tweeterhawk
Well-Known Member
Included in the links Jon Miller provides elsewhere today is a column by his friend Rob Howe entitled Howe: McCaffery Management. In it, Howe repeatedly suggests that the reason the BoneG suspended Fran McCaffery following Sunday's outburst at Wisconsin was to protect its own image: "The Big Ten is stepping in here hoping the admonition defends its character and prevents further storms from McCaffery. If it doesn't, the league looks even more justified in its action to suspend him now."
If that's the case, and I believe Rob to be correct in his assessment, then I submit the conference has a deeply sullied reputation when it comes to the officiating of its basketball games. It is well recognized by fans around BoneG country that the conference protects a handful of its prima donna coaches, namely Bo Ryan, Tom Izzo and Thad Matta. Add in an occasional dose of Tom Crean but those three appear to be the chosen children, the preferred ones, the more equals among equals.
Ryan, Izzo and to a slightly lesser degree Matta are allowed to work the officials much harder than other coaches in the conference with impunity, often with results favorable to their teams to the detriment of opponents. That includes emotional outbursts, running onto the floor to argue calls, wild gyrations when calls are or are not made. And yet rarely are those three coaches given a technical foul, much less a second technical and ejection.
Did Fran deserve a first technical Sunday night? Absolutely. As he said, he wanted it to express unhappiness with the way the game was being officiated and to motivate his team. When he continued to berate the officials and move towards one specific official, he deserved the second "T" and the ejection. I fully supported Fran going ballistic seeing the lopsided way the second half was being called in Madison. The only problem I had was him moving menacingly towards the officials, not once but twice, even as he was being restrained by his staff and after he was ejected and before he left the floor.
Had he simply said a few more words but stopped, then turned and walked away, he likely would not have gotten the suspension.
If indeed the conference is interested in protecting whatever "integrity" it thinks it has (and I submit it has very little), it has set the bar for the remainder of the season. Today it has a chance to prove whether it is actually serious, or whether Fran McCaffery is simply an easy whipping boy.
If the BoneG is truly interested in preserving its "reputation," Jim Delany will today order a review and appropriate punishment for its most favored son, Tom Izzo, for his behavior rushing onto the floor, wildly gesticulating and loudly berating the officials in last night's game against Ohio State. Not only did Izzo's actions very visually and publicly demean the officials, but he did so verbally as well at halftime. Supposedly there are rules against that.
Izzo just being Izzo? Or Izzo once again being protected by his good friend in the commissioner's office?
Jim Delany, the ball's in your court.
If that's the case, and I believe Rob to be correct in his assessment, then I submit the conference has a deeply sullied reputation when it comes to the officiating of its basketball games. It is well recognized by fans around BoneG country that the conference protects a handful of its prima donna coaches, namely Bo Ryan, Tom Izzo and Thad Matta. Add in an occasional dose of Tom Crean but those three appear to be the chosen children, the preferred ones, the more equals among equals.
Ryan, Izzo and to a slightly lesser degree Matta are allowed to work the officials much harder than other coaches in the conference with impunity, often with results favorable to their teams to the detriment of opponents. That includes emotional outbursts, running onto the floor to argue calls, wild gyrations when calls are or are not made. And yet rarely are those three coaches given a technical foul, much less a second technical and ejection.
Did Fran deserve a first technical Sunday night? Absolutely. As he said, he wanted it to express unhappiness with the way the game was being officiated and to motivate his team. When he continued to berate the officials and move towards one specific official, he deserved the second "T" and the ejection. I fully supported Fran going ballistic seeing the lopsided way the second half was being called in Madison. The only problem I had was him moving menacingly towards the officials, not once but twice, even as he was being restrained by his staff and after he was ejected and before he left the floor.
Had he simply said a few more words but stopped, then turned and walked away, he likely would not have gotten the suspension.
If indeed the conference is interested in protecting whatever "integrity" it thinks it has (and I submit it has very little), it has set the bar for the remainder of the season. Today it has a chance to prove whether it is actually serious, or whether Fran McCaffery is simply an easy whipping boy.
If the BoneG is truly interested in preserving its "reputation," Jim Delany will today order a review and appropriate punishment for its most favored son, Tom Izzo, for his behavior rushing onto the floor, wildly gesticulating and loudly berating the officials in last night's game against Ohio State. Not only did Izzo's actions very visually and publicly demean the officials, but he did so verbally as well at halftime. Supposedly there are rules against that.
Izzo just being Izzo? Or Izzo once again being protected by his good friend in the commissioner's office?
Jim Delany, the ball's in your court.
