Chief Justice John Roberts should have been a sportswriter. A great legal mind such as his might find the work boring, but he clearly has the writing skills to make it in that business. He crafted a 138-page opinion centered around the government’s argument about healthcare as a tax. Amazingly, that argument received only about a minute during oral arguments.
Sportswriters do this all the time, using seconds of soundbites or video clips to draw conclusions and extrapolate grand theories about human interaction. Consider the hubbub over Spurs coach Greg Popovich’s “I need a little more nasty” soundbite: the media took 5 seconds of sound and proclaimed Popvich the best coach around, and I guarantee the total pages spent exceeded 138.
To honor the controversial decision of the Court last week, I will guide you through the top 5 calls in sports that were upheld, despite large opinions to the contrary.
5. Tony Tarasco Fan Interference
This might be one of the worst calls in baseball’s history. In Game 1 of the 1996 AL Championship Series, the Baltimore Orioles led the Yankees 4-3 in the bottom of the eighth. Derek Jeter stepped into the batter’s box, and hit a fly ball to right field. As right fielder Tony Tarasco tracked back to the wall, he appeared to catch the ball before a fan reached over and caught the ball inside the fence, right over Tarasco’s glove. Right field umpire Richie Garcia ruled the ball a home run, despite the livid arguments of the Orioles players and coaches.
While Garcia may have been on the run, he appears close enough to see how far the 12-year old fan reached over the wall for the ball. While umpires need not use this logic, it makes no sense for a right fielder to grow that frustrated about a home run. Garcia did not give the Orioles any benefit of a doubt, and while some may argue he shouldn’t have, he made an awful ruling.
For posterity, the Tony Tarasco play led to a Yankees extra inning victory and a five game series win for New York, who went on to win the World Series, their first in a string of championship seasons during the late 90s. For the Orioles, they reached the 1997 ALCS, only to lose to the Indians. Since then, Baltimore has barely sniffed the playoffs. The controversy surrounding the fan interference in right field always bothered O’s fans, who believed the series ended that night for all intents and purposes. This has to be the worst on-field call you will see in baseball, and all the instant replay advocates cringe on seeing the video.
4. Maradonna’s Hand of God
In the 1986 quarterfinals of the World Cup, Argentina met England, only four years removed from the Falklands War between both countries. In the 51st minute, the ball pinballed in the English penalty area, making its way towards the English goalie Peter Shilton. Argentine great Diego Maradonna, however, ran towards the ball and reached it first, directing it into the goal behind Shilton and giving Argentina a 1-0 lead.
Replays afterwards showed he used his hand to direct the ball, meaning the goal should not have been allowed. The Tunisian referee, however, did not see the infraction and the goal stood.
This play might be higher on my list if not for the Goal of the Century that followed it five minutes later. The game ended 2-1 for Argentina and England played from two goals down for much of the second half. Maradonna’s brilliance created the victory despite his violation, but the call still stands the test of time as one of the worst in soccer.
3. 1972 Olympics Gold Medal Match
If I can explain this accurately I’ll need a medal.
With three seconds left, Doug Collins made free throws that gave the U.S. a 50-49 lead. However, the horn from the scorer’s table sounded just as Collins shot the second free throw. While the lead referee did not pay too much attention to it, the Soviet coaches charged out immediately after the shot while the clock rolled to state they had called a timeout between foul shots to prepare for the live ball situation after the second free throw. The referees claimed no timeout reached their ears and stopped play amidst total confusion with one second left on the clock, but in the end awarded no official timeout and reset the clock to three seconds. While that was the proper decision, the Soviets gained an unofficial timeout after the delay.
With another inbounds play begun, the Soviets seemed to miss the pass as the horn signaled the end of the game. While Americans celebrated, the referees went right back to the scorer’s table. Three seconds had not been placed back on the clock, but the lead referee began play prematurely with 50 seconds on the clock. Somehow, the German scorers were unable to correct their error in time and sounded the horn to stop play from progressing. Police cleared the court of fans and the Soviets lined up for one more inbounds pass, which they converted to win the game 51-50.
While there may not be one upheld call in this sequence of events, an appeal by the U.S. was rejected, some say on the basis of Cold War politics. The language barrier between the Russian coaches and German scorers contributed to the problem, but three times was the charm for the Soviets as they won gold, bringing the Americans their first defeat since the Olympics began basketball in 1936. In today’s basketball world, officials would never have restarted the game with an egregious clock error like the one in Munich. But rather than check the clock, officials started the game, creating the controversy.
The U.S. team still have not accepted their silver medals. While the USOC periodically checks with team members to make sure they don’t want the medals, some players have gone far enough to mandate in their will that wives or other proxies can never accept the medals. While the U.S still dominates men’s Olympic basketball, the occurrences at Munich still reverberate every time an Olympic official gives a questionable ruling. Ultimately, however, I think the referees made the proper calls and procedures given what happened. The German scorers created many of the problems and I can imagine in the NBA referees would follow the same steps as officials did then.
2. Tuck Rule Game
I know Boston fans read this blog and would rather not be reminded of one of the worst rulings in sports history. To be clear, it’s not that the Patriots got away with one here, but that the rule used by the referees on the field might be the worst NFL rule ever.
