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An Inside Look At The Often Thankless Job Of The Referee
ResumeBeing a referee is a thankless job. Do your job well, and no one notices. But make a mistake, and no one forgets.
With the NCAA basketball tournament underway — March Madness — we spend a few minutes considering the high pressure work of the officials. And this year, there's been no shortage of controversial calls, including a technical foul last Friday against Providence coach, Ed Cooley. With his team down 8 points and just few minutes left to play, Cooley huddled up his team and tried to fire them up by knocking over a chair.
For this, veteran referee Terry Oglesby gave him a technical foul, to the amazement of the commentators.
Guests
Bob Katz, author of "The Whistleblower: Rooting for the Ref in the High-Stakes World of College Basketball."
Bill Littlefield, host of NPR’s Only A Game, which tweets @OnlyAGameNPR.
More
WBUR: Did You Place Your Bet? March Madness Betting Could Surpass Superbowl
- "The American Gaming Association estimates that Americans will bet $9 billion over the course of this year's March Madness tournament, more than double what they bet on the Super Bowl."
This segment aired on March 25, 2015.