Why does not anyone reflect on the play that caused the so-called stomp? And if it was indeed a stomp, why does Timberlake get up laughing? So many blind eyes. If you watch the replay a little before "the stomp," Feldhaus can be seen pushing Laettner off the court, arms fully extended. He pushes him to the floor right in front of the referee and there is no call! Was Laettner on the floor because he needed the rest? Why no flagrant foul on Feldhaus? Unfortunately, the first person he saw when getting up was Timberlake, so Laettner's ire was directed at him. On that play Timberlake almost undercut Laettner.
There is no question that Laettner should have been given a technical, but ejection for the "tap" stomp, not hardly. It was a really dumb play on his part that could have cost Duke the game and just like the "no-call" on Feldhaus that helped UK make the game a dogfight to the end, the play had a major impact on the game itself considering what was about to unfold.
The last thing I wish to say is it should be obvious I am a Duke fan, in fact since 1961. Yet, I do have the utmost respect for the UK program. The program showed major class when it retired the jerseys of the UK players who stayed during their period of probation. That is class! Also, having Laettner return to Rupp as a villain for charity was gutsy.
It's a great rivalry, which currently, UK leads the series in wins, but Duke is closing in. Next season will add a new chapter. Let's get it on!
Dave - 5 years ago
I’m not a duke or Kentucky fan. I was following college ball closely in 1992 being about 17 playing varsity for my high school and deciding which college to head to.
I remember this match and seeing “the stomp”- I was shocked he wasn’t ejected. If that had happened in a high school or state match we would have been gone.
Suck it - 7 years ago
Who's Christian Laettner???
Carol - 7 years ago
No win is a true win if a person engages in bad behavior. A coach who turns a blind eye to shady conduct is not showing the true leadership the team needs. How does one look himself or herself in the mirror or present themselves to others if they are guilty of poor behavior? Sadly, it is the "bad apple" remembered for their actions and not the honorable great team members.
Ed Gardner - 7 years ago
I don't pull for Kentucky but Laetner no doubt should have been evicted. Kryzusky teaches dirty ball is where the problem comes from though. Look at him using Allen's tripping now. When the man you're guarding loses you trip him. Who cares if you injure him so he no longer has the possibility of a career he loves. K didn't have the balls to discipline him and teach him anything of real value.
MarkinthaVille - 7 years ago
Let's face the truth... if it wasn't Duke who won the game, it would have never been "the greatest shot" or something like that. Lets talk about the other games UK lost in the tournament? Or lets not, nobody remembers... the media isn't playing those replays every year, over and over again are they? No, they are not... wonder why? Well the answer is DUKE (not UK).
The media plays to the classic royalty of basketball, i.e. Duke, North Carolina, Kansas Villanova, Georgetown, NC State. Much less a KY team that wasn't really that good in the first place. Most memorable for me in that game, was UK had a woman coach on the bench. Most UK fans don't know that.. but why would they? UK isn't the most progressive school in NCAA history, right? I mean we are talking Adolph Rupp, the coach who refused to have a black player on the team until 1971. Talk about a UK legacy, he went to prison in 1977.. but that's another story... Can we say the hillbilly state...? Yeah boy, we can!!
Yet, here we are, once again.... talking about another crying point, a detriment, a valid reason why UK lost another NCAA tournament basketball game... Whaa, UK lost and there has to be somebody to blame!
Lets get serious here people, why is it UK has to win every game they play? Because the fans are unrealistic. Why are we talking about if a player should have been ejected? Because its UK, how and why, the excuse as to explaining losing a game and how UK, has once again, been wronged... once again, the victim!!! Poor UK, all the miserable calls against them. Now that cheater Laettner hit a shot when he should have been ejected! What a travesty, how unfair?
Truth is, we wouldn't be talking about any of this, if UK had won the game. No, we wouldn't and everyone knows it. It would have been a dirty play, but all that would have mattered, is that UK won. But they did not win, hence a crying point for the fans. The same song, list of excuses, every year they get beat in the tournament. Will we ever hear they got beat by a better team? I seriously doubt it... we are talking UK fans here. In their minds, there are no better teams, right?
Laettner played a good game. Frankly, he punked UK's players out. If you've ever played the game you would know, it gets testy at times. They didn't have rules at that time to deal with ejections as they do now... For the sake of UK's fans, Rupp would have taken action. Geez...
Anytime either of these teams (Duke or U-who) gets beat, it's time for celebration. Why? For the singular reason of how both teams fans behave. UK has developed a much worse reputation than Duke, it's clear with how UK's fans and head coach behave.
Did you hear how Calapari complained about how the game was called? The fans were chiming in at the end of the first half. Do you ever hear either fans or Calapari say anything about he refs when they play in Rupp Arena? No... why I wonder?
Example: look at how UK's fans reacted to their loss to North Carolina last weekend. They not only cried about the officiating, (case in point, simply listen to UK fans any time a foul is called...) everyone knows UK players don't commit fouls!! Right?!?
The UK fans can be proud of the classy way they denigrated and tried to ruin a referees personal business/livelihood by trashing his business.
A "Blue Blood" program ? Not now, not ever... We all know why UK is known to have, and will forever be known as a bunch of Hillbillies! Listen to UK fans clamor about how good UK is.... when they win. where I'm from, this is bragging.... When UK loses, what you will hear is excuses, crying and more whining... now you hear how classless this UK program has fallen, bash the referees business.... really? How classless can UK get? Bottom of the barrel folks... UK deserves no respect. Too bad, they have some great players but worthless fans.
