OCR Text |
Show 8 THURSDAY, MARCH THE DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE 28, 2002 demeanor in anybody. It's really strict and precise, down to REFEREES continued from page 7 referee the first round of the tournament. If you are one of those 96, that means you are assured one game. In that game, you receive a heavy evaluation with at least two cvaluators and one NCAA committee member. If you score high enough in the game which you just reffed, you arc recommended by the NCAA committee to its chair, who determines whether you go on to more rounds or if your season is over. That can create some tension between officials themselves. "We're getting evaluated just like the teams are," said Scott Thornlcy, another NCAA Tournament official who has worked three championship games, most recently last a game. "You want to try and go as far as year's Duke-Arizon- you can." Egos can get in the way of the continuity of calls and hurt the flow of the game. "That will screw up a game," Thornlcy said. "It's not everybody, but there arc some guys that try to make sure people notice them a little more than the other officials. That doesn't happen in the regular season." Once in the tourney, the pressure is so high to do a good job, many times the officials forget to take a moment to actually enjoy it. "It's not just another game. You know you're in the NCAA Tournament," Hall said. "There's a lot more pressure and everybody's more critical of errors that arc made," Thornlcy said. "It's exciting in a way, but you don't ever get to enjoy it, because there's so much mental pressure." Hall recounted a moment in the championship game he worked in 2000, when with four minutes left in the game and the outcome pretty much decided, he looked around and said, "Man, this is an unbelievable experience. That's a pretty cool feeling." The demeanor of the players actually doesn't change much from regular season to tourney play. "The kids arc real competitive. They're not any more competitive in the tournament than in the regular season," Thornlcy said. Coaches do have a little change in behavior from regular season play. "I think they mind their Is and Qs a little more," Hall said. "They've got NCAA reps sitting all around and they don't want to do anything to embarrass their university." The biggest difference between tournament play and regular season play is how strict the games seem to be. "The NCAA docs a great job of making it come off at certain times," Hall said. "There's no leeway for casual the minute." Hall compared it to a militaristic way of running things. Another difference is the neutral courts the teams play on. There arc not as many fans to breathe down an official's neck, and many who come to tournament games are there just to watch the game and not to cheer for any specific team. Hall did say more fans were following their teams to different cities this year than in years past. The average day of an official in the tournament can be boring. The NCAA requires officials to be in town the day before, and there is a lot of time spent waiting for the game to start But there is absolutely no mingling with players or coaches. Barriers arc placed and different entrances to arenas are used for different teams and officials. "You don't sec players or coaches, ever," Hall said. After that, getting from the first round down to the Final Four is even tougher than getting into the tournament From the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight, the field of officials is cut from 36 to nine. Those nine referee the Final Four. "That's where the tough cut is, because, in theory, those arc the 36 best officials in the country," Hall said. To make it to the Final Four, and even the championship game, is the cream of the crop for an NCAA official. "For that moment in time, they consider you the very best," Hall said. "It feels like you made it to the top of the mountain." Through all this, there is another problem officials must be aware of, especially in the NCAA Tournament. That is pressure from gamblers to throw games. Although no official