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Pac-10 refs do it again

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"With USC leading, 69-66, Nikola Vucevic was called for fouling Arizona's Kyle Fogg on a desperation three-point shot with 0.2 seconds left in the second half. Fogg made all three free throws, sending the game to overtime. USC Coach Kevin O'Neill was livid when the call was made. "Everyone saw what went on out there," he said. "Everybody knows. They can go home and celebrate all they want. Everybody saw what went on." Said Vucevic: "I didn't touch anything. I just went up with my hand in the air so he couldn't see the basket." The Trojans went on to lose in - you guessed it - two overtimes. It's hard for any team to come back from an emotional letdown like that. The time has come for the Pac-10 to take a serious look in the mirror about how they officiate the final seconds of a basketball game. As much as we'd like to pretend the game is the exact same in the final 30 seconds as it is in the first 30, the fact is that it's not. A foul needs to be blatant to be called and common sense needs to come into play. Fans attend games because they like to see the players decide the outcome, not the officials. This should be common sense. There should be accountability. But there is none. Athletics is big business, and just like we want success from coaches and administrators, we should want it from officials. They have a difficult job, but it would be easier if their leadership put in place guidelines to help them avoid situations like this. That's why I think the Pac-10 officiating leadership needs to address this. That, or there needs to be a change in leadership.