Official on Michigan's sideline might have been in Ohio officials HOF

Submitted by Magnus on

Jim Harbaugh said in his postgame comments that the referee on Michigan's sideline told him that he officiates basketball, too, and Harbaugh's antics would have been a technical in basketball. Here's an interesting tweet about who that official could potentially be:

 
If it is indeed that guy, he was elected to the Ohio High School Athletic Association Officials Hall of Fame earlier this year for his work in both football and basketball. He's a native of Cincinnati, and the ceremony for the HOF was held in . . . Columbus.
 
 
I can't help thinking this is a bit of a conflict of interest.

Avon Barksdale

November 27th, 2016 at 6:05 AM ^

We got screwed and the Big Ten allowed it to happen. It is what it is. Flood their phone lines and email accounts to ensure it doesn't happen again. It's really that simple.

Jinxed

November 27th, 2016 at 6:08 AM ^

This conference is set up to have Ohio State win the whole thing as often as possible, going as far down as the officiating. 

Yesterday's game reminds me of the 2014 OSU vs Penn State game. That game ended in a 2OT victory for OSU too and featured inexplicably horrible calls going the way of OSU. Penn State complained and it was so bad even the head ref had a press conference but ultimately nothing happened and the officiating is as bad now as it was then. 

 

http://www.sbnation.com/2014/10/25/7071291/ohio-state-interception-gif-penn-state

 

As I've said before I'm done with college football until either the refereeing improves substantially or we leave the B1G(which, I'm not delusional, there's not even a .00000000001% chance of that).

CoverZero

November 27th, 2016 at 6:27 AM ^

There was this kid I grew up with; he was younger than me. Sorta looked up to me, you know. We played Pop Warner football together, often out on the street. Our teams were good, we made the most of it.

During the 80s he threw the football all over Columbus... won a Big Ten Championship, his father, too. As much as anyone, I loved him and trusted him. Later on he had an idea to build up our program once again after spending time coaching on the West Coast. That kid's name is Jim Harbaugh, and the program he built up is the Michigan Wolverines.

This is a great man, a man of vision and guts. And there isn't even a plaque, or a signpost or a statue of him in Schembechler Hall.

Some officals blew some calls that lost the game vs. Ohio. No one knows who missed the call on Fourth and 1. When I saw it not get overturned and the press conference afterwards, I wasn't angry; I knew Jim, I knew he was head-strong, talking loud, saying those things.

So when he was screwed by the Big Ten officials, I let it go. And I said to myself, this is the business we've chosen; I didn't ask who blew the penalties, because it was strictly business, not personal.

In other words:  THE REFS ARE SIMPLY FUCKING HACKS WHO ARE TERRIBLE AT DOING THEIR JOBS AND SHOULD BE FIRED ON THAT BASIS ALONE.

mgoblue59

November 27th, 2016 at 7:11 AM ^

Reflecting on “The Game”                                                                                         11/26/2106

     I always root for the Ohio State Buckeyes except for one game a year. And today just happens to be that day. Today the 11-1 Wolverines travel to Columbus to face the 11-1 Buckeyes. The two teams first met in 1897 and in the 111 years that they have met, UM leads series 58-48-6. However, since 1951 (the arrival of Woody Hayes), Ohio State leads the series, 36-27-2. The Buckeyes have won thirteen of the last fifteen games in the series. Ohio State has won 13 out of the last 15 games, but we now enter the Harbaugh era and as a diehard Maize and Blue fan and former player, we look for that ratio to change drastically.

     Trust me when I say that this day always comes with a great deal of reflection and retrospect. I love my home state of Ohio. My family, my friends, and most of my teammates are Buckeyes, and I am grateful to those proud and strong roots. As a highly-touted recruit out of Lemon-Monroe High School, a rural school in Monroe, Ohio, I had the honor of spending Super Bowl Sunday in 1971 with great “Woody” Hayes and his wife, Anne. My parents and I were alone in that honor and I will never forget the grace and passion that magnanimous couple had as Anne prepared dinner and we watched the Baltimore Colts defeat the Dallas Cowboys, 16-13, on a Jim O’Brien, game-ending field goal. To this day, I could not tell you if this was an annual tradition of the Hayes' or not, all I know is that I will never forget that experience.