In the 2001 AFC Divisional Playoffs, the Patriots and Raiders played in an idyllic setting of snowy Foxboro. The Raiders perennially competed during those days while the Patriots, under longtime backup Tom Brady, still had yet to find an identity. As Brady dropped back with less than two minutes to go, trailing 13-10, he was hit from behind and appeared to fumble the ball. Upon further review, officials on the field ruled an incomplete pass. The Tuck Rule they cited states an incomplete pass results when a player’s arm moves forward in the act of throwing, even if the player loses possession as he attempts to tuck the ball back towards his body.
This is the worst rule in sports. A quarterback can pump fake all he wants and never worry about fumbling unless the ball is knocked out when the arm is not moving forward. For the particular play, it appears to me Brady puts two hands on the ball at the time of impact, meaning the ball was not moving forward and he fumbled. Officials on the field disagreed and the Patriots went on to win the game 16-13 in overtime and won their first Super Bowl that year.
Arguably, the Pats dynasty started here with a close escape at home, aided by a controversial ruling. I think it simplistic to make such an assertion, but the Patriots dominated the decade after this play and the “what if?” game truly excites the sensibilities. Would Oakland have made the Super Bowl? Would a Super Bowl win that year have reinvigorated the Oakland franchise which current fans liken to a model of inefficiency? Possibly, but Oakland did make the Super Bowl two years later only to lose before plunging into the depths of mediocrity and worse.
1. Brett Hull’s Cup-winning goal
In the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals, Brett Hull of the Dallas Stars stashed home a rebound in triple overtime past Dominik Hasek of the Buffalo Sabres, clinching the series win for the Dallas Stars.
Subsequent replays showed Hull’s skate being inside the crease while the puck remained outside the blue area, a violation based on the rules of the day. While the NHL clarified that Hull had control of the puck in the crease prior to moving it outside (making his goal legal), Buffalo players and fans maintained he did not have control and that the puck pinballed to Hull’s stick. Hull’s contention was he kicked the puck to his stick.
Looking at the video, it does look like Hull kicked the puck to his stick, implying control (not possession) of the puck inside the crease. All signs point to the goal being allowed by the latter of the law, but I bet if the NHL had the review capabilities it has now, the goal would have been disallowed.
This reaches my Number One only because it’s the only call that directly translated to a championship. The Stars won their first and only Stanley Cup while the Sabres continued their championship futility to today. It might not be the most glamorous call in the most glamorous sport, but can you imagine losing a championship to a controversial goal like that? Truly heartbreaking.
Bit #1: Baseball needs to change All-Star voting
On Sunday, baseball announced the started for their All-Star Game, the only such game with any true meaning for the sport. The winning side of the game can boast home field advantage in the World Series for that league’s representative. It’s a great model for making the game worthwhile but might not be directly applicable to the sports with more contact because of injury concerns.
Yet baseball continues to place itself at the feet of fans for voting starters, often at the expense of very deserving players. David Wright, batting .354 with nine homers and 50 RBI, will not start the game in favor of Pablo Sandoval, a deserving player certainly, but not a starter with a .300 average, six homers, and only 25 RBI. Stuffing the ballot box makes San Francisco fans look great, but David Wright deserves a starting spot on this team.
It’s ridiculous to claim the All-Star Game actually means something for the postseason and then use the whims of biased fans to decide who starts the game. Fans might not decide the majority of the roster but everyone focuses on the starters, who play more innings than the reserves. If fans want to decide the rosters and then managers or players decide the starting lineup, that makes more sense befitting the increased significance of the game.
Bit #2: Dwight Howard…again
I am so tired of Dwight Howard. The gifted Magic center made another trade demand this week, claiming the Magic “blackmailed” him into signing an opt-in clause for one more year back in March. While blackmail is likely an exaggeration of what actually happened on the part of the Magic, Howard continues to act with no central direction. He can’t decide whether to be selfish or committed to the team. As I’ve said, his immaturity deprives the Magic of an expanded ability to plan ahead for the longer term, but he also sends a mixed signal to other teams. An organization would have to make sure Howard was happy or otherwise risk the circus embroiling the Magic right now.
Howard’s public image has not taken enough of a dive on this. He does not want to play for his team and continues to make that clear, limiting the option for the Magic further by choosing only one team as a destination, regardless of the impact on Orlando. LeBron, by contrast, earned the right to be picky by fulfilling his contract obligations with Cleveland before jumping ship. Howard deserves the same criticism.
Bit #3: Euro Final Wrap
Not sure what to say about the romp by Spain over Italy on Sunday afternoon in the Euro final, other than to point out Spain might be the best team to ever play. Their roster has remained relatively unchanged during the past four years and continues to dominate the competition. On Sunday they showed their true ability, using an incredible speed and passing game to rip apart what can be called one of the better defenses in the tournament on the Italian side.
Theoretically, however, I would enjoy seeing this Spanish side play the German team of Franz Beckenbauer or the 1970 Brazil team with Pele, still regarded as the best soccer player ever. Those strike me as the best teams of this century, even if they were unable to win three major tournaments in a row.
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