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Thank you, officials. You finally did your job.

Jack PIlgrimby:Jack Pilgrim03/05/25
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Photo via Dr. Michael Huang - KSR

We’re going to keep this one short and sweet, just like Kentucky‘s win over LSU on Senior Night. If you’re like me, you’re sick and tired of these no-good officials blowing their whistles every time down the floor and going to the monitor to review a million calls, extending games like they’re paid by the minute.

Take the Auburn game, for instance. 44 fouls were called between the two teams, leading to 69 total free throws being taken beyond the countless trips to the monitor. That led to a total game runtime of two hours and 38 minutes, according to the official stats. And it could have been longer had the generator for ABC’s TV truck not caught on fire, taking out the broadcast equipment inside Rupp Arena — including the monitors for replay, the officials forced to abandon all reviews down the stretch.

No game should ever be that long, and Tuesday night proved that. Why? An officiating crew of Owen Shortt, Byron Jarrett and Jason Baker put together a game that took just one hour and 55 minutes to complete. That includes just 23 total fouls called and 21 free throws, no player picking up more than three fouls out of the 18 players split between two teams. You got the ridiculousness of 0.2 seconds being added to the clock after celebrations had already begun, but that led to the season debut of walk-on Zach Tow, so can we really complain about it? Other than that, it was a clean game — arguably the best of the year, if you ask me.

Point being, there is a reason you don’t know their names. You’re not supposed to if the officials are doing their jobs well. The reason others are household names is because they give you reasons to look up who they are and why they suck. Tuesday’s group did not suck and that’s why I didn’t know any of them existed before the LSU blowout. I hope the only reason I continue to know they exist and are thriving is because they continue to officiate Kentucky games and do them well.

Thank you, Owen Shortt, Byron Jarrett and Jason Baker. You three kicked ass and deserve a ton of credit for kicking ass.

Can we keep it that way, please?

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2025-03-05