Blowing the whistle (Jack Bog's Blog)

Detail, east Portland photo, courtesy Miles Hochstein / Portland Ground.

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This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on May 2, 2007 11:23 AM. The previous post in this blog was Too many cooks?. The next post in this blog is Be proud, Portland. Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.

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« Too many cooks? | Main | Be proud, Portland »

Wednesday, May 2, 2007

Blowing the whistle

Are pro basketball referees racially biased in their foul calls?

Posted at 11:23 AM | Permalink

Comments (10)

The Huff Post last night said "NBA Referees
Call More Fowls Against Black Players Than White Players". I liked that much better.

Posted by Chris Snethen | May 2, 2007 1:33 PM

Only when the Raptors are playing...

Posted by Jack Bog | May 2, 2007 1:34 PM

You can't call a foul on a White Euro, they dont play defence.

Posted by todd | May 2, 2007 1:35 PM

Jack--Next season, I'm going to call a close foul on a Black player whose parents (and the parents of whose teammates) have seen this inflammatory picture. I'm now more likely to get called a racist on the court than I already am (and yes, officials are occasionally accused of racism by out-of-control parents of all races, and at all levels of play). I appreciate you and your blog, Jack, but I need to say that I don't appreciate this picture, which, whether you see it or not, adds to the culture that makes my job harder.

Posted by teacherrefpoet | May 2, 2007 7:20 PM

TRP, I am sorry I have made your job harder. The picture merely illustrates what the "study" suggests, rightly or wrongly.

Just so you know, FWIW, my personal view is that the "study" that made this suggestion is an unadulterated crock of statistical m**lda. Social "scientists" are attention whores sometimes.

Of course, when someone is called a racist nowadays, it's not PC to jump to their defense, and so I withheld my point of view. I should have made it clearer, but our town's champions of civil rights already have me on their Stennie enemies list, and that intimidated me.

Posted by Jack Bog | May 2, 2007 8:25 PM

Apology accepted, Jack. I do wish you'd been more up-front about your opinion...as it is, the picture was all I had to go on. But hey, I've done worse that than.

John Hollinger wrote a reasoned analysis of the study on his ESPN blog. (ESPN insider subscription needed...email me if you want me to send it to you).

My friend BloggingRef has some things to say, too: illegalscreen.blogspot.com.

By the way--basketball lover and runner that you are--have you ever considered officiating? We're short bodies, and I'd buy you your first shirt and whistle.

Posted by teacherrefpoet | May 2, 2007 8:36 PM

Do I look that crazy? My brother used to ref basketball at a Boys' Club in Newark, N.J. He said it was the hardest thing he ever did. You have to watch a hundred things at once.

I definitely could use the exercise, though...

Posted by Jack Bog | May 2, 2007 10:00 PM

Is it just me or is the officiating still at an all time low? Even though the Spurs won, Tim Duncan essentially got beat down, gangland style. It was interesting watching him keep his composure.

Then we saw the refs extend the Warriors/Mavs series by non-calling all sorts of Dallas fouls, including a really obvious Nowitzki hack on Jason Richardson on his game-tying three attempt (which clanged off the side of the rim with no arc...as it happens when your elbow/arm is hit).

Then the whole Joey Crawford thing. It's getting ridiculous.

Posted by Sebastian | May 3, 2007 10:55 AM

In my 11 years and 500+ straight games courtside, the thought of such calls have never crossed my mind. Most refs work their hardest to get it right first. They even retire to the locker room at 1/2-time to watch tape to see if they did. The speed of play and athleticism of league players makes it tougher all the time, IMHO. But I always like it when a ref calls out the color uniform ("Red ball, the other way!") when making a call. It signals he/she doesn't care who is wearing it.

Posted by Mark Mason | May 3, 2007 12:28 PM

In my 11 years and 500+ straight games courtside

How many tickets do you have?

Posted by Jack Bog | May 3, 2007 2:27 PM

In Vino Veritas

Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
Campo Viejo, Rioja, Termpranillo 2010
Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
Chateau Lajarre, Bordeaux 2009
La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio 2011
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
Les Fiefs d'Anglars, Malbec 2009
14 Hands, Pinot Gris 2011
Conundrum 2012
Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
Penelope Sanchez, Garnacha Syrah 2010
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
Vin-Koru, Pinot Gris 2011
14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007

The Occasional Book

Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt

Road Work

Miles run year to date: 21
At this date last year: 52
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269