Why wasn't Elizabeth Lambert stopped the first time?

During a conference playoff women's soccer match between New Mexico and BYU, NMU player Elizabeth Lambert got herself on the national radar for all the wrong reasons:



Eventually, she issued what I'm sure was an apology hand crafted in part by New Mexico Athletics. She is suspended indefinitely and I would be surprised if she ever plays for them again.

My question isn't so much why she did it, as I'm sure she just lost her mind and once someone loses her mind there's no rationalizing a meltdown.

No, my question is how she was able to do it so many times. I've watched my fair share of soccer, and I find that the first time you so much as slide tackle someone a little too maliciously (let alone punch someone in the back, or dodgeball someone's head with a kicked ball, or hair-pull takedown somebody), you tend to get no less than a yellow card, and often you'll get red carded and sent off from the match.

Yes, it was a playoff match and going down 11 to 10 trailing 1 to nil would have essentially put a nail in New Mexico's coffin. But refs didn't let the competitive circumstances stop them from running French star Zinedine Zidane after he headbutted an Italian player in the 2006 World Cup Final. Refs in the NCAA Tournament don't let the do-or-die format stop them from calling a 5th and disqualifying foul on a team's star player. If you commit a foul, you commit a foul and it's an official's duty to call it accordingly.

You can argue that Elizabeth Lambert's actions are themselves inexcusable, but what's just as inexcusable is that the Mountain West soccer referees didn't immediately send her off the 1st time she committed a flagrant foul, let alone the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 7th or umpteenth time. That they let her stay in the match and turn it into an informal one-sided catfight is a collective act of gross negligence on their part. Those officials ought to be punished themselves.

80-90% of those violations never happen if Elizabeth Lambert was sent off after the first flagrant act of violence on a BYU player. The best argument given for allowing the catfight style of 'play' to go is that said play is part of women's soccer. But honestly, I'm not sure how one can argue the hair pulling, malicious tackles and punches to the back are excusable at any level of soccer. The officials have to nip it in the bud, or you end up with spectacles like the one Elizabeth Lambert put forth in this match.

No news is good news when it comes to referees... so we're told

With the regular NBA refs locked out, replacement refs get good marks from the Utah Jazz after their preseason opener with the Denver Nuggets. The refs even thwarted a grade-school level trick by the Denver Nuggets when a player tried to take free throws for another player but the refs caught the Nuggets in the act. From the Salt Lake Tribune:

Despite the fact that referees Trey Maddox, Deldre Carr and C.J. Washington called 69 fouls and the Jazz and Nuggets combined to shoot 88 free throws, the participants were generally happy with the officiating.

"Most of the time they did a pretty good job, I think," (Jazz player Mehmet) Okur said.

Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, who seemed upset with a call only once in a game that took 2 hours, 34 minutes to complete, agreed.

"I thought they did fine," he said. "I don't have a problem with that. Then again, we can't spend our time worrying about those guys.

"They're learning, we're learning and you've got to give everybody a chance to [move] forward. I hope everything goes great for them because it makes it easier for us."

In 21 1/2 minutes, (Jazz guard) Deron Williams shot only two free throws.

No problem.

"The officials were good," he said. "I thought they did a good job. They didn't look like replacements to me."

... "I thought they were good," (C.J.) Miles said. "We were able to talk to them. They were responsive. They called it both ways. ... They did a good job for their first game."

I can see the point that this story and other news outlets are trying to make: The replacement refs didn't do anything out of line to get anyone's attention, and by the 'no news is good news' mantra, this indicates the replacements can be trusted to call a clean game down the middle.

What's funny about the Salt Lake Tribune's story is that is does not once mention the final score of the game. Granted, it's preseason and the results don't matter (and the other outlets did mention the score, though they downplayed it), but it's common practice at least number-drop the final score early in the piece. In an attempt to make it clear there's no story, the media outlets make the replacement refs the story.

