(9/19) Pac-10 Official Riese Talks, Considers Resigning, and Q&A
Oklahoma Sooner Football Articles and Notes
Pac-10 Official says, he made the wrong call, now receiving threats: The instant replay official whose failure to overturn a bad call led to a narrow victory for Oregon over Oklahoma said he feels like he is under siege after receiving menacing phone calls and a death threat. Gordon Riese said he would make a decision soon about whether to finish the season, or even whether to return next year. "I'm struggling with it," Riese said in an interview at his home. "I feel so bad I missed that call, it's driving me crazy." A former college baseball pitcher in the 1960s who was inducted into the Portland State Hall of Fame in 1997, Riese said he never played football but always enjoyed the game during 28 years as a Pacific-10 Conference official. "I loved it, I absolutely loved it," Riese said. But that was before he became an instant replay official. "I've felt much, much more pressure as an instant replay official than I ever did on the field," Riese said. He said the equipment is not as sophisticated as NFL replay equipment, and does not allow the official to freeze the frame. Riese said he has stopped answering the phone, and police are investigating the threatening calls while keeping an eye on his neighborhood. (Seattle Times)
Q&A with Pac-10 Coordinator Of Officiating: Verle Sorgen, the coordinator of football officiating for the Pacific-10 Conference, on Monday answered questions about Oregon's controversial 34-33 win Saturday over Oklahoma, on the instant replay system and on the conference's decision to suspend the crew and replay officials.
Q: What happened on the onside kick and what went wrong with the officiating?
A: One of the officials was very definite that the Oregon player had recovered it and that the ball had been taken away from him. It's clear to me that Oregon touched the ball first. It is also clear that Oregon did not recover the ball in the pile. In either case, it should have been given to Oklahoma.
Q: What went wrong with the process and why wasn't the call reversed?
A: I think there was a glitch in the (instant replay) booth. Somehow they didn't get all of the replays that ABC was providing. I think there was a miscommunication between the No. 2 (Roger Judd) and the No. 1 (Gordon Riese), and as a result, we didn't get all the information we should have gotten.
Q: If the glitch was in the replay booth, why was the entire officiating crew suspended?
A: They made two incorrect decisions to begin with that caused all of this. The suspensions came from the conference office. We had a conference call for an hour this morning.
Q: The pass interference call (on the final drive), was it ruled incorrectly?
A: That was reviewed also. I really couldn't tell. I could see the linebacker go up with his right arm, I could see the ball go at a crazy rotation afterward, but it was going at a crazy rotation to begin with. (More at the Oregonian)
SportsNation Poll: ESPN ask the SportsNation, How should the BCS handle the Oklahoma-Oregon game? Vote now on ESPN.com. Currently, 53,000 votes.. 59% say Count It, 41% say Disregard It.
Please forward all e-mail complaints to the Pac-10, not my e-mail.. I don't do petitions, or complaints.. Here's a direct link to Pac-10 Conference Officials' contacts, Pac-10.org.
"Biggest robbery since the Oklahoma land grab" Tony Kornheiser, PTI
Pac-10 Official says, he made the wrong call, now receiving threats: The instant replay official whose failure to overturn a bad call led to a narrow victory for Oregon over Oklahoma said he feels like he is under siege after receiving menacing phone calls and a death threat. Gordon Riese said he would make a decision soon about whether to finish the season, or even whether to return next year. "I'm struggling with it," Riese said in an interview at his home. "I feel so bad I missed that call, it's driving me crazy." A former college baseball pitcher in the 1960s who was inducted into the Portland State Hall of Fame in 1997, Riese said he never played football but always enjoyed the game during 28 years as a Pacific-10 Conference official. "I loved it, I absolutely loved it," Riese said. But that was before he became an instant replay official. "I've felt much, much more pressure as an instant replay official than I ever did on the field," Riese said. He said the equipment is not as sophisticated as NFL replay equipment, and does not allow the official to freeze the frame. Riese said he has stopped answering the phone, and police are investigating the threatening calls while keeping an eye on his neighborhood. (Seattle Times)
Q&A with Pac-10 Coordinator Of Officiating: Verle Sorgen, the coordinator of football officiating for the Pacific-10 Conference, on Monday answered questions about Oregon's controversial 34-33 win Saturday over Oklahoma, on the instant replay system and on the conference's decision to suspend the crew and replay officials.
Q: What happened on the onside kick and what went wrong with the officiating?
A: One of the officials was very definite that the Oregon player had recovered it and that the ball had been taken away from him. It's clear to me that Oregon touched the ball first. It is also clear that Oregon did not recover the ball in the pile. In either case, it should have been given to Oklahoma.
Q: What went wrong with the process and why wasn't the call reversed?
A: I think there was a glitch in the (instant replay) booth. Somehow they didn't get all of the replays that ABC was providing. I think there was a miscommunication between the No. 2 (Roger Judd) and the No. 1 (Gordon Riese), and as a result, we didn't get all the information we should have gotten.
Q: If the glitch was in the replay booth, why was the entire officiating crew suspended?
A: They made two incorrect decisions to begin with that caused all of this. The suspensions came from the conference office. We had a conference call for an hour this morning.
Q: The pass interference call (on the final drive), was it ruled incorrectly?
A: That was reviewed also. I really couldn't tell. I could see the linebacker go up with his right arm, I could see the ball go at a crazy rotation afterward, but it was going at a crazy rotation to begin with. (More at the Oregonian)
SportsNation Poll: ESPN ask the SportsNation, How should the BCS handle the Oklahoma-Oregon game? Vote now on ESPN.com. Currently, 53,000 votes.. 59% say Count It, 41% say Disregard It.
Please forward all e-mail complaints to the Pac-10, not my e-mail.. I don't do petitions, or complaints.. Here's a direct link to Pac-10 Conference Officials' contacts, Pac-10.org.
"Biggest robbery since the Oklahoma land grab" Tony Kornheiser, PTI
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