They stopped officiating this basketball game

It actually started running 0. Since there had only been 1. How could a game end without a buzzer? How could an athlete be asked to interpret what a clock should say rather than what it actually says? Imagine if Tom Brady got called for delay of game in the Super Bowl while the play clock was at two seconds, all because officials determined the timekeeper had started that clock three seconds late?

Forget that it was silly for Roy Williams to ask for a timeout with 1. Instead, think of it like this: If Britt released a game-winning buzzer beater with 0.

Apparently two wrongs can make a right. The second-round game between Butler and Pittsburgh was an all-timer , with the Bulldogs scoring the upset of top-seeded Pitt in one of the wildest finishes in NCAA tournament history. As the final three seconds ticked off the clock, Pittsburgh sprinted down the sideline to get in position for a buzzer-beater attempt.

There was contact, but far worse has gone uncalled late in big games. Pitt made the first free throw to tie the game but missed the second. Overtime was imminent. Howard calmly made the free throws on the other end and Butler pulled the upset. While both fouls were controversial, the fact that the refs were consistent in their late-game whistles weirdly absolved them from too much criticism.

They were 94 feet from the basket with 0. Literally any other decision sends the game to overtime. Robinson could have rolled out a red carpet. He could have read Howard a book of poetry. They could have harmonized to the Butler fight song. Anything but foul. He said he was going for an over-the-back tip-in of the missed free throw but that still involves, you know, going over the back.

But good for the refs, for once. One day after the Pitt-Butler mess, another set of refs waded into controversy. He probably was, but it was an acceptable no-call that was especially delicious because it went against the very edict the NCAA had declared earlier in the day. The real controversy had come a few seconds earlier, when Texas was assessed a five-second violation while up two points with There are three on-court officials assigned to each NBA game.

Each official has a different title and set of responsibilities. These three are referred to as the crew chief, referee, and umpire. The crew chief is the head of the entire officiating crew. Duties include making a final ruling when other officials disagree and maintaining a strong line of communication with coaches, scorers and statisticians. Officials that occupy the referee position primarily handle conduct violations. While referees are well-equipped to call contact fouls and illegal positioning, they are mostly relied upon to settle disputes and hand out technical fouls if a player or coach loses control of their emotions and behaves poorly.

Umpires handle the clock making sure the timer knows when to pause and restart the game clock due to a stoppage in play and basic foul calls. For example, the umpire will likely be the official to hand down a ruling when a defensive player makes contact with an opposing shooter.

Another type of official that is rarely seen on-screen is the replay center official. When a close plays occurs and the on-court officials cannot confidently make a ruling in real-time, they often turn to the replay official. The replay official is generally not on-site and has access to several television screens that show the play in slow-motion from a number of different angles. Watching the play unfold frame by frame with a careful eye ultimately allows the replay official to reach the correct verdict, which is relayed to the on-court officials through a headset.

Replays are usually needed when the ball goes out of bounds and officials are unsure of which team touched it last determines which team gets possession of the ball. As for the Bengals, they now punch their ticket to the playoffs for the first time since They are the No.

By Devon Clements. Updated Jan 3, at am. I allow Heavy. Disagree Agree. Notify of. Inline Feedbacks. More Heavy on Chiefs. Loading more stories. Would love your thoughts, please comment.

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