Oh, the greatest NCAA tournament shot was NC Sta
William Abbott - 7 years ago
Terry White u need some tissues lol....Calipari with all these McD AA but just 1 title to show for it GO HEELS
David Griffeth - 7 years ago
It truly was a great game. I was then and am today a Duke basketball fan. What a game. Everyone played great and did what they did to win. Laettner made a great shot at the time and Duke was victorious. Someone is always going to find fault with the other team. It happened then and it happens today. Officals try do their best today as they did years ago. GO DUKE
Mary - 7 years ago
Some earlier posts say the rules in 1992 weren't what they are today, blah, blah, blah. Guess what? Decency is timeless; one does not need a rule for that. A stomp is a stomp is a stomp. If one needs a rule to regulate a stomp, then it does not matter what the rules will ever be, they will always be inadequate. Common sense is not about rules; it's about common sense. He should have been bounced, bounced, bounced to the bench, bench, bench. End. Of. Story.
EvilAlice - 7 years ago
No, not with the rules in place at the time. Would he now? Probably yes. But give it a rest, people! It's over & done with; in the record and history book's.
And, NO, I'm not a Duke fan .... am not a UK fan ..... DISLIKE THEM BOTH THE SAME!!! I'd you take the "D & E" off Duke, you have a UK twin, right down to their colors!
The only way I could've been a winner on that game is if both teams had not shown up or come down with some kind of deadly (NOT FATAL) disease!!
But, please .... let it go. It's done!!!
EvilAlice - 7 years ago
No, not with the rules in place at the time. Would he now? Probably yes. But give it a rest, people! It's over & done with; in the record and history book's.
And, NO, I'm not a Duke fan .... am not a UK fan ..... DISLIKE THEM BOTH THE SAME!!! I'd you take the "D & E" off Duke, you have a UK twin, right down to their colors!
The only way I could've been a winner on that game is if both teams had not shown up or come down with some kind of deadly (NOT FATAL) disease!! ????
But, please .... let it go. It's done!!! ????
Terry White - 7 years ago
Laettner would be ejected today, and he should have been ejected in '92, but they got away with more back then. I think most refs would have been more aware of the outcry, had they not thrown him out if this happened today. Every talking head on Sports Center would have crucified them. Nobody even mentioned it at the time except for us Kentucky fans.
Most of us knew we were doomed when we heard Higgins was doing Carolina game. History was not on our side: 5 earlier technical fouls, blown call in Wisconsin game, Carolina game: Called a foul on UK 8 seconds into the game. That has to be a record. 4 starters with 2 fouls in first half. Fox got mugged by two people on lay-up at the end, waved off basket and called foul on Bam when guy jumped into him, called foul on Willis for tipping a ball to team mate when he actually got fouled.
bruce dinnie - 7 years ago
UConn player was ejected in a similar incident in the same tournament. different rules for Duke.
top gun - 7 years ago
Bigger question at the time was, "Is Laettner gay?" Some of his own teammates didn't like him. Bobby Hurley couldn't stand him. Beginning of Hurley's sophomore year, Dook Coach Ksdlhasoishoiartsksosksy (or whatever his name is) handed the ball to Bobby in front of the whole team and announced, "This is your team, son." Laettner was livid and put his foot on Hurley's neck, never letting up.
Fred - 7 years ago
25 Years! It has been 25 years. The real question should be "Why does this still matter and why aren't the people who care in therapy. There really are bigger issues in life and greater moments to enjoy. Get over it!
Steve - 7 years ago
Shut up, find something rewarding to waste your life on.... Who really cares??
Norm Weber - 7 years ago
I have been a Football and Basketball Referee for 30 years. I have refereed at all levels. The definition of a Referee is to give both teams an equal chance within the framework of the rules to win the game. Intent is not defined in the rule book. Intentional is defined in the rule book. As a Referee you can not make up rules,
If he had missed that shot there would not have been an issue. Coaches and Athletic Directors make the rules and the rule changes each season. If what transpired in that game was a major issue, it would have been addressed at their spring meeting.
eatithaters - 7 years ago
Duke!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Suck it you crybaby losers! Kentucky player pushed THE KING right before the stomp.... GOAT shot!
JDG - 7 years ago
The sad thing is these games are not called anywhere close to the way the rule books are written anymore - everything is left to the referees interpretation instead of just calling the game by the rules - it's written down, easy to follow and the little league refs do it ... and it's the same book. So we are left to just watch and get what we get - can argue anything that's not enforced.
Dan Hoffmann - 7 years ago
UK fans will always have something to whine about, in my opinion no he should not have been ejected,
He is the greatest college player of all time, and now Jim Higgins is the greatest ref of all time. I love being a UK hater
Bob Young - 7 years ago
The world is full of cry babies. The call was made. It's over. It was great for the game (sorry Ky.). Enjoy today.
Jillian - 7 years ago
YES, He sure should have been ejected and that game belonged to Ky. It is a shame the entitlement mentality has only been fueled consistently since this game and athlete's get away with not just fouls but other assaults, rapes, murder's, and behavior because they think playing sports makes them exempt from the consequences of their actions. If this mentality didn't exist it would not have made headlines a day after the NC game that 1 of the players attended an 8:00 class the next morning. WHY on earth would he not be in class?!?!
Duke is one of the dirtiest teams ever.
Catmomma58 - 7 years ago
Should have been ejected.
The problem is NOT this one play. It's that the same teams ALWAYS appear to get the benefit of the doubt (Duke) and other teams NEVER appear to get the benefit of the doubt. Not a hater of Duke, but they certainly get the calls in their favor and I suspect that the coaches teach them dirty tricks.
This event may have taken place 30 years ago, but the same disgusting crap goes on today!
Officials get in the way of lots of games, saddling the top players with ticky-tacky fouls, so that they have to sit on the bench. Just this past Sunday, in the late seconds of the game, a Kentucky player was hacked going up to the basket, no call. I am in NO WAY a Kentucky fan, but the regional championship was pre-determined and the officials were going to call it so North Carolina won if the game was close. Traveling calls are so inconsistent -- one team will get three steps without dribbling and no call, another team will get called because the player moved their knee, but not their pivot foot. Most officials are too old, too slow, out of position and can't see well enough to make a correct call. Gonzaga may not be in the Final Four had the officials made the correct call of goaltending versus Northwestern. How can they not see the guy's fingers get caught in the net?
What makes March Madness fun is seeing teams that don't normally play against each other compete, getting to see higher seeds beat the lower seeds. The games should be decided by the PLAYERS, not officials, who are mostly old white men who are so full of themselves to admit a mistake and obviously are not objective.
Tom Shaner - 7 years ago
I had a ticket to the game and decided not to go. :(
I've made amends by attending the tournament every year since 1994!
Tim Allen - 7 years ago
I wish everyone stop whining about if this if that. The human element the refs is what makes March Madness fantastic.
Will Johnson - 7 years ago
Duke has been and STILL continues with getting away with six things that has allowed them to garner enough wins to be given either a"1 or 2 seed in any NCAA Tourney.The "SIX"are:Pushing,Shoveling,Holding,Hacking,and one that is outlawed in THE N.B.A.-HANDCHECKING!The number 6:in any game they are awarded at least twice as many free throws as their opponent.If you question the aforemention;look it up-NUMBERS NEVER LIE! My speculation is a simply one-refs fear Duke's couch!
ray lester - 7 years ago
what do you think if timberlake jumped up and punched laettner in the nose? both would have been ejected because laettner stomped on him first and timberlake retaliated. this is what should have happened. laettner was a big cry baby then and still is. how is the bankruptcy going laettner or did coach k or another person bail you out. had the foul been the other way around coach k would have been on the floor demanding the other person be thrown out.
Cory B - 7 years ago
This is the 2nd shot by Laettner that never should have happened. Duke beat UConn in 1990 in OT 79-78 at the old Meadowlands Arena when Laettner double clutched a shot to win the game. On the play prior to that play all Tate George had to do was tip the ball back towards half court and the clock would have run out and UConn would have won.
Chris - 7 years ago
All I can say is South Carolina and a second round exit. Everyone talks about the "greatness of Coach K," What about all of the choke jobs he has had over the years? #15 Lehigh, #14 Mercer, #10 Providence, #11 Boston College, #7 West Virginia, #7 South Carolina.
It is amazing to me no one ever talks about those losses and some are the worst in history. Duke losing to a 15 and a 14 c'mon man can we say choke job???????
Wil - 7 years ago
people don't hate winners - they hate cheaters-- sic New England Patriots. He should have been ejected and called for the walk during the shot itself
Duke of Earl - 7 years ago
With Duke one of the most polarizing teams in sports, your poll should be worded this way:
Should Christian Laettner have been ejected:
Yes - I hate Duke
No - I love Duke
That is exactly how the votes will go.
Rawdy B - 7 years ago
Greatest shot ever, greatest game ever played in college basketball. People love to hate a winner and that's the one thing Christian was without a doubt ! Played in 4 Final Fours 3 National Championship Games and won 2 Back to Back. If you don't want to be stomped then don't push people out of bounds. I loved his attitude he didn't take crap from anyone, just stomped your butt on the basketball floor or in this case your chest !
chria - 7 years ago
I was at that game in fact dr j was sitting in back of me can not speak for him but he should of been ejected
grayson should be benched also it doesnot set a good example for high school kids also the coach need be
forceful with rules when playing
dave - 7 years ago
Ya, Ya Ya. The rich white kid got away with again. (Duke Lacrosse.) Well this really started with the White Kentucky kid shoving Lattner into the post in front of the officials and they do nothing about it. No harm-no fowl I guess. The reaction from the Kentucky kid was one of "look what I got away with. That will show you" Lattner's biggest sin was to accuse the wrong guy of the crime.
It happened so live with it but stop the eternal whinning about the racial over/undertone.
David m conley - 7 years ago
Seems like Duke has the market cornered on producing dirty players. Laettner and now Allen. Not good for game.
James - 7 years ago
Who cares after 25 years? Nothing better to write about?
Greg Ford - 7 years ago
TRUMP will stomp on the chests of all Mexicans, Blacks, Gays, Women & Muslims. Suck it Libtards
Mike Day - 7 years ago
People love to hate on winners is the problem here. If Duke had lost nobody would even be talking about the foul on that play. WOW!
