WNBA thread… 28.5 ain’t your pay cut

That's interesting because in my previous readings on the topic, I'd never been led to believe there was anything "rigged" other than the FIBA president inserting himself into a situation that the referees and scorer's table had botched, followed by an appeal that was decided on party lines. So, crime of opportunity, yes, but rigged, no. And the follow-up question becomes if they were so good what were they doing dicking around in the 50s with the Soviets (and trailing for most of the game)? But now I will probably be spending a large chunk of the remaining weekend on this topic, so thank you, I guess?

 

It was fucking rigged. Watching the various replays it's obvious they were gonna keep replaying those final three seconds as many times as it took to get the USSR on top.

As far as why was the score in the 40s, the answer is Hank Iba, another of the "play the right way" guys.

 

I do think it would have been better for all involved for Clark to be on the team. Not only does the team get more attention, the vets won't have to answer questions about her absence, and it would have helped Clark to be around older players and do the "rookie crud" like carrying bags and getting coffee and donuts. Clark could have said what an honor it was just to be on the team and eager to soak up some knowledge etc. It might have gone a long way to ending the BS that has been dominating the season.

 

This is one of the biggest myths, for the clock only read "0:03" two times and was reset there only ONCE.

"Attempt" No. 1: Clock is at "0:03." Soviets inbound, immediately call a time out (that they weren't entitled to), DO NOT attempt a shot.

"Attempt" No. 2: There is confusion (mostly because of the timeout, but also because there were about five languages being spoken). Clock reads "0:50"!!!!! and is stuck there. Some people notice this, but floor officials don't and order Soviets to inbound the ball. Horn sounds as soon as ball is heaved downcourt (while the ball is in the air!). Americans celebrate. Again, there is NO actual shot attempt, and the game can't possibly end like this (with the clock reading "0:50").

So far there have been two so-called "attempts", and yet no shot has been taken. The only thing the Soviets have been "given" is a bogus timeout.

"Attempt" No. 3: Clock is counted down from "0:50" to "0:03," and Soviets inbound to Belov and score.


To hear people describe it, you'd think the Soviets took three last-second shots, missing the first two, with time being put back until they made one. Not even close to what happened.

 

Recall, no shot clock or 3-point line in those days.

 

A good analysis of the roster decision.

Breaking down Caitlin Clark's Olympic omission -- and more roster takeaways

 

I get the political ramifications of that time, but why weren’t the Soviets called for a technical when they took their bogus timeout?

 

The Soviets called TO after the inbound, leaving 1 second on the clock. (They weren't allowed to call a TO during the foul shooting). Still, two seconds ticked off. So they were given two "free" seconds - don't know why they inbounded again from the endline and weren't allowed to put it where they called TO. But to me, that's the fatal error of the entire thing.

 

This is the single best explanation I have ever seen. And it corrects a mistake I had made earlier about the timeout situation.

The 1972 Olympians should stop whining

To answer your question (from the link above) . . . the issue is not whether the Russians were allowed a timeout, but WHEN. In short, they were denied a timeout they were entitled to, and then given a timeout they weren't entitled to (makeup call, as it were).

"After Collins’ first free throw, the Russian coach tried to call timeout. Under the rules at the time, a timeout could only be called by the coach (NOT a player on the floor) and only during a dead ball. In fact, dead ball was defined differently – once the ball was handed to Collins for his second free throw, that ended the last chance to get a timeout – even if he makes it, that would not have been considered a dead ball.

What the film shows is the Russian coach standing by the scorekeeper as he should have been and as soon as Collins’ first free throw goes through, he calls for timeout, even making the T signal with his hands that we’re all familiar with. He turns away, expecting to hear the buzzer … when nothing happens, he turns back and begins frantically repeating his signal.

The scorekeeper – who started the whole train of tragic events – finally buzzes the buzzer – but the ball is already in Collins hands. The scorekeeper keeps buzzing as the shot goes up and in. The Russian players, knowing the rules and thinking there is no deadball, throw the ball in, rush it up the court and end up throwing a shot up from midcourt." (BTE EDIT---this is wrong; they were stopped by the officials and NEVER took a shot from midcourt).

