ROGERS - In Game 7 of the NBA Finals, LeBron James drove to the basket and took an extra step that the referees clearly missed.
A man watching the game at home was so outraged that he logged onto the Internet, looked up the phone number for American Airlines Arena and brought the miscall to the attention of NBA officials.
After reviewing footage of the play, the NBA ruled that James had, in fact, traveled and awarded the San Antonio Spurs an extra possession.
Later, Tony Parker picked up a personal foul after a TV viewer noticed that the Spurs’ point guard had slapped James’ arm on a three-point attempt.
OK, neither of these scenarios occurred. Nor would anything like it take place except in golf, where spectators sitting at home have found a way to insert themselves into the game.
“It’s certainly unique to golf,” said LPGA Tour rules official Brad Alexander, sitting inside a small trailer stationed just a chip shot away from the 18th green at Pinnacle Country Club.
The issue of golf fans helping to police the game from their couches came into question during the Masters in April, when a call from a viewer led to Tiger Woods nearly being disqualified for an illegal drop.
Alexander said approximately six or seven times a year the LPGA receives a callfrom a spectator who believes a golfer should be penalized for breaking a rule during a round. To maintain the game’s integrity, LPGA officials feel obligated to go back and review footage to see if a player did something wrong, such as drop a ball improperly or unknowingly double-hit a shot.
“I’m not a big fan of that,” said Suzann Pettersen, who entered this week ranked second on the LPGA’s money list and third in the Rolex Rankings. “It’s the same if you play any other sports. You can play soccer, you have line referees. They call it if the ball is in or out. You don’t have spectators calling, ‘Oh, that was in.’ ”
Seriously, fans, resist the urge to call Pinnacle Country Club to report a possible violation while watching today’s final round of the Wal-Mart Northwest Arkansas Championship on the Golf Channel.
Put down the phone. Don’t waste your time trying to track down an LPGA rules official. Just enjoy watching golf.
The day after Inbee Park won the Wegmans LPGA Championship earlier this month, Alexander said the LPGA received a call from a spectator who believed a player had improved her lie in the rough when she stepped away from her ball to change clubs.
After further review, it was determined the player didn’t improve her lie. But Alexander said about 50 percent of the time a viewer’s call reveals a violation that wasmissed during a round.
Naturally, players aren’t always receptive to being told that they are going to be penalized two strokes - or maybe even disqualified from a tournament - because of an infraction spotted by a guy with a high-definition TV.
And a rewind button.
“Well, generally it’s not a very positive conversation,” Alexander said. “But the players, they understand that if a rule was violated, the penalty needs to apply and they generally want as much information as possible.”
Imagine how Peyton Manning would react if the NFL came out the day after a game and took away his winning touchdown pass because a fan in a sports bar noticed that the quarterback had stepped over the line of scrimmage.
The NFL would never field such a call.
Fans of every sport want to maintain the integrity of the game. But with every sport a call gets missed sometimes and a player knowingly or unknowingly gets away with a penalty.
It happens.
“I’m not sure if it’s the right thing if you can have spectators calling in penalties on players or creating misunderstandings,” Pettersen said. “I mean, what happened with Tiger at Augusta, is that the right thing?
“All he’s doing is trying to do the right thing at the time, and it’s up to the rules officials to kind of judge then if that’s the right thing or not.”
Sports, Pages 29 on 06/23/2013