     Woody was special, and I believe in my heart that had he not been required to resign there is no telling how many years he would have remained at the helm. I know that he would have lived substantially longer had he been able to continue coaching and there is no doubt that it would have been in Columbus.

     On my official recruiting trip to "The" Ohio State University, I was one of the many who fell victim to the smooth chugging Boones Farm Apple Wine. As the snow began to fall, coeds were pouring out of the dorms and littering the ever-slickening compacted snow of the rolling sidewalks that comprise the central portions of the campus. Desiring to join in the fun I had a brilliant idea that it would be possible, with the assistance of Mr. Boone's elixir, of course, to turn in mid-slide and continue down the cool slope backward. But gravity and the forces of nature prevailed and upon turning I went mouth first into the compacted pathway. As instantly as I hit the ground out went my right lateral tooth never to be heard from again unless, of course, some future CSI undergrad happened to stumble upon it in the Spring thaw. I joined the minions who made their way that night to the emergency room attention and was happy to find out that my medical expenses were covered by the Athletic Department. The next morning an embarrassed, groggy, blue chipper, made his way to the office of "The" Woody Hayes, and I smiled toothlessly at Coach Hayes, as Woody expounded the virtues of his great institution. Needless to say, the farmer Boone did not come to my defense when he made reference to my swollen lip. I wonder to this day if cash for such incidents is part of Athletic Departments fundraising efforts.

     The question is, “Why does an impressionable 18-year-old choose to play for that team up north?” The answer may surprise and confound, but a guy NFL great named Dick Butkus is partly to blame. In high school, I was All-State Offensive Tackle as most would agree that there was always something about me that was offensive, but I preferred defense and I wanted nothing more than to be like Dick. Agile-Mobile-and Hostile. Michigan was the ONLY school who promised that I would play Middle Linebacker. Now, there may have been a few other factors that influenced my decision like a modest $15 traffic ticket for possession marijuana, the legal drinking age being 18, the Big House with its 106,000 cheering faithful, the ability for freshmen to have a vehicle on campus, the fact I did not have to change school colors, and an absolutely peach of a recruiter named Coach Chuck Stobart. By the way, did I mention the $15 ticket for pot?

     I made a well-informed, level-headed decision that I will never regret. The four great teams, 1971-1974, managed to garner the best record in all of college football, 40-3-1. We were Big Ten Champions all four of those years, and I was blessed and honored to represent the University of Michigan in the East-West Shrine and the Hula Bowl All-Star Games. Hard to believe that the great class of 1974 never made it to a bowl game. It is memories like these that inspire me to honor those coaches and men who dedicated themselves to making “The Game.” one of the great traditions in college athletics. GO BLUE beat Ohio.

                                    Steve Strinko - 1974 MVP

M-Dog

November 27th, 2016 at 5:35 PM ^

Holy shit, this is the best thing I ever read.

Yes, please post more.  You have a unique and compelling perspective to add to the rest of our typical ignorant rants and middle school humor.

rob f

November 27th, 2016 at 7:25 AM ^

several times and Sagers was 18 yards away when Darboh made that catch in 2014, then came running in to overrule the ref who had the best view of the play.

If the B1G had any kind of effective grading system or disciplinary system, incompetent refs would be dropped and replaced by others who (hopefully) would be better.

With all the $$$ this conference makes, how the hell does this kind of bullshit not get cleaned up!

Brandon_L

November 27th, 2016 at 6:59 AM ^

It's Bobby Sagers who is from Ohio and was the ref who made the spot call. Bobby Sagers was game MVP. He also was the ref who told Harbaugh he was a Basketball ref and threw the flag on Harbaugh when he threw his headset.




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In reply to by Joseph_P_Freshwater

NRK

November 27th, 2016 at 9:37 AM ^

They were just suspended. But yes, there's a few links out there:

Tiller would not discuss specific calls on Wednesday, but the Indianapolis Star reported that his staff zeroed in on two calls: A holding penalty that nullified a 67-yard run by the Boilermakers' Joey Harris and an interference call against Purdue's Stuart Schweigert on what was thought to be an uncatchable pass. The last call was on the Demon Deacons' game-winning drive.

 

A seven-man crew worked the game, and four of those officials are listed on the Big Ten's officiating staff. They are referee Daniel Capron, linesman Steve Beckman, back judge Scott Buchanan and side judge Don Swanson.