The NBA did reiterate their longstanding policy of a $25,000 fine to anyone who ever criticizes the officiating, a troublesome policy that has reinforced the questionable, bias officiating over the years that has helped drag down the quality of competition in the NBA. So it's likely the teams and their media mouthpieces alike are all going out of their way to sugar-talk the refs in an attempt to play nice with a league that's got enough problems as they try and hash out a deal with arguably pro sports' worst groups of officials.

Given the money issue, it's actually in the NBA's best financial interests to wash out the ref's union and go full-time with the replacements, and smoothing the tracks for their replacement officials may be a key step in that. One could make the general arguemtn that the quality of replacement officiating is worse than the incumbent officiating, but in the age of Tim Donaghy, Superstar calls and curiously slanted officiating in key playoff games... I can't say the NBA or we as sports fans would lose all that much quality in letting the incumbents walk away... especially if the replacements, as C.J. Miles said, call the games both ways.

... for a change.

Mariners Minor League Wrap-Up for May 29

Again, we're going to keep this short and sweet due to backlog, though there are a couple items worth pointing out.

VENEZUELA~! VSL Mariners 13, VSL Cardinals 6
VSLMs: 5-5... VSL Cards: 7-3

Yovanny Olivero: 5 IP, 9 H, (4 R) 2 ER (HR), walk, 3 K
Mayckol Guaipe: 2 IP, 4 H, (1 R) 0 ER, walk
Manuel Campos: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 3 K, wild pitch
Jorge Agudelo: 1-4, double, 3 R, 2 RBI, walk
Rigoberto Rangel: 2-4, double, 2 run HR, 2 R, sac fly RBI, walk
Michael Acevedo: 3-5, R, sac fly RBI
Ivan Ramirez: 5-6, double, solo HR
Kenny Hart: 2-5, solo HR, walk, K
Larry Gonzalez: 2-5, double, R, RBI
Reginald Lampe: 1-3, double, R, 2 walks

Olivero:

Groundballs: 7 (plus 1 bunt)
Flyballs: 7 (1 HR)
Line Drives: 4
Walks: 1
Strikeouts: 3

A: South Bend 4, Clinton 1
CLI: 25-23... SOU: 23-23

Brett Lorin: 5 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 3 walks, 5 K
Andres Esquibel: 1 IP, 2 walks, 2 K, wild pitch
Ryan Moorer: 2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 walks, wild pitch, 2 hit batters
Jacob Shaffer: 1-4, double
Denny Almonte: 1-4, double, R
rest of Lumberkings lineup: 3-23, 3 walks, 5 K

Groundballs: 8
Flyballs: 2
Line Drives: 4
Pop Ups: 3
Walks: 3
Strikeouts: 5

A+: Lake Elsinore 7, High Desert 2
Mavs: 32-16... Lake: 27-21

Donnie Hume: 5 IP, 8 H, 5 ER (HR), walk, 3 K
Juan Zapata: 2 IP, 1 H, walk, K
Natividad Dilone: 1 IP, 1 H, (2 R) 0 ER, 2 walks
Aaron Jensen: 1 IP, 1 H, walk
Tyson Gillies: 2-4, 2 triples (!), 2 R, K
Edilio Colina: 1-3, 2 RBI
Carlos Peguero: 2-4, K

Hume:

Groundballs: 8
Flyballs: 10 (1 HR)
Line Drives: 1
Pop Ups: 2
Walks: 1
Strikeouts: 3

AA: They played two MORE in Jackson!

Game 1: Chattanooga 7, West Tenn 0, 7 innings

Dan Christensen: 4 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 2 walks, 5 K, wild pitch (85 pitches, 53 strikes)
Marwin Vega: 2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER (HR), walk, K (47-28)
Matt Renfree: 1 IP, walk, K (13-8)
The DIAMOND JAXX were one hit: 1-23, 3 walks, 9 K

Christensen:

Groundballs: 5 (plus 1 bunt)
Flyballs: 2
Line Drives: 6
Walks: 2
Strikeouts: 5

Chattanooga's lefthander Scott Elbert (23 years old): 39.2 IP, 4 HR, 18 BB, 49 K, 3.63 ERA in AA. He's also made three miserable appearances for the Dodgers this season.

