Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, October 27, 1995 TAG: 9510270125
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
Welsh confirmed Thursday he has been fined by the ACC for comments he made about the officiating Oct.7 in Virginia's 22-17 loss to North Carolina.
``I received a letter from [ACC commissioner] Gene Corrigan and spoke to him by phone,'' said Welsh, who has been at UVa since 1982. ``I don't think I've ever been fined before, other than a speeding ticket a couple of times.''
Welsh would not disclose the amount of the fine, but said it would be donated to the charity of his choice.
``In the commissioner's opinion, what I said is beyond what their code is,'' Welsh said. ``I regret that. I don't want to do that, but it was one of those nights.
``You're not allowed to criticize [the officials]. I don't know where the line was drawn, but obviously I was beyond that.''
The comments were made on Welsh's weekly television show, which was taped the night of the game.
``That's ridiculous,'' Welsh said of a personal-foul call against offensive tackle Chris Harrison. ``It's absolutely poor officiating.''
The fine came to light when Welsh was asked about Virginia's 17-16 loss to Texas on Saturday, in which the Cavaliers disputed calls that nullified an apparent touchdown and field goal.
``Obviously, in our opinion, there were some calls that were not good, if you can believe the television replays,'' Welsh said. ``[But] it seems like officials, if they are not beyond reproach, are beyond criticism.
``When do a major-league umpire or a National Football League official have to hold a press conference? They don't. I don't know where the accountability comes in. You can mark them down all you want. I don't know if they've dropped anybody - anywhere - for that.
``They should. You know, there's been talk among the coaches that the bottom 10 or 15 percent [of officials] in the league ought to be dropped every year, but I don't know if that's ever going to happen. I don't know if they have any really good people to come in.''
Corrigan said remarks like that don't do Welsh any good.
``That's George being George,'' Corrigan said. ``We're not going to get in a blackball situation [with officials], but we take guys out of games all the time [and] demote them. I think you can say that you disagree with a call or that a call hurt you, but you can't go around making judgments.''
Welsh did not know if anything would come of his report on the Virginia-Texas game, for which the officials were assigned by the Southwest Conference, which is in its final season of operation.
``It's tough to see,'' said UVa quarterback Mike Groh, referring to the game tape. ``It seems like we've been on the short end of the stick on a lot of the officiating this season.''
Groh said replays show wide receiver Patrick Jeffers had both feet inbounds on a pass that was ruled out of the end zone. No less critical was a Virginia field-goal attempt that was waved wide to the left with UVa leading 13-7 in the fourth quarter.
``If it wasn't good, it was the way the [near-side] official made the call,'' Groh said. ``It was a chicken call. It went over his bar and he looks over at the guy underneath the other bar, as if to say, `Was it good or not?'''
POINDEXTER HOBBLED: Virginia freshman Anthony Poindexter, who had made several key stops in short-yardage situations, aggravated a groin injury late in Saturday's game and was on the sideline for the Texas drive that set up the winning field goal.
Poindexter had made an unpublicized start at outside linebacker, with Jamie Sharper moving to the middle in place of fifth-year senior Skeet Jones. Poindexter had started two games, but that was while Sharper was rehabilitating his right knee after arthroscopic surgery.
FAKE PUNT: Virginia's passing totals Saturday included a 27-yard completion from punter Will Brice to Sam McKiver. Nobody was covering McKiver, who was playing on the left side of UVa's punt-coverage team.
The fake is automatic in situations when the wideout is not covered, although there was some risk involved because UVa was at its 14-yard line. The pass play went for 27 yards, it was to little avail when the Longhorns recovered McKiver's fumble.
RECRUITING: Virginia's first commitment is from Duane Fisher, a 6-foot-3, 185-pound defensive back from C.M. Wright High School in Bel Air., Md. Fisher was recruited by first-year Cavaliers assistant Joe Krivak, previously the head coach at Maryland.
by CNB