I really don't like officials

I try not to make a big issue about this, especially on the air. There is nothing I hate more than someone blaming a game on the officiating.

I'll admit, I did rip into the officials once this year during the Bearkats nonconference game against Central Florida. Jeremy Thomas was leveled out of bounds in a two-point game with less than a minute to play and the officials called it a turnover I think I called the call trash.

But Monday night I saw two things that probably would have caused me to loose it had I been broadcasting the games. Both Villanova and the Rutgers women have reason to complain after the outcomes of their games on the ESPN family of networks.

First off let me say I am a fan of Georgetown. Depending on their draw, I'll probably have them in my final four, but they got a gift in their 55-53 win over the Wildcats. With less than a second to play in a tie game, Nova's Corey Stokes was called for a bump foul, more than 70 feet away from the basket.

Jonathan Wallace went on to knock down both free throws to give the No. 8 Hoyas the victory.

"At first I thought I stepped out of bounds," Wallace said, "because I was trying to make a play with the time running down. But I did kind of [feel a] nudge when I was trying to turn the corner."

"So," Wallace shrugged, "a call's a call."

Villanova coach Jay Wright didn't have much to say on it after the game.

"I can't complain about it," Villanova coach Jay Wright said, "because I didn't see it."

In other words "No comment."

Vivian Stringer, the coach for Rutgers, was a little more vocal after her squad fell to the Tennessee Lady Vols in Knoxville. Trailing by 1, the Vols got an offense rebound with .2 second left to play and a foul was called sending Tennessee to the line to win the game.

I wasn't watching this game, but after seeing the highlights, Rutgers got screwed. There is no doubt there was a foul after the rebound, but the only problem is, it occurred more than a second after the clock ran out.

"The game did not deserve this. Tennessee didn't deserve this. Pat didn't deserve this," Stringer said. "Those great players didn't deserve this and neither did my great team deserve this. It is what it is."

Now I am certainly no Stringer fan, but I am glad she came out and said something.

I go ahead and speak for both coaches and steal a line from Mike Gundy about the calls at the end of both games.

"It's garbage."