Gene Steratore, a CBS Sports rules analyst, later said on the TBS broadcast of the game that he heard Smith was feeling "lightheaded" before the accident. He has been calling games at all levels for more than 30 years. Referee, the worlds original sports officiating magazine, educates, challenges and inspires officials at all levels. When he wasnt busy putting one foot in front of the other, he was employing a variety of techniques to pass the time. And to make matters worse, his five dining companions John Gaffney, John Higgins, Kip Kissinger, Ray Natili and Ted Valentine were also knocked out of the tournament due to contact tracing protocols. While the Ayers and Smith incidents both received the lions share of headlines regarding officiating during this years tournaments, plenty of additional personal storylines developed over the three weeks of March Madness competition, with each of the 118 officials who ultimately worked a tourney game emerging with a tale to tell. Obligatory Final Four Jeff Anderson tweet. Let's provide bracket picks for the #Pac12WBB Tournament. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. 5 Houston50-44. Never had tossing around a football, playing a few games of cornhole or enjoying a simple walk on fresh-cut grass felt so good. All betting content is intended for an audience ages 21+. Their appeals were finally heard, and after a shower at the J.W. We got time in the yard. The whole way home I felt fine. March Madness ref's collapse may have saved his life Baylor dominates Gonzaga to win national championship COVID-19 already has its first March Madness losers. There was nothing normal about 2021, Collins said. Collins. On the surface . ", "I mean, I was just shocked and scared for him," said Few, per ESPN, "but I was able to stick my head in there a little bit and see that he was talking and coherent and tried to say a quick prayer for him and just wished him the best.". Doing so allowed him to stock up on provisions avoiding some online supply ordering and enjoy a one-night respite from a hotel bed before he returned to tournament central for a 16-night stay that culminated with his first Sweet 16 assignment. The referees had no idea how to officiate Baylor's second-half pressure, seemingly subscribing to the "if they're fouling on every play, we can't call fouls" method. He was not taken to the hospital. And again and again and again, until the next one falls. About 90 minutes later, he discovered it wasnt. Meanwhile, Ayers had to figure out how to deal with the immediate aftermath. Let's take a look at all the officiating. March Madness Referee collapses on court at Gonzaga-USC March Madness game. The second hard call I had to make was to call those five guys.. NFL referees do not get paid by a per game . pic.twitter.com/IXh0GO90k6. About five minutes into last night's NCAA tourney game between Gonzaga and USCthe Zags were already starting to beat the snot out of the Trojans, if you had any doubtwe saw the first seconds of what could've been an unimaginable tragedy. Report on someone's health later on in the game. Basketball fans were so appalled by the referees missing calls against UNC that even Duke fans had sympathy for how UNC was treated. So glad the referee is okay, but there. For tournament play to safely return, changes were going to be necessary. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. The refs should never be tempted to call it. It may have been Indiana's best play of the game. In a comeback that seemed rather unjust to behold, fans were so unnerved by the poor referee calls that even Duke fans had sympathy for the Tar Heels. On Thursday afternoon, he started having breathing issues. After the game, Gonzaga head coach Mark Few spoke highly of Smith, telling reporters that he is "a great official, great person. 00:01 01:38 Author:. Andy Specht (@AndySpecht) March 19, 2022. 1 Mentally, however, its been a tough couple of months as he struggles with guilt over what his positive test cost his dining companions. While Ayers health issue provided a troublesome start to the 2021 tourney on an officiating front, it was another tourney veteran, Bert Smith, who became the center of attention just two weeks later. It definitely prepared me, because going into the WNBA bubble, I brought everything, Cissoko-Stephens said. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of all the cookies. That should've been the end of the story. Manek had 26 points prior to his ejectionpic.twitter.com/ggNHNJ27M5. AZ, CO, CT, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, (select parishes), MD, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, TN, VA, WV, WY, CA-ONT only.Eligibility restrictions apply. