The Proof is in the Video?

It has long been known - by those of us who watch cop shows - that eyewitnesses are notoriously unreliable. Everyone sees something different, and when they tell their stories they forget things, add things (in all honesty) etc. etc.

But you'd think that when video of an incident exists, it would be easy to tell exactly what happened.

Well, yesterday, I posted the video of the WNBA scuffle between Candace Parker and Plenette Pierson.

And its funny, but the different fan bases (the Tennessee Lady Vols, who love Candace Parker, and the UConn Huskies, who dislike her ) each of whom are seeing the same video, each have diametrically opposed opinions of what happened.

The Lady Vol fans think Candace Parker was the victim all the way. Plenette Pierson threw her to the ground, then got up and started to walk across her as if she intended violence (which ensued when Candace tried to get up even though Plenette was halfway across her.)

The UConn fans claim that Candace threw Pierson to the ground, and that when Pierson was walking over her Candace deliberately brought her to the ground again.

As for myself... In the initial incident, Pierson goes to box out Parker and hits her hard with a hip. PArker seems to react by putting her arms on Pierson and pulling her down - which seems to be why Pierson jumps up so angrily and heads for Parker.

But when it comes to Pierson deliberately trying to walk over Parker...I can't blame Parker for trying to get up to be in a position to defend herself should Pierson start swinging or kicking...or just not want the ignominy of allowing herself to be stepped over. Bad for street cred, I suppose.

This is reminiscent of the many basketball games those two fan bases have argued about in the past. Invariably, invariably, the Lady Vols fans say that their team is being shorted on the personal fouls, and equally invariably, the Husky fans say theirs are. And yet their each watchign the same game from the same feed....

Pat Summitt has made the big time!

Someone has written, sung and recorded a rap song about Pat Summitt's encounter with the racoon last year! (A racoon got on her deck and frightened her dog...Summitt hit it with a broom, dislocating her shoulder in the process).

Very funny:

Interview with Pat Summitt after Stanford loss, 12/23/07

Click arrow twice to play



After every game, it's possible to hear audio of Pat's after-game interview with radio broadcaster Mickey Dearstone, but I'd never seen a video of it, til this appeared on Youtube. So I thought I'd share it here.

Here's also a video from about a year ago, where she's coaching her young son in an AAU game. They lost, though.

UT vs Rutgers: Clockgate - See the video

Someone uploaded vidoe of the final 28 seconds. Watch the clock. It sllllooooows down for about 5 seconds, then stops at .2, then quickly runs out.




Okay, this is going to be a litany of woe.

I actually watched that game until 2.47 seconds left in it, with Rutgers up by 2. Then my brother wanted to watch The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and since I've "gone off" the Lady Vols, I just went upstairs, intending to keep track of it on ESPN gametracker. (Of course, neither ESPN nor CBSSportlines had "gametrackers" that were anywhere near accurate.)

So the game ends in controversy, and I didn't see it! I *could* have seen it if I'd told my brother to just watch the Sarah Connor Chronicles on computer tomorrow (he gets TV on Demand) - but he writes reviews for me for my The Thunder Child website so I didn't want to discourage him by making him think his reviews were unimportant and having to wait a day...

So, the controversy.

According to Rutgers fans, UConn fans and 1 or 2 Tennessee fans on the Summitt, the clock stopped with .2 seconds to go, for a whole second. Had the clock not stopped, time would have ran out and Rutgers would have won by 1 point.

Because the clock stopped, a Rutgers player fouled Nicki Anosike (one of the worst free throw shooters the Vols have), and with .2 seconds left, she sinks both free throws. Tennesseee wins.

Of course, the UConn board has several threads about the Magic Clock. Havent' gone to the Rutgers board, but they probably do to.

On the Summitt, most are saying it wasn't cheating, and to get over it, but one or two long time posters see it the other way. (There are a few fly-bys, obviously Rutgers fans posting their first messages...but hey, if what every "impartial" person is saying is true, Rutgers just got "jobbed."

Of course, the Rutgers player who committed the foul - a rather blatant foul - shouldn't have done that, and they'd have won that way, too!

Well, hopefully they'll replay the game or cover the controversy on PTI tomorrow.