 

A uncatchable pass interefernce call on a key drive? Sounds vaguely familiar. 

LA Time article

Although totally unrelated I found this quote from Capron also ironic:

“It saved my career,” said senior Big Ten referee Dan Capron. “Before instant replay was around, if you made a mistake during the game, it was a mistake forever."

Thanks.

BTN Article

For the record he went to Illinois undergrad and Indiana for Law School.

It is what it is. Yes, I hope they receive some sort of administrstive review for this, but there were plenty of opportunities for Michigan to put this game away despite the poor officiating. 

 

Njia

November 27th, 2016 at 7:18 AM ^

I love Harbaugh, but the tirades on the sideline work against us; it was the same with Bo. We just aren't going to get the calls going our way - and most refs, while probably decent human beings - are just not going to go out of our way for us; and a few are unquestionably biased against Michigan.

Bottom line: we will never win a game if the outcome depends on officiating; certainly not in Columbus.

Pierre Despereaux

November 27th, 2016 at 7:29 AM ^

Agreed, but there is a difference between going out of your way for a team and doing your fucking job.

Michigan did not get one 50/50 call their way and I can kind of live with that. But those refs swallowed their whistles on some of the most obvious calls I've ever seen and that is not okay.

Those refs were paid to officiate the game based on the rules of football and they simply did not do that, plain and simple. If they can't do their jobs even somewhat correctly, they should no longer have them.

Njia

November 27th, 2016 at 7:49 AM ^

I totally agree. But how is this different than any other time in almost FIFTY fucking years? The only way we will ever win in Columbus (and ever have) is by playing a damn-near perfect game where the officiating doesn't affect the ultimate outcome. We had three turnovers yesterday, including one at the goal line when we were going into score - plus a running into the kicker penalty, which is like a fourth.

There is NOTHING we can do to control the officiating. Should we be pissed off that it was so bad? Of course. But by giving the ball back four times, we created the conditions under which bad calls and no-calls decided the game. It should never have come to that.

UMForLife

November 27th, 2016 at 8:10 AM ^

Sorry. I expect integrity. I will not be allowed to sign a contract if I have a bias with someone in the other business. There is something called declaring conflict of interest. That ref is a douche, B1G is not a good business and Delaney is inept. This kind of conflict should not happen in a game played by kids. Forget my middle aged fandom. The kids that play the game deserve better. I am outraged that nobody wants to do something about it. I believe in Harbaugh. He is a miracle worker and he thinks differently. I will not be surprised if he goes after B1G and have them change the model of picking and training refs. It is for the good of the game. We will pay the price also someday, but I don't want to win a game when we didn't deserve it. We somehow have to not play above all of that is too much to ask of those kids.

Njia

November 27th, 2016 at 8:22 AM ^

But if we choose not to be Norte Dame, we get Delaney and shitty, biased officiating. That's why I stopped watching Michigan football years ago (except when I go to a game). The bullshit calls and no-calls were too much to take; I just can't enjoy a game with refs like these.

So, be as pissed off as you like. But don't expect anything to ever change.

1VaBlue1

November 27th, 2016 at 8:29 AM ^

Sidelines tirades work against M, and it was that way even for Bo...  Because Woody was such a gentleman on his sideline, right?

Its not sideline tirades, its people growing up in Ohio, as OSU fans, being allowed to call the game.  I'm sure there are refs who grew up in Michigan, and are tilted towards UM, but we don't seem to get them officiating our games...

Pierre Despereaux

November 27th, 2016 at 7:24 AM ^

This pisses me off beyond belief. 

I hate being THAT guy, but at some point it becomes too much to take. When is the last time Michigan has gotten a majority of the calls? Sure, we get the missed call here and there, but every team gets that. The fact that those refs were going to be perfectly content calling one penalty for one yard on OSU (before the obvious false start) is just sickening.

The amount of holding that OSU got away with, both on offense AND defense is just unreal. And that call on Harbaugh for throwing his headset may be the worst penalty I've ever seen. Check that, the play where Darboh was tackled before the ball even got to him was the worst non-penalty I've ever seen.

The refs decided that game for OSU and in the process robbed Michigan of a shot at the Big Ten title and CFP and I am beyond pissed about it.

