“And just who in the hell,” you ask, “is Verle Sorgen?”
Verle is the Pac-10’s director of instant replay. You may recall his grave concern over the debacle that was the officiating in last year’s Oregon-Oklahoma game.
This year Verle has been forced to turn his attention to a call (a non-call, more accurately) from last weekend’s Oregon State-Washington game. Here’s the play:
Sure, that looks pretty clear cut to you and me. But evidently the replay official stepped out for a smoke or was checking out the blonde in Section 113, because not only was the call on the field not overruled, play wasn’t even stopped to review the officials’ decision.
Needless to say, OSU folks are upset. Not ol’ Verle, though.
Sorgen was quoted saying the lack of replay on Bernard’s fumble “wasn’t that egregious unless you are an Oregon State fan.”
Perspective is a wonderful thing in a bureaucrat.
Sorgie, you’re doing a heckuva job.
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Wow. That’s Jasper Sanks-ish.
But, forget replay. How in the world did the umpire miss that? He should be fired — not just suspended — for missing something that “egregious.” He is literally within five yards of the play, looking straight down at it. The line judge might have been shielded from the play, but the umpire was right there. If he can’t see that from that vantage point, then he is totally useless on the field at all.
But no replay? Well, why bother? Replay just serves to confirm calls on the field. If calls need to be overturned, well, “equipment malfunctions” seem to get in the way of those.
And, attaboy, Verle. It’s one thing to take up for your guys, but there is no excuse for that. Absolutely dreadful. He should be canned as well.
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The thing with Verle is that this wasn’t just a slip of the lip. Given his similar lack of concern about what happened in last year’s Oregon/Oklahoma game, it’s apparent that he really doesn’t care about his guys’ screwups. How he’s still got his job today is beyond me.
Georgia goes to ASU next year. I sure hope there’s not a Pac-10 crew calling that game. I think I’d prefer Penn Wagers’. 😉
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Oregon State ended up winning the game. Maybe the Pac-10’s official response would have been different had OSU lost. Probably not.
Is Verle Sorgen related to Nick Saban? He obviously doesn’t have time for this shit.
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Maybe the Pac-10’s official response would have been different had OSU lost.
Had OSU lost, Verle’s description of the mistake would have been elevated from “not egregious” to a “glitch”.
I have no idea what’s more serious than a glitch on his response chart, though.
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That is on the replay official. They have said several times that the officials on the field are to error on the side of a fumble. If it is ruled a fumble, the replay official can overturn it. If it is not, then the play is dead and there is no review. With that said, I think that is a clear example of it was down. The official should have called it down, but I can see why he didn’t. Also, where was the coach? They have one challenge and unless he used it already, or didn’t have a timeout to use, I would have challenged that call.
BCD
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I hate that rule: … err on the side of the fumble. I know the officials don’t want to make an incorrect call that is irreversable, but if an official sees the ball is down – make the call. Someone is going to get hurt during a nonsense “return”, when offensive players try to tackle and defenders try to block. If the ball carrier is down by contact or has his forward progress clearly stopped, BLOW THE WHISTLE! Don’t be scared to make the right call. Refs have become far too dependant on the guys with the monitors.
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