C-USA Refs Assess Penders Technical For Passing Out
The CoogFans loyalists frequently complain about C-USA basketball refs.
I've seen some good officiating and quite a bit of bad officiating in the league, but this would seem to give the CoogFans folks some serious ammo:
Houston coach Tom Penders was taken from the court and treated by EMTs and UAB doctors after complaining of lightheadedness, disorientation and dizziness Saturday.
Penders returned to the floor for the start of the second half after being evaluated and cleared by medical personnel. UAB assistant athletic director Norm Reilly said Penders fainted.
Penders was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, an inflammation of the heart muscle, in 1991, and in November 1997 he had a pacemaker implanted. It is not known if his previously diagnosed condition is related to the fainting spell.
During the episode, Penders was assessed a technical foul because the referee apparently thought Penders was reacting to a foul call and showing him up. The technical was not rescinded.
Reilly, who was sitting across the floor from Penders, gave this account:
A foul was called at UAB's shooting end shortly before the end of the first half. Penders reacted to the call, then dropped to his knees in a sort of crouch. It appeared he was reacting to the foul call, but when he didn't get back up, people realized something was wrong.
The game was stopped, a stretcher was brought onto the floor and oxygen was administered to Penders, who was talking and moving and reached for the oxygen mask.
Here's hoping Coach Penders is okay. That's the main thing.
The Coogs wound up losing the game by three points. In a game that close, it's undeniable that a boneheaded decision by the officials helped decide the outcome of the game. Still -- while an upset road win would have been nice, UH played its best game in ages and shot well. That bodes well for future games, although it just makes me shake my head over losses to Rice and Central Florida (which lost on its home court this week to basketball powerhouse South Dakota State University).
UPDATE: I wonder if the league will fine Penders for this typically candid comment after the game:
"I have a heart condition and I've had several episodes where I stand up too fast and get light headed. I did a three-mile fast walk this morning and probably didn't get enough fluids before the game," Penders said.
The coach said he had no idea until later that he was called for a technical foul.
"I don't remember anything to be upset about. To get called for a technical foul for collapsing to the floor is extremely poor judgment on the officials part," he said.
It sounds like Coach Penders is feeling just fine.
UPDATE 2: Here's Michael Murphy's assessment for the Chronicle:
"I just started seeing stars," he said. "I don't know what happened. I never lost consciousness, so I felt it was OK to come back (and coach the second half). That was a heck of a game. A great game. They had to make what I would call a circus shot to win it."
It was an appropriate description since clowns had stolen the show long before Kinnard's shot skipped off the glass. Referees Harrell Allen, Frankie Bordeaux and John Hampton were like the Beatles of bad calls, crippling both teams by calling a mind-numbing 45 fouls.
The officiating was crystallized by one call:
With 52.6 seconds to play in the first half, Penders rose to his feet, staggered and then crumpled to his hands and knees on the sideline. After a few moments, Penders went flat as medical personnel rushed to attend to him.
Hampton strolled by, paused and called a technical foul on Penders, apparently thinking the Houston coach was reacting to a questionable intentional foul call on Smith.
But even when Penders was taken off the court on a stretcher, Hampton refused to rescind the technical.
"I didn't even realize they called a technical on me until I was told later," Penders said. "That's absurd, that's all I can say. But I'm not going to say that the officials cost us the game."
UAB and UH play very similar, aggressive styles. I'll never understand why referees think 8,000 fans are cramming into an arena to see them totally try to take such exciting teams out of their games. It's very frustrating.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/21/06 20:51 | Sports | Technorati
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Comments
I was listening on the radio when this happened. Dukes thought Penders had dropped to his knees in a mock praying position (following a questionable call) and then got tagged with the T. Soon it became apparent that Penders was actually in physical distress. If the T was due to Penders' falling to his knees, it should have been reversed. It's unknown if Penders may have said something just prior to the collapse that may have been what garnered the T.
Posted by Reg Burns @ 13:14 on 01/22/06
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