160 IQ

November 27th, 2016 at 7:49 AM ^

It's time to bring in SEC refs for the game.  There are way too many refs who are in it for the power trip.  These guys have little man's disease.  B10 needs to apologize to M.

Michigan4Harbaugh

November 27th, 2016 at 7:46 AM ^

Big Ten HQ phone number...847-696-1010. I believe another poster had posted Sagers email address in a different thread. Michigan getting screwed needs to stop.

Jevablue

November 27th, 2016 at 7:55 AM ^

Remember 2011, Fitz goes in for an apparent touchdown against those pricks?. They review the play for about 10 fucking minutes and then reverse it without one single clear view of it.  They did it on their own hunch.  Later on I believe the Mathlete (sp) may have modeled thi situation and concluded that he may have been an angstrom short or something.  Something that was impossible to conclude was sufficient to overule the sacred call on the on the field.

SO WHEN THE CALL COULD GO AGAINST MICHIGAN, SCOUR THE EARTH, LEAVE NO STONE UNTURNED UNTIL YOU HAVE FUCKED THEM.  Otherwise, do whatever the fuck you want.

As, I have stated often, the Big Ten can fuck itself and die in a fire.  And their WWF product is a piece of rigged motherfucking garbage.

SouthOfHeaven

November 27th, 2016 at 8:17 AM ^

I was pleading for them to send those refs back to Vince McMahon, get a refund, and bring the real ones out. Unfortunately, I was several hundred miles away and the only result of my requests was that the dog didn't get any sleep. 

Luckily for her, she had the whole afternoon to chill. I had better things to do than consume more of Delaney's piss-poor product. 

The Baughz

November 27th, 2016 at 8:40 AM ^

I used to work with a guy who is a former high school football referee in the state of Ohio. He is also a hardcore but reasonable OSU fan. I had sent him a text asking if he knew anything about this ref supposedly being from Ohio and Hall of Famer. Got a response early this morning saying he is absolutely from Ohio and that he officiated some of his sons basketball ball games a while back. He was not sure about football, but said he couldn't believe this guy was allowed to ref a game like this. Unreal.




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bacon

November 27th, 2016 at 9:10 AM ^

The big ten should be held accountable for the refereeing in this game. Total screw job. The media is saying that Harbaugh shouldn't blame it on the refs and that we should look internally. How can you see it anyway other than a screw job when they game them a first down spot when the runner was clearly short on a 4th down in double overtime. That's game over. Whether it's incompetence or bias or whatever, this is not okay. The big ten needs to address this now or Michigan should be looking for another conference ASAP.

BlueRock83

November 27th, 2016 at 9:25 AM ^

Camera angles
How is it that there were not more camera angles of this play looking straight down the line to gain? There was a time stop before the play, and they even had the "sky cam" for this game so getting cameras in position should not have been a problem. For this being The Game with 2 vs 3 you'd think there would be more camera angles to view. I see more angles routinely in NFL games, and even in most B1G games. I noticed much better camera work for the Wisc v Minn game on the Big Ten Network yesterday.

Clarence Beeks

November 27th, 2016 at 9:28 AM ^

The sky cam view is the most infuriating. It was THE BEST view of it and they never showed it live during the game. They showed it after the game and it's the most definitive view of the play and it's clear that he didn't make it from that view. I would not hesitate in betting that ESPN didn't release that view to to the officials during the replay.




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ole luther

November 27th, 2016 at 10:40 AM ^

The world series this year used over 80 cameras during the games. Major League Baseball uses a replay system that seems to be working very well. The Big 10 certainly could afford a similar or exact same system.  

80 cameras aren't needed. only 11 cameras are needed, each connected to its own monitor.  22 guys on the field = 11 positions to watch. One guy in a solitary room with one monitor watching only one position each play.  11 postions - 11 rooms - 11 persons each watching independently.

 Noone else in room and no other monitors but the one position (wide receiver, guards, tackles, qtrback, etc). Officials on field still call the game. Network still uses whatever godawful cameras they wish to (and, btw, I love staring at all of the players asses before each and every snap) (sarcasm), and if holding is seen on monitor but not called on field, the officials are notified on the field and a penalty is called.  Same with pass interference, hands to face, blocks in back, targeting, etc.

Of course, it still comes down to the person in the room watching the monitor being good at their job, fair to the sport and as unbiased as possible.

Is it really that simple or am I being ludicrous?