Martin - 7 years ago
I watched that game live. When the Kentucky player went down on the floor Christian backed up recovering his balance. He looked down. He saw Timberlake on the floor. He did not need to step on him to recover his balance. He picked up his right foot and chose put it down on Timberlake. It was a sign of pure contempt. He should have been ejected. He has since admitted he did it on purpose.
Ed Clark - 7 years ago
It doesn't matter now. You can't go back and change history. Suck it up and move on.
Stephen P Smith - 7 years ago
I saw that shot at MSG, but do not feel it was the greatest in NCAA history.
My favorite was Jim Valvano's North Carolina State upset in NCAA Final of Houston "Phi Beta Slama", around 1984, with the buzzer beater inbound pass and tip in off the rim to win it all for the Wolfpack. Then , watching Jimmy V, running around on floor looking for someone to hug !!
That was my all time favorite.
Debbie Beeler - 7 years ago
Laettner should have been ejected from the game! This was intentional, Timberlake was on the floor after the play. Once Laettner saw him there he purposely turned around and did not just simply "touch his belly" as previously stated by someone who obviously did not watch this game nor has watched the 30 on 30 special on Christian Laettner, he shoved his foot to the mid-section of Timberlake. This was NOT an accident and I don't think people would still be making such a big deal out of it if it was, his intention was to as Laettner said himself in the special "payback" for the shove out of bounds he "thought" came from Timberlake earlier in the game. Note I did say "thought", the shove that he received did NOT come from Timberlake but actually was from another player (I am not sure but I think it was Feldhaus), even Mr Laettner acknowledged this. With that being said and taking into account that this was an intentional "cheap shot" taken out on a player that had nothing to do with what happen to this jerk earlier in the game, YES by all means he should have been ejected from this game. Maybe the game turns out the same way with a Duke win but Laettner would have not been the one shooting. Duke players in my opinion think they are untouchable, that they don't have to follow rules. There have been may players from this school who have played dirty ball and gotten away with it. Grayson Allen for example tripping players all season until he finally was pulled from playing which at that time we were told it was indefinite, then all of a sudden he is back on the floor?!?!?! Any other school or player and his college career would have been over, but the fact that its Duke and he is allowed back on the floor. Duke gets away with so much and then wonder why so many feel they are given special treatment by the NCAA. Maybe if the NCAA, refs, coaches and announcers would stop treating Duke as if they were this picture perfect program that doesn't do anything wrong when anyone who keeps up with college sports knows better and actually reprimand them when they do something wrong maybe all this negativity towards the program would calm down a bit, until then live with the scrutiny.
sue kulak - 7 years ago
My daughter was a teenager when this took place, I still remember the jumping around and cheering that took place in my house that day. She was a huge Duke fan as well as Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, she now has two teenagers of her own, Christian is the oldest and Jordan is the youngest. I tell people all the time they were named for her favorite players, if Christian hadn't had the opportunity to make that shot I don't know what their names would have been.
chuck theesfeld - 7 years ago
big time college basketball is a sport ... or I mean entertainment ... or sport ... or whatever. Just an ordinary game would be boring. Laettner made for a great villain/bad boy. The refs couldn't eject him. & over the years he & Duke got away with many more flagrant acts.
Doc 21 - 7 years ago
Well, that is the problem with hiring visually impaired officials in the first place.
Cheryl Roth - 7 years ago
As a spectator sitting in the stands that night at the old Philadelphia Spectrum - YES, LAETTNER SHOULD HAVE BEEN EJECTED! The arrogance displayed by Laettner was so egregious. Maybe prior to showing "the Shot," Networks could show a clip of "the Stomp." Duke was the favorite to make it to the Final Four and were surprisingly being pushed by a Kentucky team of relative unknowns, (mostly good ole boys from Kentucky), with the exception of Jamal Mashburn and Sean Woods. What could have been if Kentucky had just guarded the Inbound pass? One thing is for sure, It was Kentucky, NOT DUKE, breaking the glass ceiling that evening with the first female Division I assistant coach, Bernadette Locke-Mattox, on the bench.
Mike Connelly - 7 years ago
I am sick and tired of watching that play. I am sick and tired of watching that play. University of Kentucky 1980 Grad.
Sheila - 7 years ago
Watching this game, I lost ALL respect for Coach K. I've seen refs call Duke fouls the other way. Christian Laettner and Coach K just showed Grayson Allen and others that doing anything is ok at Duke.
Mike Aberle - 7 years ago
Haters gonna hate...
david - 7 years ago
the problem is not that he wasn't ejected for this deliberately flagrant foul, it was that the technical didn't even count as a personal foul. If it would have also counted as a personal foul, he would have had 5 fouls for the game and would have fouled out before hitting his infamous shot.
Today, technical fouls count as personal fouls too, but back then they did not.
Bob - 7 years ago
This stuff started more than 30 years ago. The refs don't have any guts. They don't call the things they should according to the rules. Now they've changed the rules and made it easy for thugs to put up big numbers without the real skills that were built into the game in the beginning.
Today it isn't basketball anymore but I guess that's what the fans want.
Mike - 7 years ago
Things happen in the heat of the moment....Players make mistakes as do Refs. If a player does not get kicked out for tripping then why should another have got kicked out for stepping on a player?!?!?
Coach K should have stepped in but I see him as a Win at all costs.... Makes it hard to respect such a Great Coach that he is.
