Saturday, September 23, 2006

'Suspended' Ref to Work USC-Arizona Game

Seems like the Stoops brothers can't catch a break. Referee Dave Cutaia, who was among the officials suspended in the wake of last Saturday's Oklahoma-Oregon fiasco, won't be serving his suspension just yet. It turns out a shortage of referees has required that the officials will have to stagger their suspensions. So where does Cutaia turn up? In Tucson, of course, where he will be among the crew refereeing the USC-Arizona game. Of course, Arizona is coached by none other than Mike Stoops, the brother of Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops. Are you kidding me! ... Now as bad the errors were in Eugene, they can't compare to what happened in 1990 to J.C. Louderback, the referee who awarded a fifth down to Colorado that stripped Missouri of an upset and helped the Buffaloes win a share of the national championship. Louderback still thinks about the blunder. "The feeling has never gone away," he said. And fans were not quick to forget. It took five or six years for the phone calls to stop, and he still has a sack of hate mail that he has yet to read (some registration).

No comments: