Cry Me a River Oklahoma

It is now Wednesday, a full four days after their game, and Oklahoma is still crying about the missed call by the refs against Oregon. The latest sad, complaint in the form of a threat is that OU will cancel their 2008 game against Washington if the Pac-10 doesn’t change its rule requiring league officials to be used at its home stadiums for non-conference games. Oklahoma should be embarrassed about the way their entire school from the administration to the coaches to the players to their fans are crying about how they got cheated. First of all, it is clear that the refs missed that call on the onside kick. The Pacific-10 Conference admitted Monday the onside kick was touched by an Oregon player before it traveled the required 10 yards, and, therefore, possession should have been awarded to Oklahoma. No debate there. As for the pass interference call against Oklahoma that occurred on Oregon’s last drive, that play was also reviewed by the conference, which found it did not have indisputable evidence that the pass was tipped, as Stoops had claimed. So throw that “controversial” call out altogether. So we agree that the refs missed the call on the onside kick. Newsflash – REFS MISS CALLS! Referees are human and therefore imperfect, they will make mistakes. This isn’t the first time an official has blown a call nor will it be the last time. As unfortunate as it may be and as mad as it may make fans, mistakes are just part of the game. Not only do officials blow calls, but quarterbacks throw interceptions, running backs fumble, linebackers miss tackles, defensive backs blow coverages, and kickers shank field goals. I also don’t have to mention that coaches make mistakes too. So the officials screwed up. They should be punished. Newsflash number two- they are! The league suspended the officials responsible for one game, and commissioner Tom Hansen apologized for the mistake. What more does OU want? Do you really want to know? Oklahoma president David Boren, in a letter sent Monday to the Big 12 Conference, requested that the game should not count as a win or loss by either team "in light of the level of officiating mistakes." Are you serious, Mr. Boren? Please tell me how you became the president of a major university with ridiculous conclusions like that? Fortunately, not everyone involved thinks as irrationally as President Boren, as Big 12 commissioner Kevin Weiberg responded with a statement saying the result of the game would stand. "There is no provision under NCAA or conference rules for a game result to be reversed or changed as a result of officiating errors, nor do I believe there should be," he said. Amen to that, Mr. Weiberg. As I mentioned before, this isn’t the first time an official has made an error. If we throw out every game where every call isn’t 100% correct, I’m sure that somewhere it will cost Oklahoma a loss or two. I doubt President Boren would be for that though. Finally, I would like to address all the Oklahoma crying saying that the refs cost them the game. Sooners quarterback Paul Thompson said the team still feels "like we got a win that was taken from us." Really, Paul so it was all the refs fault you guys lost that game? It had nothing to do with the fact that the Oklahoma defense gave up 501 total yards to Oregon’s offense? Explain to me how the refs caused Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon to be 25 of 40 for 350 yards with 3 TDs, 1 rushing, including two TD drives in the final 1:09. Did you know that the Ducks were an impressive 9 of 15 on third and fourth-down conversions? Oh, but none of that could possibly have anything to do with Oklahoma getting beat, it is solely the refs fault. Last but not least, we agreed earlier that the officials messed up. OU, please tell me why this was a free pass for your secondary to leave Oregon’s receiver wide open for the game winning 23 yard TD with only seconds left. Nobody is mentioning the fact that the Sooners gave up two touchdowns in the final 72 seconds of the game. But even after all that OU still had an opportunity to win it with a field goal as time expired. Oregon blocked that FG to preserve their victory and even whiny OU fans can’t blame that on the officials. So the way I see it, sure Oklahoma we all know the officials messed up, they admit it and they are being punished for it. But Oklahoma you ultimately have no one to blame for your loss but yourselves. Quit making excuses. You just look and sound like pathetic losers. Man up and be accountable that your sucky team finally didn’t get lucky and they lost. Don’t try to act like you are a national title contender, sure you may end up with a decent record but you have a cupcake schedule. You struggled your first two games and you will lose more games this season anyway. At least don’t be gay babies when you lose.