Chris - 7 years ago
We are preoccupied by Duke because your guys consistently play dirty i.e. Bobby Hurley, Christian Laettner, Grayson Allen etc. You act like you are this holier than thou program that no one can criticize but the truth is you often have thugs that play for you and no one ever says a word about it. Coach K gets a free pass when anyone else in that situation would be chastised till kingdom come. I won't layoff because the truth has to be set free.
Bill Manuel - 7 years ago
Good call by the ref. Laettner should not have been ejeced. The foul against him was good enough. He had been fouled (hard) by the same player earlier in the game and when the chance came up, he simply touched him on the belly with his foot. Nothing more nor nothing less. Laettner just returned the 'favor'. It happens all the time in these hotly played games.
mike - 7 years ago
poll is too old to be valid. today everything is a foul or flagrant "2."
let it be. move on. not changing anything.
Dave DeFelice - 7 years ago
Maybe he should not have been ejected, and maybe the refs made a mistake. What is more interesting is everyone's preoccupation with the guy because he is from Duke. .
Why does not anyone reflect on the play that caused the so-called stomp? And if it was indeed a stomp, why does Timberlake get up laughing? So many blind eyes. If you watch the replay a little before "the stomp," Feldhaus can be seen pushing Laettner off the court, arms fully extended. He pushes him to the floor right in front of the referee and there is no call! Was Laettner on the floor because he needed the rest? Why no flagrant foul on Feldhaus? Unfortunately, the first person he saw when getting up was Timberlake, so Laettner's ire was directed at him. On that play Timberlake almost undercut Laettner.
There is no question that Laettner should have been given a technical, but ejection for the "tap" stomp, not hardly. It was a really dumb play on his part that could have cost Duke the game and just like the "no-call" on Feldhaus that helped UK make the game a dogfight to the end, the play had a major impact on the game itself considering what was about to unfold.
The last thing I wish to say is it should be obvious I am a Duke fan, in fact since 1961. Yet, I do have the utmost respect for the UK program. The program showed major class when it retired the jerseys of the UK players who stayed during their period of probation. That is class! Also, having Laettner return to Rupp as a villain for charity was gutsy.
It's a great rivalry, which currently, UK leads the series in wins, but Duke is closing in. Next season will add a new chapter. Let's get it on!
I’m not a duke or Kentucky fan. I was following college ball closely in 1992 being about 17 playing varsity for my high school and deciding which college to head to.
I remember this match and seeing “the stomp”- I was shocked he wasn’t ejected. If that had happened in a high school or state match we would have been gone.
Who's Christian Laettner???
No win is a true win if a person engages in bad behavior. A coach who turns a blind eye to shady conduct is not showing the true leadership the team needs. How does one look himself or herself in the mirror or present themselves to others if they are guilty of poor behavior? Sadly, it is the "bad apple" remembered for their actions and not the honorable great team members.
I don't pull for Kentucky but Laetner no doubt should have been evicted. Kryzusky teaches dirty ball is where the problem comes from though. Look at him using Allen's tripping now. When the man you're guarding loses you trip him. Who cares if you injure him so he no longer has the possibility of a career he loves. K didn't have the balls to discipline him and teach him anything of real value.
Let's face the truth... if it wasn't Duke who won the game, it would have never been "the greatest shot" or something like that. Lets talk about the other games UK lost in the tournament? Or lets not, nobody remembers... the media isn't playing those replays every year, over and over again are they? No, they are not... wonder why? Well the answer is DUKE (not UK).
The media plays to the classic royalty of basketball, i.e. Duke, North Carolina, Kansas Villanova, Georgetown, NC State. Much less a KY team that wasn't really that good in the first place. Most memorable for me in that game, was UK had a woman coach on the bench. Most UK fans don't know that.. but why would they? UK isn't the most progressive school in NCAA history, right? I mean we are talking Adolph Rupp, the coach who refused to have a black player on the team until 1971. Talk about a UK legacy, he went to prison in 1977.. but that's another story... Can we say the hillbilly state...? Yeah boy, we can!!
Yet, here we are, once again.... talking about another crying point, a detriment, a valid reason why UK lost another NCAA tournament basketball game... Whaa, UK lost and there has to be somebody to blame!
Lets get serious here people, why is it UK has to win every game they play? Because the fans are unrealistic. Why are we talking about if a player should have been ejected? Because its UK, how and why, the excuse as to explaining losing a game and how UK, has once again, been wronged... once again, the victim!!! Poor UK, all the miserable calls against them. Now that cheater Laettner hit a shot when he should have been ejected! What a travesty, how unfair?
Truth is, we wouldn't be talking about any of this, if UK had won the game. No, we wouldn't and everyone knows it. It would have been a dirty play, but all that would have mattered, is that UK won. But they did not win, hence a crying point for the fans. The same song, list of excuses, every year they get beat in the tournament. Will we ever hear they got beat by a better team? I seriously doubt it... we are talking UK fans here. In their minds, there are no better teams, right?
Laettner played a good game. Frankly, he punked UK's players out. If you've ever played the game you would know, it gets testy at times. They didn't have rules at that time to deal with ejections as they do now... For the sake of UK's fans, Rupp would have taken action. Geez...
Anytime either of these teams (Duke or U-who) gets beat, it's time for celebration. Why? For the singular reason of how both teams fans behave. UK has developed a much worse reputation than Duke, it's clear with how UK's fans and head coach behave.
