Butler Officiating

[jesmu84]

Agree.  A foul in minute 10 should be the same as a foul in the last minute.

I don't know if you heard, but there is a great book called Scorecasting that gets into why this happens.      It really does.  Excellent analysis on why officials do what they do.

Once my time isn't being taken up by Current or Harrison's (or one of the other 900 books the PA program "suggests"), I'll get on it.

[4everwarriors]

While y'all are in the readin' mode, pick up a copy of Grain Brain. It's life changin'.

[Lennys Tap]

So the idea that a team is "lucky" at the end of a game to win it or that a late turnover consists of "peeing down one's leg" has been totally debunked by Chicos. Davidson and Marquette were both lucky and unlucky at various moments of a 40 minute game in which the last minute was no more significant than than the other 39 and Davidson's late turnover was just another turnover (no bigger or smaller than previous ones by both teams). Thanks for putting the idea that luck at the end or that even the points scored at the end win or lose the game, Chicos, but I guess you read this book recently - after mistakingly calling our win against Davidson "lucky" over and over again for months.

[MU82]

Damn Jim Burr!

Why did he force us to miss 20 of 24 three-pointers?

[ChicosBailBonds]

So the idea that a team is "lucky" at the end of a game to win it or that a late turnover consists of "peeing down one's leg" has been totally debunked by Chicos. Davidson and Marquette were both lucky and unlucky at various moments of a 40 minute game in which the last minute was no more significant than than the other 39 and Davidson's late turnover was just another turnover (no bigger or smaller than previous ones by both teams). Thanks for putting the idea that luck at the end or that even the points scored at the end win or lose the game, Chicos, but I guess you read this book recently - after mistakingly calling our win against Davidson "lucky" over and over again for months.

There is a chapter, maybe two, on luck...the true definition of it, etc....in the book.  You should get it.  Read it.  Get back to me.

Was Miami lucky to beat MU in 1978?  Was MU lucky to beat Davidson last year?  Drop $10 on the book, I'd suggest the Kindle version.  Let me know your thoughts.

[ChicosBailBonds]

While y'all are in the readin' mode, pick up a copy of Grain Brain. It's life changin'.

I bought it, haven't started it yet.  Too much beer sitting in the garage that I have to consume first.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

so CBB's new gig is literary agent for the two cats that wrote this book, a'ina?

[Lennys Tap]

There is a chapter, maybe two, on luck...the true definition of it, etc....in the book.  You should get it.  Read it.  Get back to me.

Was Miami lucky to beat MU in 1978?  Was MU lucky to beat Davidson last year?  Drop $10 on the book, I'd suggest the Kindle version.  Let me know your thoughts.

I will try to read the book, but it seems to me that if a blown call at the end of a game is the same as a blown call the first minute of the game then the same is true for a turnover or a made or missed shot. If Marquette is a 33% 3 point shooting team and make 4 of 15 in a game you can't call them lucky, even if the distribution is 1-11 and then 3-3. If anything, we were slightly unlucky (27%) shooting 3s for the game, and as you have pointed out, the ones we made at the end don't count any more than the ones we missed earlier. Same with Davidson's turnover in the final minute. If they had thrown the ball away a lot more than usual during the game you could say we were lucky- but they didn't. Conclusion - looking at the game in its entirety (not putting undue importance on the final minute) - we were not lucky. Agree?

[4everwarriors]

I bought it, haven't started it yet.  Too much beer sitting in the garage that I have to consume first.

Nothin' worse than warm beer.

[forgetful]

Quite to the contrary.  I'm a firm believer AGAINST that kind of thinking.  When people say it's come up tails ten times the the next time the odds are it will come up heads...they're just wrong. The odds are still 50-50.  

My problem with what you are saying is that when you say "at that point all that matters is the current play/call...it does decide the game" then you are willingly ignoring everything else in the game.  You're essentially saying that nothing else mattered.  Why even play the first 38 minutes of the game then, if ONLY that call matters?  You are sequencing is really all you're doing.  You are giving it more importance because time is coming to an end, but that doesn't mean you get to ignore everything else...yet that's what fans do.

This is the trap that so many people fall into.  They put it all on the last play, the last interception, the last touchdown, the last call as if the rest of the plays, calls, etc are of no consequence and should just be ignored.

Think about it.

You play the other 38 minutes to hopefully put yourself in a position where you have the best possible chance to win.  Worst case scenario is that after 39.5 minutes of play you are in a position to win the game.

Thus a tie game with 30 seconds left achieves that result, whether it was conducted in the most efficient manner is irrelevant at that point.  That is why crunch time is so important, everyone has to be at their best when the pressure is on. 

At that point a blown call destroys all the effort to get to that point, where you have a chance to win and does decide the outcome of the game.  All the other bad plays are irrelevant, they were sufficient to put yourself in a position to have a chance at victory.  A bad call steals away that chance and places the game in the hands of a bad official instead of the players. 

A tie game at the end reflects both teams regardless of initial preconceptions battled to a perfect tie, whether due to sometimes poor performances/bad calls/unbelievable play by an underdog doesn't matter.  At that point in the game the refs need to be perfect (not possible but they should try), a bad call does decide the outcome regardless of what your statistics may represent. 

To bring it back to the coin toss argument.  If you be a guy that out of 101 times there will be more tails than heads, it doesn't matter how you get there, but if after 100 times it is 50:50 the last call (flip) is all that matters.  A bad call by a ref is akin to the guy swapping in a double headed coin for the last flip, it takes away your chance at a victory.  Thus, it decides the outcome.

[bilsu]

Don't be alarmed if you think I'm blaming this one on the officials because I most certainly am not. We played like crap offensively in the second half and OT. Very disappointing.

I was listening to the radio feed and McIlvaine seemed pretty adamant about us not getting calls for elbows getting hit on three point shots and questionable defense on Jake. Just wondering if those of you who saw the game on cable thought since you actually saw it.

Marquette not getting calls on the road (or at home for that matter) is nothing new so it isn't an excuse for this team.

The thing about Burr's crew is that seem to let him make almost every call. I also think he is biased. At first I thought he favored the home team, but I think he either likes your team or does not. Last year I felt that he actually liked MU. This year he does not like MU and in particular Gardner. In fact refs as a whole are tired of Gardner, because he complains to much about being fouled.