"This is the so-called FIRST Russian chance.

But it’s not a chance – it wouldn’t have counted if the shot had gone in. In the first place, the clock doesn’t start until the ball is almost at halfcourt. In the second, the officials, reacting to the buzzer, are blowing their whistles.

After several minutes of confusing non-communication, order is restored and the officials decree that the Russians should get their timeout and the three seconds should be put back on the clock. I’m not sure if that was the technically correct ruling – the Russians DID deserve a timeout, but they should have gotten it BEFORE Collins attempted the go-ahead free throw.

I think what they decided was a compromise … an attempt at fairness. They gave Collins his free throw and gave the Russians their timeout. Technically, they could have ruled that since the Russian coach asked for the timeout and should have been given it before the second free throw that Collins would have to shoot again.

But the confusion and the mistakes weren’t over.

Before they could replay the final three seconds, the old-style digital clock had to be reset. Those clocks could click off the minutes one-by-one, but not the seconds. It had to be reset at 1:00 and have 57 seconds run off to stop at 0:03.

Both teams were on the floor ready to go while those 57 seconds clicked down. Here’s where the next stupid mistake occurred … with those seconds ticking off, the referee with the ball handed it to the Soviet inbounder and motioned for him to begin.

The Soviet guard was stunned. So was everybody else watching. Again, the buzzer sounded as the ball was inbounded and the panicked scorekeeper simply turned off the clock.

That was the so-called SECOND CHANCE. Again, it wasn’t a chance – and if they had scored, it wouldn’t have counted.

More confusion ensured and into the melee stepped the British head of FIBA. His intervention was probably illegal, but again, like everybody else, he was trying to create a fair outcome. All he did was order what the officials had ordered after the first screwup – that the clock be reset to three seconds.

This was the so-called THIRD chance and it was a chance – the only chance the Russians were given after Collins’ free throw.

There was one final bit of confusion. Tom McMillen, guarding in the inbounds pass, was hopping on the out-of-bounds line as the official prepared to hand the ball to the inbounds passer. He ordered McMillen back off the line. That is proper and correct -- McMillen was violating the rules as he broke the plane of the end line. But with the language barrier and in the confusion, McMillen misunderstood his order and backed far away from the inbounds passer. He ended up about the foul line – not close enough to hinder the passer, but not back enough to play any effective defense.

In the end, the Russians hit a hail-mary pass to Belov as Joyce and Jim Forbes, the two deep defenders for the US, knocked each other off and gave him an easy layup.

Ever since, we’ve claimed we were robbed. Well, we weren’t. We were the victims of a very mismanaged end-game … we just didn’t handle it as well as the Russians.

Instead of blaming the officials for our loss, we should ask what the hell Hank Iba was thinking at the end? The tallest American on the floor in those fatal three seconds was McMillen, who was defending (or in point of fact, not defending) the inbounds pass. Underneath the basket, he has 6-3 Joyce and 6-5 Forbes.

On the bench, he has 7-4 Tom Burleson, a superb shotblocker. And 6-9 Bobby Jones, the greatest defensive forward of his generation. Why weren’t they out there to defend the US basket?

Americans have whined a lot about that game – even going so far as to invent things (I’ve heard Joyce complain that Belov pushed off to catch the pass … watch the film, he does nothing of the sort). But I think a fair examination of the situation HAS to lead to the conclusion that justice was done. The Russians deserved the gold medal.

The end game was a mess, but nobody was trying to screw us -- they were trying to achieve fairness. In the end, the Russians handled with with poise and we didn't."

 

The Sky is Crying? Stevie Ray Vaughan wants to know.

 

Iba was playing a 1940s-style game with 1970s high-flyers. It took that debacle to get him fired in favor of Dean Smith. Iba never should have been coaching, but the good ol' boy Olympic network was entrenched at the time.

 

Sounds like an exaggeration, but it's not. He actually coached his first game in . . . 1929.