NCAA National Champs

[BigErn32]

I watched the NCAA mens basketball championship last night being a UofM fan. Recently, I have stopped being a fan of teams and really worked on just being a fan of the sport. Any sport. Football, Basketball, Baseball.... whatever. I just enjoy good games between good teams. It doesn't matter who's playing.

With that said, I was really frustrated with the officiating last night. Yes on both sides but more so Michigan. You could clearly see the guys getting smacked while shooting... or goal tending on Louisville... or clean blocks by Michigan.... I hate saying refs are excuses for losing... but last nights game was baaaddd. Great teams. I do think the better team won and Louisville looked much more calm when the pressure started to build. Did anyone else think this last night?

Its kinda like bowling. I don't like hearing people complain that the lanes were tough. Move. Adjust. Thats how you get better. Luckily bowling doesn't have refs to determine the outcome of the game.

[ArtVandelay]

It's amazing to me how it seems most bowlers don't seem to care much about other sports. Of course there are exceptions, but I would think every bowler would be a huge sports fan. It doesn't seem to be the case.

In any case... As an impartial viewer, I didn't have a problem with the officiating I saw, but I only watched the 2nd half. Monday was also the home opener for the Red Sox and I had to work, so I had to tivo it. I watched the Red Sox first, and then caught the last 5 minutes of the NCAA game. I felt like the refs were doing a good job letting them play a bit. Now... Down the stretch, that's usually the case, so maybe the officiating was awful prior to me tuning in, but I haven't heard anything to that extent. Mostly I've heard praise for a great game.

I do feel like basketball is flawed because no ref has a bigger impact on the game (well... except baseball, but I think baseball has the best officials in all of sports. Those umps are almost always spot on). It's a real problem for the sport. It's especially bad because the players know it, and they play to it. It's hard for me to watch guys clobber eachother and stay on their feet WHILE SKATING ON ICE like they do in the NHL, and then switch to basketball and see the slightest contact send someone flying.

But that's just my opinion.