Foul or no foul? You be the ref.

Good hit or Bad Hit?

  • Foul

    Votes: 25 18.8%
  • No Foul

    Votes: 107 80.5%
  • I'm going back to the CTE thread.

    Votes: 1 0.8%

  • Total voters
    133
  • Poll closed .
This is the same guy that Shawn Putnum complained to at the US open in 2009. After he drilled the 9 ball in the corner pocket I racked the balls 1/4 inch above the center of the spot the next rack.

Shawn looked at the balls and realized I had racked them just a little bit higher but still almost in the center of the spot.

After breaking the balls and having the corner ball rattle in the corner this time he came back to me and said that , that was the last time I was going to high rack him.

The next time I racked he looked at it and complained. I replied that it was a good rack.

Shawn went and got this guy and he told me I had to move it back to the exact center of the spot for Shawn.

I asked him why I had to custom rack for Shawn. I was not happy.

Maybe I was right. Is he?

This bad call on Hatch is rediculous. If I was Hatch I would have went balistic. In a high profile tournament like this they need to have someone that has a clue referee.

Not only can this call change the outcome of the match but the mental anguish it causes for the wronged player is huge.

If this was done to my opponent I would tell him to keep shooting. Putting this referee in his place and making the game right.

I hope that is what happened?

I watched the rest of the video.

Glad to see they got it right.
Great post geno ,if the ref was mark shuman,i agree get a more suitable ref,iwas playing 1pocket at dcc ,we are lagging for the break,so the lag is very close,well over comes mark and he goes down the opposite side of the table to call what ball is closer,now keep in mind he his over 14 feet from the balls,and makes the call,he was standing at the wrong side of the table and about 5 feet away from the table,u tell me how he could see from that distant what ball was closer?is this possiable?
 
Actually, when the shot was reviewed, everybody immediately agreed that the hit was good. It was that obvious.

As far as whether or not it should have been done, that was up to TD Ken Shuman, who was also the referee. I do agree that there were several matches on about 30 other tables that did not have the luxury of checking the video.

When I made the call I only watched it once and did not stop the video.

Having now reviewed the video in stop motion I agree it is a good shot.
 
Hatch is a 100% right ,that was a bullshit call,there shuman goes again calling shots ,while he is too far away,if shuman thought it was going to be a close hit he should of been in the rite position,he totally blew that call!
 
If you watch closely it looks like like Raj called a foul before the ref did, did anyone else see this? If this is the case the opponent needs to be silent instead of possible "influencing" the ref. (I'm not suggesting that the ref wasn't neutral)
 
If you watch closely it looks like like Raj called a foul before the ref did, did anyone else see this? If this is the case the opponent needs to be silent instead of possible "influencing" the ref. (I'm not suggesting that the ref wasn't neutral)

I think the problem in this situation is neither Raj nor Ken were watching closely enough.

It is a natural reaction when in the heat of battle to react to it like Raj did. I don't think he was intentionally trying to influence Ken. Did he influence Ken by standing up? Probably, but again...I don't think either were paying enough attention to the shot.

After almost 100 people being polled, we still have 20% of the people calling it a foul. This was a tricky call if you weren't closely paying attention.
 
I think the problem in this situation is neither Raj nor Ken were watching closely enough.

It is a natural reaction when in the heat of battle to react to it like Raj did. I don't think he was intentionally trying to influence Ken. Did he influence Ken by standing up? Probably, but again...I don't think either were paying enough attention to the shot.

After almost 100 people being polled, we still have 20% of the people calling it a foul. This was a tricky call if you weren't closely paying attention.
I agree a 100% with you and was not trying to imply any intentional wrongdoing by either of them. It is a natural response on Raj's part. I also think it's it's great to have the instant replay. Anyone can have a momentary lapse in judgement, but it would be a shame if Dennis was punished with a foul after he made a legal hit.
 
I agree a 100% with you and was not trying to imply any intentional wrongdoing by either of them. It is a natural response on Raj's part. I also think it's it's great to have the instant replay. Anyone can have a momentary lapse in judgement, but it would be a shame if Dennis was punished with a foul after he made a legal hit.

I agree with you too! :)
 
Yes, it is very possible, and also is quite accurate. All you have to do is center yourself between the two balls, then get back far enough to where one of them touches the rail in your vision. Very accurate way to tell.

As Neil observes, the end table position (which end usually doesn't matter) is the ONLY proper position to judge a lag. There are a couple of intracacies to-be paid attention to, but if applied properly it is far, far more accurate than any other acceptable method.

By the way, if you are using anything in your hand to actually try to measure ball to cushion distance, your method is unacceptable. It shouldn't be hard to figure out why.

On a different note, several people here have hinted at an issue relevant to the rules that is relevant to the OP call (which, based on the available information here, was properly corrected to good hit). At work now and doing this on my phone, but will come back later to see if anyone gets to it in a more direct way...