Groundballs: 5
Flyballs: 4
Line Drives: 2
Pop Ups: 1
Walks: 3 (plus 2 hit batters)
Strikeouts: 9 (six straight at one point)

Game 2: Chattanooga 2, West Tenn 0, 7 innings
WTN: 19-28... CHA: 20-28

Patrick Ryan: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 walks, 6 K, wild pitch (93 pitches, 54 strikes)
Josh Newby: 2 IP, 2 H, (1 R) 0 ER, 2 walks, K (29-16)
Mel Stocker: 1-3, double, walk, SB #10
Marshall Hubbard: 1-2, double, walk, K
rest of JAXX lineup: 0-19, 4 walks, 8 K

Ryan:

Groundballs: 5
Flyballs: 2
Line Drives: 4
Walks: 3
Strikeouts: 6

After 8 runs in yesterday's doubleheader, the JAXX had three hits total in this doubleheader. Were they wore out? Perhaps, but wasn't Chattanooga worn out as well?

AAA: Colorado Springs 13, Tacoma 9
TAC: 26-22... CSP: 29-18

Doug FISTER: 5 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, walk, 4 K (101 pitches, 63 strikes)
Brodie Downs: 1 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, walk (24-11)
Tyler Johnson: one out, 3 H, 4 ER (HR), walk (21-10)
Jared Wells: 1.2 IP, 1 H, (intentional) walk, K (24-14)
Michael Saunders: 2-4, 2 R, RBI, walk
Jeff Clement: 1-4, double, 2 R, walk, K
Chris Shelton: 2-5, double, 3 run HR
Mike Morse: 2-4, RBI
Adam Moore: 3-4, R

Rather than post FISTER's balls in play numbers, I took a closer look at the 6th and 7th innings and found something that would indicate why pitchers for both sides got lit up today, and it has little to do with the high altitude in Colorado.

Vague thoughts on Super Bowl XLIII

- I predicted a Steelers win that wasn't close, so give credit to the Cards for playing reasonably well and making a game of it. They actually made some big stops and sustained several drives. And the Steelers certainly didn't give them too many openings: that defense popped people in the mouth as advertised all night, and the Cards had to make big plays to get 23 points. Also, Big Ben looked MUCH better than he did in that Seahawks debacle, and probably had one of his best games of the season, without much rushing help from Willie Parker, no less.

- We've been spoiled over the last few years by some good, competitive Super Bowls that have gone down to the wire. Ten years ago, we would have taken any game that was at all close in light of blowout after boring blowout. Now we've reached a point where this 27-23 nail biter the Steelers took from the Cards almost pales in comparison to some past games: the Patriots' buzzer beaters over the Rams and Panthers... the Giants win last year that came down to David Tyree catching a 4th and long Eli Manning prayer with his helmet... the Rams-Titans Super Bowl that literally came down to Kevin Dyson and Mike Jones fighting for the last yard. This Super Bowl has to be, in terms of excitement and drama, in the top five, but ten years ago it would've been the best ever without question.

- We are fortunate to get a spate of exciting Super Bowls where (save for the Seahawks Super Bowl) there's not any real deux es machina from the officials, as they call the game clean and let the players decide. In fact, this year's Super Bowl has to be one of the best officiated Super Bowls I can recall, because the refs weren't any more flag happy than was needed, the flags that got thrown were right on, they made all the right calls on close plays, and let the players decide the ballgame.

- Yes, I'm including the final Cards play, where Warner's arm was moving forward as the ball came out and the refs called a fumble. Chris Chase thinks there's controversy, but replays showed the ball clearly squirmed from Warner's possession before his arm moved forward, and therefore was a fumble. The refs made the right call.

- Lost in the Cards loss is that Kurt Warner (31 completions, 377 yards passing, 3 TD) and Larry Fitzgerald (7 catches, 127 yards, 2 TDs, including the huge breakaway go-ahead TD with under 3 minutes left) had two of the best performances in Super Bowl history. Once again, Warner had no running game to speak of (33 total rushing yards) and had to try to win the game all by himself against the #1 defense in football. Yeah, James Harrison right-place right-timed him and took it 100 yards to the house at the end of the 1st half, and Warner's final play of the game ended with a Warner trademark (a fumble), but Warner made some great, quick throws, used his eyes to throw off the secondary, and took advantage of every opening that airtight Steelers defense gave him.

