ESPN - should Higgins ref Final 4?

[Ky_Bred_Cat]

Just saw the subject discussed on PTI. Couldn't hear what was said -ahem- I am at a bar and the sound was off. Wilbon and the other guy discussed it. Saw pics of both Wiggins and Calipari.

Any good lawyer makes a living on establishing reasonable doubt. That spot on ESPN is probably all it will take to get that slime ball removed from the Final 4.

 

[akaukswoosh]

Just saw the subject discussed on PTI. Couldn't hear what was said -ahem- I am at a bar and the sound was off. Wilbon and the other guy discussed it. Saw pics of both Wiggins and Calipari.

Any good lawyer makes a living on establishing reasonable doubt. That spot on ESPN is probably all it will take to get that slime ball removed from the Final 4.

The FF usually winds up with 2 or 3 refs folks on here would regard as among the worst.

 

[Ky_Bred_Cat]

The BBN has established reasonable doubt. Good job.

 

[Cardsstink]

Just saw the subject discussed on PTI. Couldn't hear what was said -ahem- I am at a bar and the sound was off. Wilbon and the other guy discussed it. Saw pics of both Wiggins and Calipari.

Any good lawyer makes a living on establishing reasonable doubt. That spot on ESPN is probably all it will take to get that slime ball removed from the Final 4.

Wilbon said he was at the Northwestern/Vanderbilt game and Higgins reffed that game and he thought he did "a proposterously bad job" and he yelled at him loud enough that he could hear it. Is this guy just a terrible ref in general? I know some Big 12 teams hate him. I'm starting to think he wants games to be about him more than the players, regardless of who's playing. Wilbon also said UK Leadership, "if there is any" (shot at UK he couldn't resist) should demand that the "IDIOTS" knock it off. Pretty much any sane adult would agree with him.

 

[Ky_Bred_Cat]

EGO, off-the-chart ego. That's why I think he and Calipari don't mix, as well as others. Being on national TV so much has gone to his head. This has happened to many well meaning people.

 

[BlueWorldOrder74]

Wilbon is worse than Higgins. Hate that guy so much.

 

[Wildcat Sheli]

Wilbon said he was at the Northwestern/Vanderbilt game and Higgins reffed that game and he thought he did "a proposterously bad job" and he yelled at him loud enough that he could hear it. Is this guy just a terrible ref in general? I know some Big 12 teams hate him. . .

I saw some highly suspect calls in that game. Most were so focused on Fisher-Davis, but Higgins called an egregious foul in the last minute or so and Northwestern ended up with points because of it.

Since 2011 in the NCAA tournament, the SEC is 2-5 in games officiated by Higgins (between FL, TN, UK and Vandy).

 

[Bank Cat]

Without having heard the content, I wouldn't be surprised if the angle was "since he is fearing for his life, would his judgment be affected?"
I can't stand Higgins and hope he never refs another game of ours. That said, death threats were, are, and will always be stupid and bad form. I thought ""some" of the faux reviews I read on his business FB page were funny. I figure he had that coming. But if you're going to do that, please just be witty/clever. And for God's sake, if you are speaking on behalf of BBN please have a 3rd grader proofread your spelling and conjugation. Call me an elitist, but I graduated from UK and I was most appalled by the butchery of basic English.

 

[Bardstown]

He could make more headlines screwing UNC .

 

[Cardsstink]

Wilbon is worse than Higgins. Hate that guy so much.

I do think he hates UK because he thinks we're racist for the Tubby situation, and agree he's bad but it was very interesting to hear that he went off on him as well while watching his Northwestern boys and sees him as a terrible ref.

 

[Cardsstink]

Without having heard the content, I wouldn't be surprised if the angle was "since he is fearing for his life, would his judgment be affected?"
I can't stand Higgins and hope he never refs another game of ours. That said, death threats were, are, and always be stupid and bad form. I thought ""some" of the faux reviews I read on his business FB page were funny. I figure he had that coming. But if you're going to do that, please just be witty/clever. And for God's sake, if you are speaking on behalf of BBN please have a 3rd grader proofread your spelling and conjugation. Call me an elitist, but I graduated from UK and I was most appalled by the butchery of basic English.

They were actually very fair and never once said UK fans were terrible. They referenced the moron from Alabama that poisened Auburn's trees and said that if they can get solid proof and find anybody that threatened his life that they should go to jail.

 

[bookerfan66]

Amazing that so many don't think he is a good ref yet the NCAA gives him the most important games of the whole year.I just find something strange about this whole situation.

