To err is human, but that doesn’t make what happened in Indianapolis at the NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship Game any easier. The Friday Sports Dump is here to review the week and give it to you straight.
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The beauty of being human is no one is infallible. We all have imperfections making us unique individuals. In sports, those instances of humanity are highlighted and can lead to triumph or tragedy. Instant Replay was created to help curb those human errors and make sure no calls affect the outcome of a game.
In the NCAA Tournament, there have been two calls that have directly affected the outcome of a game. Both could have been overturned had instant replay been used correctly. The two events bookended a wild tournament that witnessed Duke hoist its fifth National Championship.
The first came on the initial Thursday when SMU was called for goaltending. Replays showed UCLA’s Bryce Alford’s shot had no chance of going in, thus nullifying the referee’s decision. Unfortunately for SMU, goaltending is not a reviewable offense.
While there is no telling how far SMU could have gone had that call never been whistled, Wisconsin was in the game when replays seemed to show a loose ball going off the fingertips of Justise Winslow.
The refs did the right thing and went to the monitors.
This is where the national championship went from great to ghastly.
“All four of our officials were involved in the review — Jeff Clark was our standby,” NCAA supervisor of officials John Adams said. “We never saw on our monitor what everybody saw at home, if you can believe that.”
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Adams went on to make the situation worse.
“I saw it after they had left the monitor, and actually thought about: Is it in my prerogative to get up, run over the table, buzz the buzzer and tell them to come back and look?” Adams said. “That’s how critical I thought the play was, and concluded that this is a job for the guys on the floor and I’ve never done this before, why would I do it tonight and perhaps change the balance of the game?”
Here’s my question; Does it not change the balance of the game by not making the right call?
It seems the human element cannot be eliminated, even with a system that is supposed to neutralize its errors.
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It’s a “Tradition unlike any other.”
The Masters started on Thursday and American Erik Compton is tied for 41st at one over par with the likes of former Masters Champions Tiger Woods and Mark O’Meara. While it’s not a dream start for Woods and O’Meara, it is one Compton has fantasized about since he was a child.
Before his first round, the 35-year-old Compton posted a picture on twitter he drew as a kid of him playing in the Masters.
I drew this when I was a kid, and now the day is here. It was worth the wait! @TheMasters #DonateLife pic.twitter.com/JnAh6o70yy
— Erik Compton (@ErikCompton3) April 9, 2015
It’s not a reach to say Compton is happy to be anywhere these days. The Miami native is on his third heart after two prior transplants.
Here’s to Compton’s first trip to Augusta starting his own tradition for years to come.
Vine of the Week:
https://vine.co/v/eB6Q5dvMKEJ
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Photo Credit: AP Photo/Charlie Riedel
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I personally don’t agree with going to replay monitors”at a critical point” in the game because ,quite frankly, who’s to determine which moments are ‘critical’? When a game like Wisconsin-Kentucky, that’s close the entire 40 minutes, aren’t calls in the first half just as important? I know that points, either erroneously given or denied in the first half because of ‘missed’ calls matter just as much in the final score. One of the TV game announcers, a former Coach himself (I think it was Digger Phelps), when his partner brought up the value of instant replays for officials said (somewhat… Read more »