Buddy Eick
BCAPL National Head Referee
BCAPL Director of Referee Training
Technical Editor, BCAPL Rule Book
bcapl_referee@cox.net

Find the Official Rules of the BCA Pool League here:

http://www.playbca.com/Downloads/Rulebook/CompleteRulebook/tabid/372/Default.aspx

* The contents of this post refer to BCA Pool League (BCAPL) Rules only. The BCAPL National Office has authorized me to act in an official capacity regarding questions about BCAPL Rules matters in public forums.
* Neither I nor any BCAPL referee make any policy decisions regarding BCAPL Rules. Any and all decisions, interpretations, or Applied Rulings are made by the BCAPL National Office and are solely their responsibility. BCAPL referees are enforcers of rules, not legislators. BCAPL Rules 9.5.3 and 9.5.4 and the BCAPL Rules "Statement of Principles" apply.
* No reference to, inference concerning, or comment on any other set of rules (WPA, APA, VNEA, TAP, or any other set of rules, public or private) is intended or should be derived from this post unless specifically stated.
* For General Rules, 8-Ball, 9-Ball, 10-Ball, and 14.1 Continuous: there is no such thing as "BCA Rules" other than in the sense that the Billiard Congress of America (BCA) publishes various rules, including the World Pool-Billiard Association's "World Standardized Rules" for those games. The BCA has no rules committee. The BCA does not edit, nor is responsible for the content of, the World Standardized Rules. The Official Rules of the BCAPL is a separate and independent set of rules and, to avoid confusion, should not be referred to as "BCA Rules".
* Since 2004, there is no such thing as a "BCA Referee". The BCA no longer has any program to train, certify or sanction billiards referees or officials. The BCAPL maintains what we consider to be the most structured, complete and intensive referee training program available.
* The BCAPL has no association with the Billiard Congress of America other than in their capacity as a member of the BCA. The letters "BCA" in BCAPL do not stand for "Billiard Congress of America, nor for anything at all.
* The BCAPL has not addressed every imaginable rules issue, nor will it ever likely be able to, as evidenced by the seemingly endless situations that people dream up or that (more frequently) actually happen. If I do not have the answer to a question I will tell you so, then I will get a ruling from the BCAPL National Office and get back to you as soon as I can. If deemed necessary, the BCAPL will then add the ruling to the "Applied Rulings" section of The Official Rules of the BCA Pool League.
* All BCAPL members are, as always, encouraged to e-mail Bill Stock at the BCAPL National Office, bill@playcsi.com, with any comments, concerns or suggestions about the BCAPL rules.
 
As Neil observes, the end table position (which end usually doesn't matter) is the ONLY proper position to judge a lag. There are a couple of intracacies to-be paid attention to, but if applied properly it is far, far more accurate than any other acceptable method.

By the way, if you are using anything in your hand to actually try to measure ball to cushion distance, your method is unacceptable. It shouldn't be hard to figure out why..... [/SIZE]
At carom there is actually a directive against using any device to measure ball distances on the lag. Any lag that is too close for the ref to call visually is played again.
 
Great post geno ,if the ref was mark shuman,i agree get a more suitable ref,iwas playing 1pocket at dcc ,we are lagging for the break,so the lag is very close,well over comes mark and he goes down the opposite side of the table to call what ball is closer,now keep in mind he his over 14 feet from the balls,and makes the call,he was standing at the wrong side of the table and about 5 feet away from the table,u tell me how he could see from that distant what ball was closer?is this possiable?
Great post geno ,if the ref was mark shuman,i agree get a more suitable ref,iwas playing 1pocket at dcc ,we are lagging for the break,so the lag is very close,well over comes mark and he goes down the opposite side of the table to call what ball is closer,now keep in mind he his over 14 feet from the balls,and makes the call,he was standing at the wrong side of the table and about 5 feet away from the table,u tell me how he could see from that distant what ball was closer?is this possiable?


actually you get a better call on the lag from the far end of the table if you stand between the 2 balls and line one up even with the top of the rail and look at the other the ball that is the highest in reference to the rail nose is closest to the rail. This is taught in most referee schools.
 
One thing that I have noticed in these situations is when a ref is called over to watch a hit and make a call, many times they are way to quick to make the call after the shot. It's like they are a sprinter and once they hear the gun they immediately take off. In other words, right after contact with the object ball or balls is made they shout "Good Hit" or "Bad Hit".

My recommendation is to actually take a breath and make sure you are making the right call before actually announcing it. I would much rather someone take a few seconds to deliberate on the call and get it right than blurt something out only to have an argument ensue and then end up changing the call.

Some shots are obvious so the quick call is fine in these situations but don't be afraid to take a couple of seconds to make your call if need be.

Nice thread.
 
Great post geno ,if the ref was mark shuman,i agree get a more suitable ref,iwas playing 1pocket at dcc ,we are lagging for the break,so the lag is very close,well over comes mark and he goes down the opposite side of the table to call what ball is closer,now keep in mind he his over 14 feet from the balls,and makes the call,he was standing at the wrong side of the table and about 5 feet away from the table,u tell me how he could see from that distant what ball was closer?is this possiable?


actually you get a better call on the lag from the far end of the table if you stand between the 2 balls and line one up even with the top of the rail and look at the other the ball that is the highest in reference to the rail nose is closest to the rail. This is taught in most referee schools.

Well thank u very much for sitting me straight,i had no idea,u and neil say the same thing ,so it must be true,i guess the ref would still have to have great vision to make a call like that,but what you said does make alot of sence to me,thanks,richie!
 
Back
Top