“TV Teddy” Ted Valentine was at it again last night. With two seconds left in what was a nine-point game between Northwestern and Fairfield, Valentine blew his whistle to give the Northwestern a technical foul for standing on the bench. The Wildcats had stood up to shake hands with Fairfield, but had been warned earlier for standing, so Valentine, a man of his word, whistled the tech.
Head coach Chris Collins was beside himself and had to be lightly restrained by assistant coach Brian James from further engaging with Valentine. Reading lips you could see Collins saying “there is two seconds left??!!”
Northwestern will surely see Valentine again as he referees plenty of Big Ten games. Why Valentine would feel it necessary to make some sort of ludicrous statement with two seconds to go is anyones best guess. Teddy has always loved the attention and certainly doesn’t care what anyone thinks about him. He has long list of run-ins from coaches, players and fans.
College basketball has another issue in how the game is being called period. With the shot clock down to 30 seconds, teams are no longer allowed to use their hands on defense. The rules committee is looking for more offense but, ticky-tack calls are being made all over the place slowing the pace down, making the game at times unwatchable. The NCAA should reconsider and give less reasons for refs like Valentine to blow their whistle and take attention away from the action.