- Speaking of Harrison's difference maker to end the 1st half, his INT touchdown gives the Steelers the distinction of scoring both the longest TD (his 100 yard INT return) in Super Bowl history, as well as the shortest (Roethlisberger's 0 yard "TD" against the Seahawks in SB XL).

- If David Tyree's catch on 4th and long in the Giants' miracle win over the Patriots is the greatest catch in Super Bowl history, then Santonio Holmes' tip-toe catch that won the game has to be 2nd. What an incredible, perfect catch by the young Steelers wideout, and it came no less just one play after he let a potential game-winning TD slip right through his outstretched hands.

Holmes was a college star at Ohio State, but figured to be just another NFL journeyman when he got drafted and lost in the WR shuffle with Pittsburgh. But he emerged in this game with 9 catches for 131 yards, including the game winning TD. Four catches, including the winner, came in the game-winning drive.

Holmes brashly declared in an interview, on the presentation podium, "Great players step up in big-time games to make plays." Santonio, like any young player who has flown under the radar in his early career, still needs to show over the next few years that he is a consistent difference maker. But I agree: Holmes made the plays of a great player in the biggest game of his life tonight.

Basketball: Where the fix is on

Last year, the University of Washington men's basketball team won 16 games in the process of missing the NCAA Tournament AND the NIT for a second straight disappointing season, and if coach Lorenzo Romar wasn't canned after last season (he wasn't), he was certainly on the hot seat to win this year, and win big, or go home.

Today, UW won their 15th game of the season with more than a month of regular season basketball left, following a surprising 86-75 victory at home over 13th ranked UCLA, amazing given this season looked like more of the same on opening day for UW following an inexplicable 80-74 loss at lowly Portland University.

It looks like an amazing, impressive victory... until you look at the box score, and a familiar problem with basketball at any level rears its ugly head.

Free throws:
UCLA - 10 made in 15 attempted
Washington - 36 made in 43 attempted

Fouls called:
UCLA - 28
Washington - 18

UCLA - road team
Washington - home team

The foul situation and free throws awarded gave UW such a decided advantage that Lorenzo Romar should have been fired if UW lost this game.

Some pundits rave about a team's ability to draw fouls. However, the so-called ability to draw fouls belies the point that a foul is a subjective penalty: a referee must decide a foul has been committed in order for a foul to get called.

Granted, UW starter Justin Dentmon got four fouls called on him, and spent much of the game on the bench himself. His team had to hold serve without the services of one of their best players. Bt this belies the point that the home team, UW, in front of a raucous crowd who came not just to see former star Brandon Roy's jersey retired at Edmundson Pavilion, but to see their then 14-4 ballclub, resurgent after last year's 16-17 disappointment, try and upend arguably the best team in the Pac 10 Conference in UCLA. There was a lot to gain in sending 15,000 home fans happy with a division lead-grabbing win over a top opponent. For now, let's just say one side stands to gain more from receiving the benefit of the doubt.

How officials elect to call fouls in a game varies from game to game. Watch enough games and you will notice a distinctive trend of certain teams getting favorable calls on both sides of the ball, which is statisically justified in surveying Top 25 NCAA Division I squads. For example, Duke, one of the perennial top college teams in the country, plays a game or two at Cameron Indoor Stadium, their home court, and key players on the opposing team get rung up on curious foul calls from vague, ticky-tack contact, landing on the bench with multiple fouls. Duke, meanwhile, contentedly jabs and shoves at their opposition, at times committing what typically would be blatant fouls in knocking the ball from their opponent's possession without a call from the official. After the inevitable Blue Devils' win, the TV pundits praise Duke's ability to take control of the game and shut down the other team's offense, while bashing the other team's erratic foul-prone ways and their 'inability' to stay out of foul trouble. Any officiating mistakes lead to slaps on the wrist, maybe a one game suspension or loss of postseason assignments, but nothing more.