 

[Bank Cat]

They were actually very fair and never once said UK fans were terrible. They referenced the moron from Alabama that poisened Auburn's trees and said that if they can get solid proof and find anybody that threatened his life that they should go to jail.

That's good to hear. First person I thought of was Harvey Updyke after this thing blew up.

Remember the Alabama Tea Bagger?! And they won!
I can swear on a stack of Bibles that I would never rest my satchel over the bridge of a Dukie or Heel fan's nose in a Krystal Restaurant after a win or loss...

 

[jc2010]

Wilbon is worse than Higgins. Hate that guy so much.

Well even a blind hog....

 

[jrm693]

Well at least he is getting the limelight thrown on him, he's probably a prima dona and basking in it. I wouldn't feel to secure if I were he, not having any idea when some UK fan might just try him on for size.

 

[TeoJ]

Wilbon said he was at the Northwestern/Vanderbilt game and Higgins reffed that game and he thought he did "a proposterously bad job" and he yelled at him loud enough that he could hear it. Is this guy just a terrible ref in general? I know some Big 12 teams hate him. I'm starting to think he wants games to be about him more than the players, regardless of who's playing. Wilbon also said UK Leadership, "if there is any" (shot at UK he couldn't resist) should demand that the "IDIOTS" knock it off. Pretty much any sane adult would agree with him.

That's because Northwestern was his team,didn't like it when it happened to him and that was only one time.

 

[School boy]

He should never show himself again. It'd be smart.

 

[SilentsAreGolden]

Is there a source that would show the record of the teams he has reffed? Would love to know who does really well when he does their games.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

It's not like we won the war.. but Kentucky fans calling out a corrupt official, to the point that even ESPN is asking the question, is a huge victory. Higgins might think twice about pulling this again, or even officiating out games to begin with.

There has to be some officials who have a bias. And we found one in Higgins. Called him out, and now he'll never officiate one of our games again from how it sounds. Every school should be allowed to do this once or twice in the right circumstance..

 

[Ukbrassowtipin]

I read an article (can't remember where I saw it) with another ref being interviewed. Of course the good ole boy network prevailed and he was talking about how he didn't think Higgins made any bad calls...odd then why did he change hmthe way he called the game after the first half if he was doing so Well? Basically refs defend each other regardless..if they call tic tacs...its well it was a foul wasn't it? And if they let someone get murdered they say...well we are just letting the players decide.

 

[TheAnonymous13]

Without having heard the content, I wouldn't be surprised if the angle was "since he is fearing for his life, would his judgment be affected?"
I can't stand Higgins and hope he never refs another game of ours. That said, death threats were, are, and always be stupid and bad form. I thought ""some" of the faux reviews I read on his business FB page were funny. I figure he had that coming. But if you're going to do that, please just be witty/clever. And for God's sake, if you are speaking on behalf of BBN please have a 3rd grader proofread your spelling and conjugation. Call me an elitist, but I graduated from UK and I was most appalled by the butchery of basic English.

Gold, Jerry! Gold!

 

[uky8unc5]

By necessity, successful Officials develop a bullet-proof mentality (oblivious to the noise of critics). There's a fine line between confidence and egotism. Higgins has crossed the line and it shows in his bias. He no longer is neutral...

 

[Thompkins4uk]

"We're kind of like police officers. They hate us, but they have to have us." - John Higgins (Sports Illustrated article, 1/28/16)

 

[Katwatcher]

Amazing that so many don't think he is a good ref yet the NCAA gives him the most important games of the whole year.I just find something strange about this whole situation.

This sort of thing happens nearly every year when their team gets beat. Its just a normal reaction to blame someone for the loss. 99 percent of the calls made in a game are judgement calls. There are always calls that can be debated, I've been at game where two fans setting side by side disagree on a particular call.

All refs are graded by he NCAA office and certainly would not be calling these important games if they were not qualified.

I watched the game and there were calls i disagreed with, but I could have been wrong myself. Its a hard game to officiate and think the refs do a good job.jmho

 

[ukcatsfan1]

Since he was assigned by Curtis Shaw, he NOW must otherwise it is admitting guilt to a previous game!

He still sucks!

 

[LineSkiCat14]

BTW.... NBC just had a show, I believe it was Access Hollywood, that just did a 5 minute special on it.

This thing is gaining traction.. Please please please let this be something deeper..

 

[JPScott]

IIRC they name a group of referees to the pool that does the Final Four games but there's at least one alternate.