has ever been found guilty of accepting a bribe, the NCAA has taken precautions to make sure the gamblers stay away from the officials. Both Hall and Thornlcy both said neither they, nor anyone they know, has ever been approached by anyone attempting to bribe or sway their game. Officials are required to sign a contract saying neither they, nor any immediate family member, has been involved in sports gambling. The NCAA also requires officials to view a video on how to avoid the bookies. e The NCAA actually has a employee who works on keeping gamblers away. "It's not just Las Vegas," Hall said. "Kids in dorms have big betting operations. I think it's very prevalent." But all the problems aside, the officials in the NCAA Tournament give the players and teams a great game. They arc the best basketball officials rcferceing the best basketball games in the country. "We're pretty good," Thornlcy said. "We get most of the calls right. We get a heck of a lot more right than people think we do." igamerochronicle.utah. edu Research Way (2770 S.) - Suite B, SLC, UT. 841 Open: M-- F pm to 7pm & Sat lam to 5pm 0 Phone: (801) ext 120 - Fax: (801) 0 1825 1 1 ciQtjp,yjr$ nil in 19 1 886-010- 886-020- VP Computer Systems Cascdge 743 w 325W Power Supply Tcac Floppy. MSI K7T Turbo2 Motherboard 32MB Video Card. 128MB, Getbree2 MX-20- 0 20GB WD 7k PRM's, Sony 52X. USR 56KBs FaxModem, SoundBlaster Uv Dolby 5.1. MS Optical Intcllimouse. Natural F.rg. Keyboard & Windows XPHomc. 17" .26 REs 1280x1024 Monitor. Yr Warranty. All Parts cover. AMDZ3 AMDiul 1 XPUUMH XP1900t $928 $958 1 ( . y - .4, XP2(K)0( $1013 Computer Parts: 17" .26 Monitor. Res 1280x1024 SI 20 19" .25 Monitor, Res 1600x1200 S175 Nvidia Geforcc2 MX-20- 0 32MB $49 - 64MB DDR $105 Nvidia Geforce4 MX-44- 0 Sony 52x IDE CDROM $28 Pioneer DVD 16x40 I DH $58 Goldstar 24x10x40 CDRW IDE $85 Middle Tower Case w 250W Power Supply $27 56KB SupraMax FaxModem $19 20GB IDE WD 7200 RPM $74 Microsoft Optical Intcllimouse $22 Los Angeles, Orem, Sandy, Salt Lake City, Layton, Logan, Soon: After keeping their perfect home record, the Utes now go to Ogden. MEWS 1EUUS continued from page 7 the middle of the season, little technical things start to slip. When you've got 12 days off to work on them, it really helps to bring them back around." The Utes make the double-dig- it win mark with this victory, with 10 wins against seven losses. The Bengals of ISU were no match for the Utes, as they fall to The Utes won the doubles point once again, and have yet to lose the doubles point at home. Tyler Poulson and Daniel Carlsson defeated Adam David Krupp and Hestian Stoica Mercier and Jonathan Engelbrecht downed Vasico Devidze, and Butch Stavridis 2 and Corrie Scheepers and Daniel Lohff beat Mike Chester FULL LINES OF PRICES AND PARTS AT WWW.EBCCOMPUTERS.COM CI1I-C- X full-tim- The biggest Computer Dealer in the State of Utah..! rfMfMljTiin " 8-- 6, 8-- and Chris Sadek 8-- 2. Scheepers got back to his winning ways, winning his first singles match OgdenRiverdaie & St. George since March 6 (against Robert Morris College), beating Devidze "Some you win and some you lose. It's just tennis," Scheepers said. "I enjoyed it for the first time in a long time." Scheepers said he had been bat6-- 1, 6-- 1. tling personal issues back home in South Africa. Poulson beat Krupp Tobias Tangberg also beat Sadek And Kiasorn Chaichana defeated Chester In the marathon match of the evening, Carlsson beat Stoica in a match that went over two hours long. The only loss for the U came when Stavridis defeated Lohff The U now prepares to head off to Ogden, Utah, where it will take on Weber State this Friday. After that, the Utes head to New Mexico, where they will begin conference play against the Lobos and confer6-- 0. 7-- 5, 6-- 6-- 1, 0, 6-- 0. 6-- 3, 7-- 6-- 4, ence-leading 6-- 4. Air Force. lgamerochronicle. Utah, edu rm mm for the position of The Daily Utah Chronicle Apply I. k FOR THE Editor-In-Chi- 2002-200- 3 ef 113 ACADEMIC YEAR '4 VI JP ll V-- ? l & M Mi lean 101 jjj ! it AqiM -- Return applications by 5pm March 29th, 2002. 4-- 6, 6, carl mt 6-- 0. |