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. The 2023 men's NCAA tournament for March Madness starts with First Four games in Dayton, Ohio and continues through to the 2023 Final Four in Houston. We all look forward to and desire a normal year, whatever thats going to be.. And there is hope that none will ever have to experience NCAA Tournaments like these again. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. He was alert and later went to a hospital. Mike Reed, Brian OConnell, Courtney Green were the refs in the game. It puts in perspective the value of each day, because we all go through our lives were all guilty of it and we just live, right? 1 overall seed Gonzaga on Thursday. It's not only his running style that has made Anderson popular on social media. Doyel: NCAA Tournament fall didn't kill referee Bert Smith. He called his doctor Wednesday. #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/EKzYylK0py. 10 (John Wooden) Most March Madness . UNC also drew sympathy from college basketball fans from across the country, including Syracuse, Indiana University, and other professional sports journalists and accounts. Anderson moved up the chain, calling Section V, junior college and NCAA Division III games before getting his first Division I shot reffing Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference games in 2002. College basketball referees can make a nice living, but there is a lot of travel and stress involved. Collins, the national coordinator of officiating, for the 2022 #MFinalFour. Once that was finished, and not showing any symptoms, Ayers had to try to convince health officials to let him travel to his home in Roanoke, Va., rather than suffer through a 10- to 14-day quarantine in his hotel room. The . 3 min read. He convinced the doctors to not admit him to the hospital, returning home and enduring four days where he could barely get out of bed and walk to the kitchen to grab a Gatorade from the fridge. Four replacement officials have been previously approved and meet the pre-tournament testing protocols. Bert Smith was alert and sitting up with his arms crossed as he was taken off the court. Early speculation was Smith had been dehydrated. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. College basketball fans and officials everywhere watched in horror as the Florence, Ky., resident collapsed to the floor approximately four minutes into the Elite Eight contest between USC and Gonzaga on March 30. I told her, Im sorry I lied to you. She was like, Drizly? So glad the referee is okay, but there was no need for TBS to replay his collapse! Baylor will play Houston on Saturday evening, while UCLA will face-off with Gonzaga later that night. They should be held accountable for such a terrible call. In a normal year, each would reward approximately 100 officials with tournament assignments, such large numbers necessary as crews were needed in eight different regional locations spread across four time zones and thousands of miles. Then, Baylor trapped UNC and forced many turnovers, using the same kind of aggressiveness that UNC was criticized for with the Manek call. He was already getting plenty of physical exertion, and it had nothing to do with the number of tournament games he worked, culminating with the Womens Final Four semifinal clash between Arizona and UConn. Any chance you get the ability to go home, even if its for a couple of hours, is worth it, said Green, singing the refrain of a busy sports official. Once Smith came to, he was ready to resume the game with partners McCall and Doug Shows. They sent two nurses to my room. Most Final Four appearances. Purdue earned probably 36-38 of its 46 free throws. The Rochester ref shows enthusiasm on his calls, whether he's firmlypointing toward a baseline to indicate change of possession or swinging his arm to the ground on a buzzer beating basket. Those 120 officials faced stiff restrictions before even stepping on the floor at their tournament sites. In 2017, Anderson called his first Final Four. Almost immediately, a serious complication arose on the mens side. Per policy, explanations are only given for time/situation calls, not judgement calls on individual plays. Manchester United and Newcastle will be focused on the task of winning the 2022/23 Carabao Cup final this weekend and both sets of players will be familiar with the match referee David Coote. Thus, the tech an interpretation call does not meet the standard for pool reporter access. We had a tournament, but it felt nothing like the usual March Madness experience. The notion that a referee mistake is but another instance of quirky misfortune is an affront to all that sports fans hold sacred. Rules, interpretations, mechanics, philosophies and other information may or may not be correct for