It will be interesting to see if he gets assigned to a game and if so, whether it's Carolina.

 

[shutzhund]

"We're kind of like police officers. They hate us, but they have to have us." - John Higgins (Sports Illustrated article, 1/28/16)

The "us" is misleading. He is refering to honest referees not his kind.

 

[UKGrad93]

SIAP



Higgins says you don't want to be the highlight on ESPN and have everyone know your name. Says a good ref should be invisible.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

No matter what, he can't officiate our games any more. If he didn't hate Kentucky before, he certainly hates us now. It's a clear conflict of interest at this point. That absolutely must be the minimum result of this whole thing.

 

[Blue_2_the_bone_rivals]

"We're kind of like police officers. They hate us, but they have to have us." - John Higgins (Sports Illustrated article, 1/28/16)

Tells you exactly how big his ego is.

 

[*Bleedingblue*]

Well at least he is getting the limelight thrown on him, he's probably a prima dona and basking in it. I wouldn't feel to secure if I were he, not having any idea when some UK fan might just try him on for size.

Maybe he's just betting on games or being paid to effect the outcome and he is using the roofing business to run that money through it. Wild conspiracy theory but it's not as wild as his reffing.

 

[Cardsstink]

No matter what, he can't officiate our games any more. If he didn't hate Kentucky before, he certainly hates us now. It's a clear conflict of interest at this point. That absolutely must be the minimum result of this whole thing.

No way that happens. That would set the precedent that if you don't like a Ref, you can bully him into getting what you want. I bet for that reason alone, he's assigned to a UK game ASAP.

 

[TeoJ]

Well you can say he got the attention of the BBN.

 

[Chuckinden]

This sort of thing happens nearly every year when their team gets beat. Its just a normal reaction to blame someone for the loss. 99 percent of the calls made in a game are judgement calls. There are always calls that can be debated, I've been at game where two fans setting side by side disagree on a particular call.

All refs are graded by he NCAA office and certainly would not be calling these important games if they were not qualified.

I watched the game and there were calls i disagreed with, but I could have been wrong myself. Its a hard game to officiate and think the refs do a good job.jmho

[pfftt]

 

[uky8unc5]

IIRC they name a group of referees to the pool that does the Final Four games but there's at least one alternate.

It will be interesting to see if he gets assigned to a game and if so, whether it's Carolina.

JP, in the past there were 9 officials at FF. 6 work the semis. 2 alternate (1 per game) seated at scorers table. 1 extra who never works.

Title game officials are chosen from 6 guys who work semis, based on performance and what teams make the Final. Officials from participant's conference or who live in that state are not eligible.

 

[anon_9qtxg60vqzy0y]

BTW.... NBC just had a show, I believe it was Access Hollywood, that just did a 5 minute special on it.

This thing is gaining traction.. Please please please let this be something deeper..

It was Inside Edition. Hell he missed a call on Hicks pushing off on Bam at the 6 second mark.
http://www.insideedition.com/headli...hes-getting-harassed-online-by-some-ncaa-fans

 

[BlueWorldOrder74]

It was Inside Edition. Hell he missed a call on Hicks pushing off on Bam at the 6 second mark.
http://www.insideedition.com/headli...hes-getting-harassed-online-by-some-ncaa-fans

Sure did

 

[LineSkiCat14]

No way that happens. That would set the precedent that if you don't like a Ref, you can bully him into getting what you want. I bet for that reason alone, he's assigned to a UK game ASAP.

Maybe...

But this didn't happen because of a bad call or two.. It was an entire game of ********.. Start to finish. This is probably something we've never seen before.

I bet the NCAA and UK have already communicated on this in some fashion. And it wouldn't surprise me if it's one of those "silent" agreements to avoid future issue. NCAA can't, above all else, have the integrity of the game tarnished. This is bigger than some think. They can't have this happen again. They might sooner pull Higgins than us not letting him into Rupp.

 

[Cardsstink]

Maybe...

But this didn't happen because of a bad call or two.. It was an entire game of ********.. Start to finish. This is probably something we've never seen before.

I bet the NCAA and UK have already communicated on this in some fashion. And it wouldn't surprise me if it's one of those "silent" agreements to avoid future issue. NCAA can't, above all else, have the integrity of the game tarnished. This is bigger than some think. They can't have this happen again. They might sooner pull Higgins than us not letting him into Rupp.

Hope you're right. If I ever see him again, that's too soon.