On Friday, a clerical error cost Long Island Lutheran the NYS Federation Semifinal game and perhaps their first championship. At first, I felt that the Federation was totally at fault but after a good night’s sleep and the application of some common sense, now I believe there’s plenty of blame to go around. The only thing the NYS Federation is guilty of is enlisting an inept scorekeeper.who was 75 years old more or less.5 years
Clearly, LuHi had an additional time-out and was incorrectly penalized with a technical foul with 8.3 seconds left to play which cost them the game but unfortunately there’s a NYS Federation rule in place that does not allow protests and therefore no recourse after a game is over. Is the rule fair? No. Does the protest rule need to be changed? Yes (Protests are allowed in the PSAL and CHSAA). But that’s something that can only be changed before or after a season. It can’t be changed right after a game because a team is unhappy with the result.
Clerical errors happen all the time in high school basketball whether it’s points scored, team fouls or time-outs left. Why? Because stats are usually done by volunteers and not by professionals. Nowadays teams have seemingly hundreds of assistant coaches. I usually see assistant coaches scouring over and reconciling official scorebooks with their scorebooks after quarters and halves, checking and double-checking stats. Why didn’t a LuHi assistant coach pick up on the time out called by R.J. Davis at the 5:29 mark of the first quarter that was incorrectly assessed to LuHi? That error remained on the books unchecked for over 24 hours. Imagine if the Crusaders would have addressed discrepancy at the end of the first quarter or the half or at least when the incorrect tech was assessed with 8.3 secs left in the game?
It wasn’t Stepinac’s job to alert anyone of the clerical error. It was L.I. Lutheran’s job to be more meticulous when it came to checking the books and identifying the error same as they would with team fouls etc.. Especially with a “no protest” rule in place.
Basketball is played on and off the court. Winning teams pay attention to details. I was watching a 30 for 30 movie called “The Two Bills”. Bill Parcells said what he liked most about Bill Belichick was how detailed oriented he was. He left no stone unturned before or during a game. That’s why the New England Patriots (Love ‘em or hate ‘em) win so damn much.
We did a poll where we asked, what should be done about that clerical error? Most people said that the 8.3 seconds should be replayed with the scored tied at 72 but that would’ve been against the rules, same as a shot clock violation or any other rule.
Bottomline. This should’ve been avoided even with the clerical error. Stepinac wins. No asterisk required. IMHO.
Thoughts?
Clearly, LuHi had an additional time-out and was incorrectly penalized with a technical foul with 8.3 seconds left to play which cost them the game but unfortunately there’s a NYS Federation rule in place that does not allow protests and therefore no recourse after a game is over. Is the rule fair? No. Does the protest rule need to be changed? Yes (Protests are allowed in the PSAL and CHSAA). But that’s something that can only be changed before or after a season. It can’t be changed right after a game because a team is unhappy with the result.
Clerical errors happen all the time in high school basketball whether it’s points scored, team fouls or time-outs left. Why? Because stats are usually done by volunteers and not by professionals. Nowadays teams have seemingly hundreds of assistant coaches. I usually see assistant coaches scouring over and reconciling official scorebooks with their scorebooks after quarters and halves, checking and double-checking stats. Why didn’t a LuHi assistant coach pick up on the time out called by R.J. Davis at the 5:29 mark of the first quarter that was incorrectly assessed to LuHi? That error remained on the books unchecked for over 24 hours. Imagine if the Crusaders would have addressed discrepancy at the end of the first quarter or the half or at least when the incorrect tech was assessed with 8.3 secs left in the game?
It wasn’t Stepinac’s job to alert anyone of the clerical error. It was L.I. Lutheran’s job to be more meticulous when it came to checking the books and identifying the error same as they would with team fouls etc.. Especially with a “no protest” rule in place.
Basketball is played on and off the court. Winning teams pay attention to details. I was watching a 30 for 30 movie called “The Two Bills”. Bill Parcells said what he liked most about Bill Belichick was how detailed oriented he was. He left no stone unturned before or during a game. That’s why the New England Patriots (Love ‘em or hate ‘em) win so damn much.
We did a poll where we asked, what should be done about that clerical error? Most people said that the 8.3 seconds should be replayed with the scored tied at 72 but that would’ve been against the rules, same as a shot clock violation or any other rule.
Bottomline. This should’ve been avoided even with the clerical error. Stepinac wins. No asterisk required. IMHO.
Thoughts?
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