An over-the-top response

I firmly believe that the supervisor of officials who said that Josh Shipp’s shot over the backboard should not have counted is incorrect. If he isn’t wrong, the rule needs to be changed.

Shipp was inbounds when he shot the ball over the corner of the backboard. The ball never touched the backboard, if it had even scraped the board the supervisor would be correct in his thinking. However, when the ball never touched anything but net, at no time was the ball out of bounds.

That being said, in all honesty, UCLA needs to get tougher mentally. Every time I think they’re the best team in the country, they come up with mental lapses. Whenever I think they only need to practice cutting down the nets, they take the floor in an overconfident, lethargic manner.

J.J. Volpe

Long Beach

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After watching frame-by-frame replays of Josh Shipp’s last-second shot that won the game for UCLA against Cal, from two different angles, it cannot be said for certain that the ball was ever over the corner of the backboard during its flight.

The only way anyone could have correctly judged the trajectory of the ball would have been if he or she was standing directly under the edge of the backboard. So it was a good no-call.

Jack Allen

Pacific Palisades

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Josh Shipp’s winning shot from behind the basket was illegal according to the NCAA’s own rule and should have resulted in a Cal possession without any points being awarded.

The refs clearly missed this crucial call which falsely gave UCLA the win.

Victor Richardson

San Pedro

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Pac-10 Conference supervisor of officials Bill McCabe has just announced a uniform change for all Pac-10 officials assigned to UCLA basketball games next season. Instead of the traditional black-and-white striped jersey, officials will be required to wear the “Booker Turner” powder blue-and-gold striped jersey with the words “Sixth Man” displayed on the back.

Joe Kiley

Sherman Oaks