Saturday, February 22, 2014

Tony Greene Makes SportsCenter

Well, everyone saw it.  Tony Greene makes the bad call of the year on an obvious block call at the end of the Syracuse - Duke game tonight, and Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim goes ballistic and is ejected.

Just a brief commentary:

We explored for a few seasons whether Tony Greene was "on the take" and interest waned as Greene worked fewer and fewer high profile games and his officiating became less and less obvious.

But after a couple of years laying low, Greene was back in the spotlight last year when he worked the 2013 Final Four.  And tonight, with a typically Tony Greene call, he thrust himself back in the spotlight in a major way.

Folks, this was a typical Tony Greene call.  It was absolutely a bad call that enraged Jim Boeheim (Boeheim deserved to be ejected, by the way) and it was a call that decided the outcome of a major game.  In typical Tony Greene fashion, we will never hear him explain his call, and everyone in officiating circles will once again cover up for him.

In the end, Tony Greene may not be "on the take"... but he is, without a doubt, a terrible official.  Perhaps the game's speed has progressed past where his ability lies... perhaps his officiating success has made him so arrogant that he wants the spotlight... perhaps his skills have diminished as he has aged... perhaps he feels that he doesn't need to learn new rules...

But, without a doubt, Tony Greene is an awful official.

Comments welcome.