Did you hear how Calapari complained about how the game was called? The fans were chiming in at the end of the first half. Do you ever hear either fans or Calapari say anything about he refs when they play in Rupp Arena? No... why I wonder?
Example: look at how UK's fans reacted to their loss to North Carolina last weekend. They not only cried about the officiating, (case in point, simply listen to UK fans any time a foul is called...) everyone knows UK players don't commit fouls!! Right?!?
The UK fans can be proud of the classy way they denigrated and tried to ruin a referees personal business/livelihood by trashing his business.
A "Blue Blood" program ? Not now, not ever... We all know why UK is known to have, and will forever be known as a bunch of Hillbillies! Listen to UK fans clamor about how good UK is.... when they win. where I'm from, this is bragging.... When UK loses, what you will hear is excuses, crying and more whining... now you hear how classless this UK program has fallen, bash the referees business.... really? How classless can UK get? Bottom of the barrel folks... UK deserves no respect. Too bad, they have some great players but worthless fans.
Oh, the greatest NCAA tournament shot was NC Sta
Terry White u need some tissues lol....Calipari with all these McD AA but just 1 title to show for it GO HEELS
It truly was a great game. I was then and am today a Duke basketball fan. What a game. Everyone played great and did what they did to win. Laettner made a great shot at the time and Duke was victorious. Someone is always going to find fault with the other team. It happened then and it happens today. Officals try do their best today as they did years ago. GO DUKE
Some earlier posts say the rules in 1992 weren't what they are today, blah, blah, blah. Guess what? Decency is timeless; one does not need a rule for that. A stomp is a stomp is a stomp. If one needs a rule to regulate a stomp, then it does not matter what the rules will ever be, they will always be inadequate. Common sense is not about rules; it's about common sense. He should have been bounced, bounced, bounced to the bench, bench, bench. End. Of. Story.
No, not with the rules in place at the time. Would he now? Probably yes. But give it a rest, people! It's over & done with; in the record and history book's.
And, NO, I'm not a Duke fan .... am not a UK fan ..... DISLIKE THEM BOTH THE SAME!!! I'd you take the "D & E" off Duke, you have a UK twin, right down to their colors!
The only way I could've been a winner on that game is if both teams had not shown up or come down with some kind of deadly (NOT FATAL) disease!!
But, please .... let it go. It's done!!!
No, not with the rules in place at the time. Would he now? Probably yes. But give it a rest, people! It's over & done with; in the record and history book's.
And, NO, I'm not a Duke fan .... am not a UK fan ..... DISLIKE THEM BOTH THE SAME!!! I'd you take the "D & E" off Duke, you have a UK twin, right down to their colors!
The only way I could've been a winner on that game is if both teams had not shown up or come down with some kind of deadly (NOT FATAL) disease!! ????
But, please .... let it go. It's done!!! ????
Laettner would be ejected today, and he should have been ejected in '92, but they got away with more back then. I think most refs would have been more aware of the outcry, had they not thrown him out if this happened today. Every talking head on Sports Center would have crucified them. Nobody even mentioned it at the time except for us Kentucky fans.
Most of us knew we were doomed when we heard Higgins was doing Carolina game. History was not on our side: 5 earlier technical fouls, blown call in Wisconsin game, Carolina game: Called a foul on UK 8 seconds into the game. That has to be a record. 4 starters with 2 fouls in first half. Fox got mugged by two people on lay-up at the end, waved off basket and called foul on Bam when guy jumped into him, called foul on Willis for tipping a ball to team mate when he actually got fouled.
UConn player was ejected in a similar incident in the same tournament. different rules for Duke.
Bigger question at the time was, "Is Laettner gay?" Some of his own teammates didn't like him. Bobby Hurley couldn't stand him. Beginning of Hurley's sophomore year, Dook Coach Ksdlhasoishoiartsksosksy (or whatever his name is) handed the ball to Bobby in front of the whole team and announced, "This is your team, son." Laettner was livid and put his foot on Hurley's neck, never letting up.
25 Years! It has been 25 years. The real question should be "Why does this still matter and why aren't the people who care in therapy. There really are bigger issues in life and greater moments to enjoy. Get over it!
Shut up, find something rewarding to waste your life on.... Who really cares??
I have been a Football and Basketball Referee for 30 years. I have refereed at all levels. The definition of a Referee is to give both teams an equal chance within the framework of the rules to win the game. Intent is not defined in the rule book. Intentional is defined in the rule book. As a Referee you can not make up rules,
If he had missed that shot there would not have been an issue. Coaches and Athletic Directors make the rules and the rule changes each season. If what transpired in that game was a major issue, it would have been addressed at their spring meeting.
Duke!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Suck it you crybaby losers! Kentucky player pushed THE KING right before the stomp.... GOAT shot!
The sad thing is these games are not called anywhere close to the way the rule books are written anymore - everything is left to the referees interpretation instead of just calling the game by the rules - it's written down, easy to follow and the little league refs do it ... and it's the same book. So we are left to just watch and get what we get - can argue anything that's not enforced.
UK fans will always have something to whine about, in my opinion no he should not have been ejected,
He is the greatest college player of all time, and now Jim Higgins is the greatest ref of all time. I love being a UK hater
The world is full of cry babies. The call was made. It's over. It was great for the game (sorry Ky.). Enjoy today.