the current year. Only later when they returned to the hotel and took COVID-19 tests did they discover that one of the officials tested positive for the virus. Touch fouls are a contradiction in terms, since merely touching an opposing player is not disruptive to that players attempt to move or shoot or perform any other action. Illinois couldnt afford to have such a dumb call go against them in a close game the Cougars are too good for that. I went by Penny and I felt like a little kid, like I was caught. Certainly, there were a lot of good officials who werent selected that would have been in our typical pool., At the time, you dont know if its the right number, Collins said. North Carolina is primarily to blame for blowing a 25-point lead before regrouping to win in overtime, but fans and TV viewers were alarmed by how many calls Baylor got in the process of mounting its comeback. Southern California head coach Andy Enfield reacts to a referee's call during the second half of a college basketball game against Miami in the first round of the NCAA tournament, Friday, March 18, 2022, in Greenville, S.C. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson) Manek was given aflagrant-2 foul and automatic ejection, which changed the course of the game. Referee Bert Smith's fall in men's NCAA Tournament game didn't kill him. Please disable. So, after a year of constant and persisting morbidity, the quick trigger over in the booth skews toward the Let's See This Guy Get Hurt button? The doctors convinced Smith to sit on the stretcher for just a moment. To have ones name on the list of officials selected for the NCAA mens and womens basketball tournaments would, under normal circumstances, be more than enough adrenaline to fuel their own personal March Madness. I said, Uh-oh. 1 min read. Bet on Houston in the Sweet 16 at DraftKings Sportsbook, particularly in the North Carolina vs. Baylor game, Michael Jordan made me go to the wrong college, A look inside Japans obsession with bizarre mascots, Thats Weird: Hey uh it kinda seems like this Olympic swimmer got poisoned by her rivals, The best way to watch Marvel movies is in chronological order, 17776: What football will look like in the future. I remember starting to struggle, but the four minutes prior to that it was a normal game for me. Since its about to be March Madness time.. ACT LIKE COACH BOBBY KNIGHT. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. He said, Were going to take care of you. It took a huge burden off of me. A stretcher came out. He was seen earlier in the game stumbling a bit as he regained his balance, just minutes before he would pass out and hit his head on the ground. The NCAA Division I Mens Basketball Committee has approved the 11 game officials recommended by J.D. Referee Burt Smith looked like he was struggling seconds before he collapsed in the #USC #Gonzaga game. Slowly but surely, he regained his physical health and now feels 100 percent. Part of that Baylor comeback was spurred by a powerful full court press defense, but it was also aided by the callsand lack of callsthat seemed to all go against UNC. Everything we send is officiating specific because that's all we do. I told the lady when she called the second time, You get me a Starbucks and I can ref this morning, Ayers said. And it's part of a larger problem, damn near a trope, in sports broadcasting. March Madness (the 14th - 19th) in Vegas is an annual trip for many and a bucket list item for even more. There have been several endgame controversies in this tournament, and USC was involved in one of them. And it was especially welcome given his own personal officiating schedule. I knew I needed clean clothes, I knew I needed DJ equipment and I knew I needed snacks. Your favorite teams, topics, and players all on your favorite mobile devices. He awoke Monday morning to find he had three missed calls, all from an Indianapolis area code. Photo by . pic.twitter.com/v3jwDdg8IE Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) March 30, 2021. Immediately after his fall, fellow officials, coaches and medical staff rushed to his aide. Theyve now advanced to at least the Sweet 16 in three straight times in the mens tournament. There is gratitude for good health, with Ayers and Smith having rounded back into shape, and the knowledge that in the midst of a pandemic, tournament games were played and champions were crowned. #MarchMadness @highkneesref pic.twitter.com/LEuYlFuShk. Do we do the things with our family and friends that have value to them? Smith was replaced by an alternate official Tony Henderson for the remainder of the game, which ended in a 85-66 win for No. Nearly 40 years since Monday Night Football used its "Reverse Angle Camera" to make sure we saw Joe Theismann's leg snap in half, the brains up in the production booths still don't know when to cut the video when someone's in agonizing pain. There is thankfulness for the camaraderie created by having officials sheltered together for weeks at a time instead of spread throughout the country, sharing the uncommon bond of having thrived despite the harsh restrictions of the bubble environment. TBS replayed official Bert Smith collapsing. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Scary video shows the ref falling backwards and hitting his head on the hardwood floor just four minutes into the March Madness game as other officials pause the match and run to his aid. Melendez was not showboating he was making sure he didnt get hurt after sprinting and soaring for a dunk in a close game. Another phone call. Thats still 8-10 too many. Click on each . March Madness = The Big Dance. As seen in Bellino's Twitter clip, Smith was sitting up awake on the stretcher and briefly flashed a smile. The one thing marring it all: the officiating. Even during March Madness, one of the biggest televised college basketball platforms, the referees can still make game-changing mistakes. And that continued Sunday when officials seemingly ducked an explanation for a . Houston vs Villanova. And after you see it? pic.twitter.com/HUAI0PfVSi. If college basketball referees can impress the NBA, they could be in for a major pay raise if they make the jump over to professional basketball.The lowest-paid NBA officials make more than double that the highest-paid college officials make, and the highest-paid officials make $550,000.They can make anywhere from $600 per game to $3,500 and have far more certainty about their schedules. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". NCAA has some things to fix for next year #IUB, Barstool IU (@IUBarstool) March 19, 2022, Eddie Gonzalez (@bansky) March 19, 2022, https://twitter.com/ActionNetworkHQ/status/1505258117411442688, Chris Milholen (@CMilholenSB) March 19, 2022. Crossing paths with Davis in the hotel lobby, he mentioned he was waiting on a food delivery only to be busted when the delivery driver showed up with something a little bit stronger. 2004-2023 CBS Interactive. As USC pushed the ball up the court, there he was, in the very top-left of your screen: referee Bert Smith, collapsed on the sideline. Build your customFanSided Daily email newsletter with news and analysis onAll College Basketball and all your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and more. No team has taken as many free throws as Purdue did (46) while its opponent took as few as Texas did (12) tonight in a D1 game in more than 4 years. He has the unique environment of the 2021 NCAA Tournament to thank for it. March Madness roundup: Houston, Baylor reach Final Four, March Madness roundup: Houston in Elite Eight for first time since 1984. Mar 17, 2022 PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 15: A general view of the court with March Madness signage is seen prior to the start of the game between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Rhode Island Rams in. Reaching a new personal milestone on college basketballs biggest stage allowed Green, an 11-year D-I veteran, to put a positive spin on an otherwise challenging situation. You start realizing that there were only 60 guys here. 'Scary scenes' as basketball referee collapses midway through March Madness college game . (Collins) know. 1 Villanova defeated No. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. He was last assigned toan Elite Eight game, whenNo. The March to Madness Referees March 05, 2010 Are Referees Blowing Calls Because of Fatigue? Six referees have been sent. All College Basketball news fromFanSided Daily, Molly McCann possible KO of the Year, jumps over the cage for UFC belt in crowd (Video), Steelers interview 3 more general manager candidates, March Madness 2022: 10 best potential games were looking forward to watching, Everything you need to know about the NCAA Womens Tournament, Michigan fans roast Ohio State after another early March Madness exit from Chris Holtmann's Buckeyes, Greatest Shot in March Madness History Didn't Count as a Shot or Go In the Basket, Villanova beats Ohio State to reach Sweet 16: Updated March Madness bracket, College basketball streams Reddit: Duke vs. Michigan State prediction, live stream, game time, Everyone wanted to fire the refs into the sun for calling a technical foul on this Illinois dunk. , a serious complication arose on the stretcher and briefly flashed a smile his physical health now... The referees missing calls against UNC that even Duke fans had sympathy for how UNC was treated Thursday. 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