Schuhmann: Scolding Blazers TV Broadcasters For Questioning Officials

John Schuhmann of NBA.com takes Portland Trail Blazers broadcasters Mike Barrett and Mike Rice to task for their reaction to a flagrant foul call on Nicolas Batum.

There are a lot of times when broadcasters need to hold their tongues until they see a replay before questioning an official's call. Let's just say that Mike Barrett and Mike Rice don't do that very often.

On this play, Barrett (play-by-play) first questions the idea of Nicolas Batum‘s foul being a flagrant. Rice takes over from there, seems to ignore an obvious blow to the face of Anthony Davis, makes a silly remark about the official not wanting him to eat dinner on time, and then takes a grade-school-level shot at Davis' eyebrow(s). Oh yeah, like Hastings in the clip above, he infers that a previous call should somehow influence this one.

One more thing: Broadcasters should know that referees will err on the side of caution when initially determining whether a foul was a flagrant or a common foul, because one can be reviewed and the other can't. If the refs initially call a flagrant, they can review the play and change it to a common foul. If they don't call a flagrant initially, they can't review it or change it. So if there's any doubt, the best thing to do is call a flagrant foul and check the replay.

Thanks to PortlandPhil in the FanShots.

Photo via Blazers.com here.

-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter