Kyle Garlett - The Worst Call Ever!: The Most Infamous Calls Ever Blown by Referees, Umpires, and Other Blind Officials

H mmmmI bet youre wondering why I was asked to write the foreword. NO YOURE NOT!!! The Worst Call Ever who else could be better qualified? The only thing Im pissed off about is that Patrick and Kyle beat me to the punch. But since Ive yet to miss a call my entire career (until now!) I would at least like to get my two cents in. As a matter of fact, I was recently playing a doubles event on the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) circuit when my doubles partner and I got screwed on a call on set point, and thenokay, dont get me started, that story may be in the second edition.

The point is that bad calls or a referees poor decision can unfortunately alter the outcome of a match, game, or even championship. Now Im pretty sure that no umpire wants to be the reason a game is lost (except in my case!), and even I know that their job is a pretty thankless task. I mean, I ask you, what type of person would want to be in a line of work where if they do a good job, they are not noticed? But hey, I never asked them to do it.

Anyway, when it comes to being passionate about sports officiating, I think I may have met my match in Patrick ONeal. Countless times over the years, Patrick and I have been glued to the TV set or at the event itself where I, of all people, would be telling him to calm down over what he considered to be a bad call. You cannot be serious! hed shout, and I would immediately think to myself, wait a minute, thats my line . Mac, the Lakers got screwed again! Come on man, did you see that call? hed say. We would be at a Rangers game at Madison Square Garden, and Patrick would blurt out, Thats the worst call ever! Ironic, huh? Football on the boob tube also provided us with ample opportunities to dump on the officiating and vent our frustrations. When all was said and done, I long ago realized that Patrick belonged in the sports world because he was so passionate, opinionated, and obviously loved it so much. Im happy that he has found his niche.

Kyle Garlett has done a nice job researching, reviewing, and reviving old arguments and memories that are etched in many athletes minds, and ones that have certainly been heatedly debated by countless fans over generations. This book will undoubtedly spark new debates, and revisit some old wounds. A lot of the calls Patrick and Kyle write about are subjective, and can certainly be argued one way or another. I know this is hard to believe, but I dont agree with all of them. Did Michael push off? Did Brady fumble? Did McEnroe get the shaft? (Yes, yes, and most definitely yes!) The point is that its healthy to have a good debate every now and then, and even a good old-fashioned argument. I think Patrick and Kyle have tapped into something with The Worst Call Ever . I hope you feel the same way.

John McEnroe

O ne night when longtime American League umpire Ron Luciano was working a minor league game in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, the pregame preparations were set to conclude, as they always did, with the nightly playing of The Star-Spangled Banner. But as the often-used and badly scratched recording began to play on the stadiums sound system, its old turntable couldnt get the vinyl record past the first scratch.

The familiar ballgame prelude began, Oh, say can you see then Oh, say can you see and again Oh, say can you see

After four or five repetitions of the Anthems opening line, an opportunistic and quick-witted fan in the stands shouted at Luciano, I guess they know whos umpiring tonight!

Such is the disrespect that follows all of the men and women charged with keeping our sporting events fair. It is a thankless job that requires a thick skin and a short memory. They are routinely abused, ridiculed, and vilified. And even when they do their job wellwhich is the vast majority of the timeone or two lone mistakes out of a thousand right calls counters their competence.

Whether theyre wearing umpire blue, a referees black and white, or one of the rainbow of colors that soccer referees must have in their closets, when each of them takes the field, court, ice, ring, or pitch, they do so with a bright-red bulls-eye on their back that attracts acrimony like a giant magnet for malevolence. The unavoidable reality is, you could put Stephen Hawking in a striped shirt and hand him a whistle, and there will be some group of otherwise intelligent and clearheaded fans who would think him a simpleminded idiot.

As keepers of truth and enlightenment, we point out the inherently unjust world that referees and umpires find themselves living in to help temper what we have sought to do through writing this book: expose their most injurious mistakes, document their lasting damagewhich to some wronged parties has evolved into a condition akin to post-traumatic stress disorderand perhaps, with enough elucidation, spread the soothing balm of reconciliation.

Although, if all of that sounds like too grandiose a goal, well settle for exposition.

Our first task was to determine which sports grievances deserved inclusion in our final tally of events. Not all thievery is created equal.

October doesnt own the market on bad baseball calls. But for our purposes, a missed third strike that sent the 1997 Pirates to a fourth straight loss in May doesnt make the cut. Nor does a November basketball game decided by a questionable charging call, a missed pass interference that determined fourth place in the Sun Belt Conference, or an uncalled double-fault at the Zagreb Indoors that kept Flavio Cipolla from cracking the ATPs top-150.

If it was big, memorable, ridiculous, rule-changing, particularly egregious, decidedly dishonest, or ultimately championship-deciding, youll find it here.

Also, anguish at the hands of offending officials is definitely in the eye of the season-ticket beholder. The improbable Music City Miraclethe play that sent the Bills to a playoff defeat in Nashville on January 8, 2000brings Buffalonians to tears faster than the hottest of chicken wings. But sorry, Bills fans, your pain is not our pursuit. The unbiased eye not clouded by the skies of Western New York can see that Frank Wychecks lateral to Kevin Dyson was indeed just that, a lateral (to pass the ball sideways or backward). The play was legal and called correctly, and an unforgettable NFL moment for everyone who watched it.

Furthermore, it has been suggested (by Knicks fans) that Reggie Millers career-defining eight points in less than nine seconds to win a 1995 playoff game in New York be included because during the sequence he allegedly shoved Greg Anthony to steal the inbounds pass that set up his second consecutive 3-pointer. No dice, New Yorkers. We advocate less referee interference at the end of games, not more. And seriously, even Spike Lee is a balanced-enough fan to give Miller credit for one of the great postseason moments in NBA history, while placing the blame for the shame on the five Knicks standing catatonically on the Madison Square Garden floor.