle in final seconds?

[BUSongwriter]

After the controversial illegal screen call on UConn with just four seconds left in last night's women's Final Four game with Iowa, I'd be interested in what people on this board think about calls in the final seconds of close games. Where do you stand?

A) A foul is a foul whether it happens with five minutes left or five seconds. Or

B) In the final seconds with the game on the line, unless the foul is especially flagrant, swallow the whistle and let the players play it out.

I vote for "A". Otherwise, when does the "no call" go into effect? 15 seconds? 10 seconds? 5? 2? And what do you let go because as a ref you don't want to "decide the game" . . . a travel? A really close foot on the out-of-bounds line?

I also realize part of the debate is whether the UConn player's screen was a foul in the first place. But this is something that comes up all the time and I think we've all seen it work both ways.

[bradleyfan124]

After the controversial illegal screen call on UConn with just four seconds left in last night's women's Final Four game with Iowa, I'd be interested in what people on this board think about calls in the final seconds of close games. Where do you stand?

A) A foul is a foul whether it happens with five minutes left or five seconds. Or

B) In the final seconds with the game on the line, unless the foul is especially flagrant, swallow the whistle and let the players play it out.

I vote for "A". Otherwise, when does the "no call" go into effect? 15 seconds? 10 seconds? 5? 2? And what do you let go because as a ref you don't want to "decide the game" . . . a travel? A really close foot on the out-of-bounds line?

I also realize part of the debate is whether the UConn player's screen was a foul in the first place. But this is something that comes up all the time and I think we've all seen it work both ways.

I saw nothing wrong with the call. She thought she was playing football and threw a body block. They are supposed to be set and not moving

[Tommy]

Option B should be in place for the entire game every game. Nobody goes to the game to watch the refs and too many games have a whistle a minute.

[tomahawk chop]

I did not like that call because I did not see that it was an illegal screen. I believe in A but if you are going to make a call at the end it has to be consistent with everything you have called in that game. The game was very physical and plenty of times the refs could have called illegal screens and did not which is why I felt that screen was as legal as most in that game.
I felt UCONN should have been given the opportunity to at least have the chance at making the winning basket.
Finally I did not care who won that game and it was a terrific game played by both teams, just wish that call was not made at the end .

[PTownHawkeye]

As an incredibly biased observer (check out the screen name), a foul is a foul. Period. My teams have lost more than they’ve won due to late fouls over the years. I don’t get the whole “it’s late in the game so the rules are different.” It’s a weak argument and excuse.

I’ve seen that illegal screen replay from every possible angle…and it’s a textbook foul. Heck, if you watch Gabbie Marshall’s reaction, she celebrated instinctively as she immediately knew what an illegal screen felt like as a defender.

If teams were flipped, yeah, I’d be pissed about the call in the moment, no question. But the next day would have tried to back up my argument that the foul shouldn’t have been called, and seen those replays. Pissed…but wrong.

[Fetz86]

A, just keep it consistent.

[Classof77]

Looked like a good call to me. Call it, regardless of time remaining, as long as the foul affected the play. In this case it did.

[Peoria_bradley_fan]

Games/titles/legacies can be changed all in a call or no call in the final seconds. It's just the way the game goes. Could of been a foul easily on Indiana States 3 point attempts in the end, and in the women's game last night could of easily been a no call.

The way a game is officiated shouldn't be changed because it's "crunch time". At least, I think most would agree with that. However, the game itself literally doesn't agree with that, as there are certain rules that only apply to crunch time (such as replay availability).

I think (for the most part, sorry to speak so broadly) all we as fans want is consistency, and unfortunately, so long as there are grey areas and humans officiating (we are only human after all) we won't ever get it. You can layer all the rules you want, there will still be questions and doubts. In fact, it feels the more cameras/replays/rules we have the more the officiating mistakes are highlighted and deemed "game altering".

Seems we never worry about officiating outcomes as time goes on (we don't view historical records of sports with asterisks due to officiating). It may feel bad or hurt immediately, but it's just the way the game goes. Just imagine all the mistakes with clocks and stuff that must of happened decades ago. You just move on.

However, I believe baseball will be the first "perfectly officiated game" as the human element seemingly can be taken out of officiating the game more easily then the rest. However, even when that happens, many will still be unhappy. We shall see.

All in all, in life all things you love have imperfections as well. Sports is not immune. We learn to take them for the good and the bad and all things in-between. In my opinion, a game like basketball is too fluid to ever be perfectly officiated, so it isn't worth the stress of even trying to. Other game like baseball, may prove to be a different story.

[carter]

A, just keep it consistent.

Agree,if that's the way they called it all game,so be it.

[patrick_o'brian]

A. You follow the rulebook. It was a foul. Period. The rule book is very specific about positioning on a pick. Feet and shoulders parallel with no movement. The player in this scenario had legs wide open and moved her shoulder into the defensive player. If they don’t call it the defending team has a gripe. At least, as an official, if you decide to call the foul, you have the rule book to fall back on. If you swallow your whistle, you just “missed the call” or “let them play”. Both hurt the entire profession and integrity of the game.

[basketball nut]

I would say A.
As to the play last night, I felt it was a foul as it looked like, to me, that she brought her left arm out as the Iowa player passed by.

[wily coyote]

After the controversial illegal screen call on UConn with just four seconds left in last night's women's Final Four game with Iowa, I'd be interested in what people on this board think about calls in the final seconds of close games. Where do you stand?

A) A foul is a foul whether it happens with five minutes left or five seconds. Or

B) In the final seconds with the game on the line, unless the foul is especially flagrant, swallow the whistle and let the players play it out.

I vote for "A". Otherwise, when does the "no call" go into effect? 15 seconds? 10 seconds? 5? 2? And what do you let go because as a ref you don't want to "decide the game" . . . a travel? A really close foot on the out-of-bounds line?

I also realize part of the debate is whether the UConn player's screen was a foul in the first place. But this is something that comes up all the time and I think we've all seen it work both ways.

A.) is the only correct answer period. Officials are put on games to officiate games by the rules and players decide whether to abide by the rules. That play last night was clearly an illegal screen and should have been called at any time in the game. It just so happens the UConn girl picked a very poor time to do it. B.} should never come into play in that situation.Period.

[Bradley8792]

A. Follow the rules.

[BUfan17]

Every game is officiated differently, I just want consistency throughout the game.

It sucks to see a one possession game decided by a foul, but I think it was the right thing to do.

[LittleBrave]

I saw nothing wrong with the call. She thought she was playing football and threw a body block. They are supposed to be set and not moving

Yep - there is a big fuss on social media now with people who are furious that it was not a foul. Probably too many people watching too much NBA!