Too often for comfort you get such a discrepancy of fouls called to one team's benefit, typically a home team with a great following with a lot to gain from winning, that cries come from the peanut gallery that the fix is on. We see a lot of favoritism in the NBA as well, dating back to the Jordan Rule, which is not to be confused with the late 80's Detroit Pistons' "Jordan Rules", which in a nutshell were to beat up Michael Jordan and take his wallet... though the Jordan Rule may be the NBA's response to Detroit's Jordan Rules.

The Jordan Rule was the unwritten rule that Bulls star Michael Jordan could basically make all the contact he wanted on defense or, say, take five steps before a dunk and the refs would never call him on it, or an opposing player would get a foul called if he so much as grazed Jordan's wrist while swiping at the ball... because it benefited the league as a whole for Jordan to succeed, so he got the benefit of the doubt 9 times out of 10. It's akin to, say, letting a former football player off the hook for murdering his ex-wife because he's a famous ex-football player. The Jordan Rule wasn't an active rule: simply an unspoken rule put to practice by all officials to benefit the NBA by enhancing its best player's image as a top player.

The crown jewel moment of the Jordan Rule came on the winning shot that sealed the Bulls 6th and final NBA title under Jordan. With the Bulls trailing and needing a go-ahead bucket with seconds left on an inbound play, Utah Jazz leading defender Bryon Russell covered Jordan, and Jordan gave Russell a blatant two handed shove that knocked Russell back a couple feet before taking the inbound pass and a resulting wide open three-pointer that he sunk to seal Utah's doom and Chicago's 6th title. No foul was called. A couple of pundits took notice but the media shushed it away in praising Jordan's dominance.

We see this sort of favoritism in officiating NBA stars like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Shaq and others. And the recent Tim Donaghy gambling scandal certainly didn't help the NBA's officiating credibility.

Be we certainly see it in college basketball. Never mind that the top schools have a lot of the top talent. Despite lacking fundamentals and chemistry, these teams also get a disproportionate advantage in foul calls. It can't all be a giant coincidence, and not every team they play (and many of these Top 25 teams do play other talented teams not known for foul trouble) loses their ability to play defense without fouling players. Eventually, the trend is too decided to simply call it a coincidence, or a product of some innate tangible ability to 'draw fouls'.

Now, this trend doesn't manifest itself every single time. For example, since I love picking on Duke: in Duke's January 17 win over 12th ranked Georgetown, Georgetown managed more free throws by a pinch but still lost. While there were relatively few free throws, there were still a healthy 37 fouls called, so you can't say this game had an officiating crew that kept their hands off. That said, the foul distribution was straight down the middle, and both teams had key players in foul trouble. However, that was also the game where Georgetown postman Greg Monroe got called for a dubious technical foul that allowed Duke to seize some valuable momentum with 15 minutes left. Even though they didn't get all the calls, Duke got a timely call that helped them win the game.

Still, this is not to say that refs fix every game and predetermine every outcome like pro wrestling. Hardly: many crews call a straight game and the teams on the court decide the game themselves. But you get a lot of games where the officials skew the calls in one direction for whatever reason: intimidation from the home crowd, the NCAA, their employing conference or the situation, a few hundred bucks on the home team at -130 to win straight up, etc.

The NBA is losing their fanbase in part because of a sloppy game where officiating, not the play on the court, decides far too many games. College basketball will always have a rabid following, but slanted officiating remains a problem that turns off casual fans. Many diehard fans blow off the need for better officiating, but as the quality of the pro game and the college game decreases despite a continually growing talent base, league officials at all levels ought to make a serious effort to overhaul how their officials call games, and let the players on the court decide the games.

It's nice to see UW win a big game against a Top 25 rival. It would be far nicer to see them win an evenly officiated contest where they did not receive such a blatant opportunity advantage. And I say this as a local fan who wants to see the Huskies succeed... with integrity.