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Wed September 27, 2006

Castiglione has seen it all
OU A.D. witnessed five of sports' most controversial calls

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Texas Tech’s Taurean Henderson reaches to score the disputed game-winning touchdown against Oklahoma on Nov. 19, 2005. The Associated Press
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By John Rohde
The Oklahoman
Two or three times would be a coincidence. But five times is downright mean.

On five occasions, Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione has been victimized by some of the most intense officiating controversies in recent history.




"Believe me, this is no badge of honor to wear," said Castiglione, who tries to keep a sense of humor through the pain. "I'm sure every sports fan can remember when they thought some calls went against them, and I'm no different."

But the calls that went against Castiglione are etched in time.

Chronologically, Castiglione has personally witnessed:

The Don Denkinger Game (1985): In Game 6 of the World Series at Royals Stadium, first-base umpire Don Denkinger incorrectly ruled pinch-hitter Jorge Orta safe at first base when he indeed was out by a half-step. Trailing the Cardinals 1-0 in the bottom of the ninth at the time, the Royals went on to win the game 2-1 to tie the series and became World Series champs the following night. Castiglione was seated in the upper deck along the third-base line, "but you could easily tell he (Denkinger) got it wrong."

Fifth Down Game (1990): Colorado was allowed five downs from inside the 3-yard line to beat Missouri 33-31 at Faurot Field in Columbia. Quarterback Charles Johnson spiked the ball on fourth-and-goal to stop the clock (the down marker said it was third down) and then scored on a fifth-down keeper. CU went on to win the Associated Press national title that season. Castiglione was an associate athletic director at MU. "What made that result so tough is we were in the process of getting a program back on its feet," he said.

The Immaculate Deflection (1997): With 12 seconds remaining, top-ranked Nebraska faced a third-and-10 at the Missouri 12. Cornhuskers quarterback Scott Frost threw a pass into the chest of Shevin Wiggins. The ball was knocked loose by MU's Julian Jones. Before the ball hit the ground, Wiggins — either intentionally or unintentionally — kicked the ball into the air, where teammate Matt Davison caught it for a touchdown. (A player can not intentionally kick a ball in order to catch it.) NU kicked the extra point to tie the score and won in overtime. Castiglione was MU's athletic director at the time. "We had built some momentum within the program and that still was a great season, but there's no telling what that victory could have done," Castiglione said.

Oklahoma-Texas Tech (2005): Texas Tech running back Taurean Henderson was awarded a game-winning touchdown on the final play against the Sooners. A reverse angle not available to game officials at the time showed Henderson was down before the ball crossed the goal line. Castiglione was in his seventh year as OU athletic director. "We had won four straight at that point and could have finished with seven straight wins," Castiglione said.

Oklahoma-Oregon (2006): No need to recap, is there? "What hurts so bad about this one is we had instant replay at our disposal for the precise reason of doing all we can to make sure errors don't occur. But they still happened."

Asked which loss hurt the most, Castiglione quickly dismissed the Denkinger game because he was a fan and the outcome was not work-related.

The Fifth Down, Immaculate Deflection and OU-Oregon games "all hurt the same," Castiglione said.

"But we all accept it as part of sports and we all do our best to move on."

College replay: NFL or bust
Don't know if any of you are aware of this, but college football appears to have a problem with instant replay officials.

They have proven themselves to be blind, ignorant, incompetent or all three.

To rectify this problem, we say replay officials should have no say.

Allow replay officials to cue up plays in question, but give the final decision to the referee on the field.

Make a monitor available on the sideline for the referee, just like the NFL.

But what sounds so simple to do apparently is not.

Sideline monitors are available in the NFL because every facility is wired. The league has its own television network and top-of-the-line technology at its disposal. Not so in the college game.

Some college stadium configurations make it difficult to install a monitor on the field. Last year, the Big 12 examined the possibility of having a field monitor at every league facility, but discovered several obstacles.

Many sidelines aren't wired with the technology a replay monitor requires. Some sidelines — such as Boone Pickens Stadium — don't even have ample room to safely utilize a monitor.

Two years ago, the Big 12 budgeted roughly $500,000 to implement instant replay. Last year, the conference spent roughly $750,000 on high-level equipment that gave every league facility instant-replay technology with freeze-frame and stop-and-start capabilities.

A uniform replay system throughout college football would be almost impossible to execute because the financial commitment to the sport varies from conference to conference. Plus, there are 11 different leagues with 11 different television packages.

Meanwhile, the NFL all falls under one umbrella.

Sadly, it appears the only way to improve instant replay officiating is to improve the personnel, not the technology.

This leaves us with the simplest replay solution of all — get rid of it.

Reggie Smith: Three reasons not to play receiver
Three reasons why Oklahoma sophomore Reggie Smith shouldn't — and probably won't — see much action at wide receiver this season:

• He needs time to catch his breath on the sideline after another long kickoff return (27.5-yard average) or punt return (15.9).

• He needs a break after playing strong safety, making sure tackles are made.

• He simply is not needed at the position. Malcolm Kelly is one of the best receivers in the country. Juaquin Iglesias is pretty salty himself. Manuel Johnson, Fred Strong and true freshman Adron Tennell are also solid.

While I agree the best players should play the most minutes, Smith deserves a breather.

Bedford: Chill out
Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Vance Bedford is a passionate coach who believes in his players no matter what the circumstances.

His glass-is-half-full mentality is admirable, but the man seems to forget the other half of the glass is completely empty.

"People are saying, ‘Same ol' Oklahoma State,' " Bedford said Monday, referring to OSU's 34-25 loss at Houston in which the Cowboys surrendered 509 yards and 27 first downs. "Go tell those people that told that same ol' lie to go ahead and jump off the ship like a bunch of roaches. That's OK because that's what they are, a bunch of roaches."

Based on Saturday's result, the Cowboys' defense does appear to be the same. Anyone who so harshly suggests otherwise is in denial — even if it's just for one game.

One more tidbit, coach. Those "roaches" help pay your $200,000 salary.

"Either you are an Oklahoma State Cowboy through and through, or you're not. You're with us win, lose or draw," Bedford said.

If Bedford wants to call media "a bunch of roaches," that's fine. But referring to OSU fans as such is way out of bounds.

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