Time to swallow the whistle

By Chris Furnari

We all saw it.

Broncos up by two, 14.7 seconds left. Jeremy Pargo dribbles the ball up court, cuts around a screen into the lane, attempts the turn-around jumper and is stuffed by John Bryant.

3.2 seconds left, Bronco basketball. Ben Dowdell launches a touchdown pass down court to Johnathan Gunderson, and then out of nowhere, Brody Angley fouls Stephen Gray with 0.3 remaining on the shot clock.

I think we all know what happened next.

Here's the deal. I don't care if it was a foul or not; what really bothers me is that a game that exciting, that emotional and that important could be decided - with less than a second remaining on the game clock - by a loose ball foul.

And it's not just my "Bronco bias." There have been other instances in the past week alone where important NCAA games were decided by a foul called in the final moments of the game.

I got chills watching the Georgetown-Villanova game on Monday night. The sixth-ranked Hoyas were fresh off a loss to Rick Pitino (in a white suit, no less) and an unranked Louisville squad. They weren't looking much better on Monday.

The score was tied at 53 with 3.0 seconds left in regulation. Georgetown's Johnathon Wallace gathered a loose ball and began dribbling to his basket - 70 feet away. In the process he was nudged by 'Nova's Corey Stokes.

In a game where 47 fouls had already been called, it was no surprise that Stokes was whistled with 0.1 seconds remaining, giving Wallace two free throws to win it. Why not let Georgetown steal a win away from a weaker Villanova squad? And 48 fouls called in one game? I mean, there were more fouls called than minutes played. Give me a break.

And when the No. 1 Lady Vols faced a tough No. 4 Rutgers squad the other night, a combination last-second foul and timing issue ignited controversy. Tenessee's Nicky Anosike wound up at the line, down by one, with 0.2 seconds remaining. She sunk both free- throws for the one-point victory.

I just don't understand why close games are allowed to be decided from the free-throw line in the final seconds of the contest.

For over 39 minutes, two teams can relentlessly push each other to the limits of their physical capabilities, and still the game can be decided with a shot that any fan sitting in the crowd could attempt during a halftime contest.

It just doesn't make sense. Referees need to learn to swallow the whistle and let teams play.