Every sport has its tough officiating calls and lucky plays. Most coaches believe that over the long haul the breaks even out, with a fairly even number helping you and hurting you.



Basketball fans of any team opposing UCLA are probably wondering when something will go wrong for the Bruins, especially when it comes from the guys wearing zebra shirts and blowing whistles.

I admit, I am a Pac-10 fan and when my beloved Oregon Ducks aren’t in the running, I try to find a Pac-10 school to support. But even I’m starting to believe the Basketball Gods have destined the Bruins to win another NCAA title. It’s either believe in that, the hoop supernatural, or a conspiracy theory that has officials doing their best to help the Bruin bunch.

I was in Anaheim, Calif. last weekend, nine rows back from the court, and watched UCLA escape with a second-round NCAA Tournament win over Texas A&M. It became clear to me that once Texas A&M got up by 10, a few minutes into the second half, that the officials gave the Bruins’ defense a green light to beat the tar out of the Aggies.

While UCLA was coming back to tie the game, the foul calls against them became few and far between. The Aggies got hand-checked, pushed, held and hammered on a lot of possessions, while the Bruins got steals and rebounds from badly missed shots to aid their comeback.

On the final offensive possession for Texas A&M, Aggies guard Donald Sloan drove into the lane to put up a floater that could have tied the game. But he missed in the waning seconds after it looked like he was fouled. Texas A&M coach Mark Turgeon sprinted down court following the officials in disbelief as they ran off the floor.

I can handle the officials letting a little more contact go on the final play of the game. You never want the game decided on a ticky-tack call. However, it was interesting to see the large photo on the cover of the sports section of the L.A. Times Sunday morning. It showed UCLA defender Josh Shipp clearly hitting Sloan below the wrist and getting no hand on the basketball.

Still, if the officials missed the call or swallowed their whistled on one play, that would not be a big deal. But that’s not the only instance of UCLA getting a break.

On the final weekend of Pac-10 league play the Bruins got three sketchy breaks from officials — all that directly led to them winning games in the final 20 seconds. Stanford appeared to have upset UCLA when Lawrence Hill got a block in the final seconds of the game, but he was called for a late foul despite every replay showing his defense was clean. Even the head of the Pac-10’s officials said the slight contact on the lower part of the UCLA player’s body was not ‘game appropriate’ to be deemed a foul.

Two days later, Cal had a late lead at UCLA but Bears forward Ryan Anderson lost the ball after getting hit across the arms. No foul was called on UCLA, plus replays showed the ball went out of bounds off the Bruins.

But that’s not the way officials saw it. UCLA was given possession and Shipp went on to make his now (in)famous shot from behind the backboard, which is illegal.

The finishes of those two games, in addition to the second-half help the Bruins got against Texas A&M, are mounting evidence that something big is going UCLA’s way.

Am I the only one wondering if something is rotten on the campus of Westwood? I’m not one that really believes in the supernatural or conspiracy theories, but Holy Cow! What else can go UCLA’s way?

Feel free to respond with a call or an e-mail. Just don’t expect a timely response. I’ll be in line at the sportsbook putting money down on UCLA to win the NCAA championship because it sure looks, thanks to a little help from their friends in stripes, as though they will.

Dan Eckles is the Sparks Tribune’s sports editor. He can be reached via email at:

deckles@dailysparkstribne.com