YES, He sure should have been ejected and that game belonged to Ky. It is a shame the entitlement mentality has only been fueled consistently since this game and athlete's get away with not just fouls but other assaults, rapes, murder's, and behavior because they think playing sports makes them exempt from the consequences of their actions. If this mentality didn't exist it would not have made headlines a day after the NC game that 1 of the players attended an 8:00 class the next morning. WHY on earth would he not be in class?!?!
Duke is one of the dirtiest teams ever.
Should have been ejected.
The problem is NOT this one play. It's that the same teams ALWAYS appear to get the benefit of the doubt (Duke) and other teams NEVER appear to get the benefit of the doubt. Not a hater of Duke, but they certainly get the calls in their favor and I suspect that the coaches teach them dirty tricks.
This event may have taken place 30 years ago, but the same disgusting crap goes on today!
Officials get in the way of lots of games, saddling the top players with ticky-tacky fouls, so that they have to sit on the bench. Just this past Sunday, in the late seconds of the game, a Kentucky player was hacked going up to the basket, no call. I am in NO WAY a Kentucky fan, but the regional championship was pre-determined and the officials were going to call it so North Carolina won if the game was close. Traveling calls are so inconsistent -- one team will get three steps without dribbling and no call, another team will get called because the player moved their knee, but not their pivot foot. Most officials are too old, too slow, out of position and can't see well enough to make a correct call. Gonzaga may not be in the Final Four had the officials made the correct call of goaltending versus Northwestern. How can they not see the guy's fingers get caught in the net?
What makes March Madness fun is seeing teams that don't normally play against each other compete, getting to see higher seeds beat the lower seeds. The games should be decided by the PLAYERS, not officials, who are mostly old white men who are so full of themselves to admit a mistake and obviously are not objective.
I had a ticket to the game and decided not to go. :(
I've made amends by attending the tournament every year since 1994!
I wish everyone stop whining about if this if that. The human element the refs is what makes March Madness fantastic.
Duke has been and STILL continues with getting away with six things that has allowed them to garner enough wins to be given either a"1 or 2 seed in any NCAA Tourney.The "SIX"are:Pushing,Shoveling,Holding,Hacking,and one that is outlawed in THE N.B.A.-HANDCHECKING!The number 6:in any game they are awarded at least twice as many free throws as their opponent.If you question the aforemention;look it up-NUMBERS NEVER LIE! My speculation is a simply one-refs fear Duke's couch!
what do you think if timberlake jumped up and punched laettner in the nose? both would have been ejected because laettner stomped on him first and timberlake retaliated. this is what should have happened. laettner was a big cry baby then and still is. how is the bankruptcy going laettner or did coach k or another person bail you out. had the foul been the other way around coach k would have been on the floor demanding the other person be thrown out.
This is the 2nd shot by Laettner that never should have happened. Duke beat UConn in 1990 in OT 79-78 at the old Meadowlands Arena when Laettner double clutched a shot to win the game. On the play prior to that play all Tate George had to do was tip the ball back towards half court and the clock would have run out and UConn would have won.
All I can say is South Carolina and a second round exit. Everyone talks about the "greatness of Coach K," What about all of the choke jobs he has had over the years? #15 Lehigh, #14 Mercer, #10 Providence, #11 Boston College, #7 West Virginia, #7 South Carolina.
It is amazing to me no one ever talks about those losses and some are the worst in history. Duke losing to a 15 and a 14 c'mon man can we say choke job???????
people don't hate winners - they hate cheaters-- sic New England Patriots. He should have been ejected and called for the walk during the shot itself
With Duke one of the most polarizing teams in sports, your poll should be worded this way:
Should Christian Laettner have been ejected:
Yes - I hate Duke
No - I love Duke
That is exactly how the votes will go.
Greatest shot ever, greatest game ever played in college basketball. People love to hate a winner and that's the one thing Christian was without a doubt ! Played in 4 Final Fours 3 National Championship Games and won 2 Back to Back. If you don't want to be stomped then don't push people out of bounds. I loved his attitude he didn't take crap from anyone, just stomped your butt on the basketball floor or in this case your chest !
I was at that game in fact dr j was sitting in back of me can not speak for him but he should of been ejected
grayson should be benched also it doesnot set a good example for high school kids also the coach need be
forceful with rules when playing
Ya, Ya Ya. The rich white kid got away with again. (Duke Lacrosse.) Well this really started with the White Kentucky kid shoving Lattner into the post in front of the officials and they do nothing about it. No harm-no fowl I guess. The reaction from the Kentucky kid was one of "look what I got away with. That will show you" Lattner's biggest sin was to accuse the wrong guy of the crime.
It happened so live with it but stop the eternal whinning about the racial over/undertone.
Seems like Duke has the market cornered on producing dirty players. Laettner and now Allen. Not good for game.
Who cares after 25 years? Nothing better to write about?
TRUMP will stomp on the chests of all Mexicans, Blacks, Gays, Women & Muslims. Suck it Libtards
People love to hate on winners is the problem here. If Duke had lost nobody would even be talking about the foul on that play. WOW!
I watched that game live. When the Kentucky player went down on the floor Christian backed up recovering his balance. He looked down. He saw Timberlake on the floor. He did not need to step on him to recover his balance. He picked up his right foot and chose put it down on Timberlake. It was a sign of pure contempt. He should have been ejected. He has since admitted he did it on purpose.
It doesn't matter now. You can't go back and change history. Suck it up and move on.
I saw that shot at MSG, but do not feel it was the greatest in NCAA history.
My favorite was Jim Valvano's North Carolina State upset in NCAA Final of Houston "Phi Beta Slama", around 1984, with the buzzer beater inbound pass and tip in off the rim to win it all for the Wolfpack. Then , watching Jimmy V, running around on floor looking for someone to hug !!
That was my all time favorite.
Laettner should have been ejected from the game! This was intentional, Timberlake was on the floor after the play. Once Laettner saw him there he purposely turned around and did not just simply "touch his belly" as previously stated by someone who obviously did not watch this game nor has watched the 30 on 30 special on Christian Laettner, he shoved his foot to the mid-section of Timberlake. This was NOT an accident and I don't think people would still be making such a big deal out of it if it was, his intention was to as Laettner said himself in the special "payback" for the shove out of bounds he "thought" came from Timberlake earlier in the game. Note I did say "thought", the shove that he received did NOT come from Timberlake but actually was from another player (I am not sure but I think it was Feldhaus), even Mr Laettner acknowledged this. With that being said and taking into account that this was an intentional "cheap shot" taken out on a player that had nothing to do with what happen to this jerk earlier in the game, YES by all means he should have been ejected from this game. Maybe the game turns out the same way with a Duke win but Laettner would have not been the one shooting. Duke players in my opinion think they are untouchable, that they don't have to follow rules. There have been may players from this school who have played dirty ball and gotten away with it. Grayson Allen for example tripping players all season until he finally was pulled from playing which at that time we were told it was indefinite, then all of a sudden he is back on the floor?!?!?! Any other school or player and his college career would have been over, but the fact that its Duke and he is allowed back on the floor. Duke gets away with so much and then wonder why so many feel they are given special treatment by the NCAA. Maybe if the NCAA, refs, coaches and announcers would stop treating Duke as if they were this picture perfect program that doesn't do anything wrong when anyone who keeps up with college sports knows better and actually reprimand them when they do something wrong maybe all this negativity towards the program would calm down a bit, until then live with the scrutiny.
My daughter was a teenager when this took place, I still remember the jumping around and cheering that took place in my house that day. She was a huge Duke fan as well as Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, she now has two teenagers of her own, Christian is the oldest and Jordan is the youngest. I tell people all the time they were named for her favorite players, if Christian hadn't had the opportunity to make that shot I don't know what their names would have been.
big time college basketball is a sport ... or I mean entertainment ... or sport ... or whatever. Just an ordinary game would be boring. Laettner made for a great villain/bad boy. The refs couldn't eject him. & over the years he & Duke got away with many more flagrant acts.
Well, that is the problem with hiring visually impaired officials in the first place.
As a spectator sitting in the stands that night at the old Philadelphia Spectrum - YES, LAETTNER SHOULD HAVE BEEN EJECTED! The arrogance displayed by Laettner was so egregious. Maybe prior to showing "the Shot," Networks could show a clip of "the Stomp." Duke was the favorite to make it to the Final Four and were surprisingly being pushed by a Kentucky team of relative unknowns, (mostly good ole boys from Kentucky), with the exception of Jamal Mashburn and Sean Woods. What could have been if Kentucky had just guarded the Inbound pass? One thing is for sure, It was Kentucky, NOT DUKE, breaking the glass ceiling that evening with the first female Division I assistant coach, Bernadette Locke-Mattox, on the bench.
I am sick and tired of watching that play. I am sick and tired of watching that play. University of Kentucky 1980 Grad.
Watching this game, I lost ALL respect for Coach K. I've seen refs call Duke fouls the other way. Christian Laettner and Coach K just showed Grayson Allen and others that doing anything is ok at Duke.
Haters gonna hate...
the problem is not that he wasn't ejected for this deliberately flagrant foul, it was that the technical didn't even count as a personal foul. If it would have also counted as a personal foul, he would have had 5 fouls for the game and would have fouled out before hitting his infamous shot.
Today, technical fouls count as personal fouls too, but back then they did not.
This stuff started more than 30 years ago. The refs don't have any guts. They don't call the things they should according to the rules. Now they've changed the rules and made it easy for thugs to put up big numbers without the real skills that were built into the game in the beginning.
Today it isn't basketball anymore but I guess that's what the fans want.
Things happen in the heat of the moment....Players make mistakes as do Refs. If a player does not get kicked out for tripping then why should another have got kicked out for stepping on a player?!?!?
Coach K should have stepped in but I see him as a Win at all costs.... Makes it hard to respect such a Great Coach that he is.
We are preoccupied by Duke because your guys consistently play dirty i.e. Bobby Hurley, Christian Laettner, Grayson Allen etc. You act like you are this holier than thou program that no one can criticize but the truth is you often have thugs that play for you and no one ever says a word about it. Coach K gets a free pass when anyone else in that situation would be chastised till kingdom come. I won't layoff because the truth has to be set free.
Good call by the ref. Laettner should not have been ejeced. The foul against him was good enough. He had been fouled (hard) by the same player earlier in the game and when the chance came up, he simply touched him on the belly with his foot. Nothing more nor nothing less. Laettner just returned the 'favor'. It happens all the time in these hotly played games.
poll is too old to be valid. today everything is a foul or flagrant "2."
let it be. move on. not changing anything.
Maybe he should not have been ejected, and maybe the refs made a mistake. What is more interesting is everyone's preoccupation with the guy because he is from Duke. .