From: john@meaddata.com (John Manion)
Subject: Re: Men's Basketball - Munich '72
Organization: Mead Data Central, Dayton OH
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 1992 17:35:35 GMT

In article <1992Jul31.142125.28671@brtph560.bnr.ca>, appleyar@bnr.ca (Doug Appleyard) writes:
|> Does anybody remember the complete story of the end of
|> the men's basketball championship game between the U.S. 
|> and USSR in the 1972 summer games?  I seem to remember:
|> 
|> 1.  U.S. wins after sinking two free throws with 11 seconds to go.
|> 2.  Some guy with no authority comes out of stands and says 
|>     game clock was incorrect.
|> 3.  Time is put back on clock; Soviets get one last chance but miss.
|> 4.  Guy with no authority claims not enough time was put back on clock.
|> 5.  Time is put back on clock again; this time the Sovs 
|>     make a last second layup and win the gold medal.
|> 
|> On NPR last night they had a story about this game and said time
|> was put back on the clock only once.  Which is right?

   Time was only put back once.  Here is what happened:

  1) US down 1, Doug Collins steals a pass and is fouled.  He makes 
     both free throws putting US up 1.

  2) USSR tries to call time out, but back then you weren't allowed to call 
     time out after free throws.  I think this rule has been changed.
     So the time out is not allowed, USSR throws the ball in bounds and does
     not score.  US wins.

  3) Some Olympic official comes out of the stands and says the time out should
     have been allowed and has 3 seconds put back on the clock.  This guy had no
     authority to do so.  Soviets set up a play.
  
  4) On the in bounds pass the referee makes the US guy stand way back, like at
     the foul line which was also in correct, The USSR throw the ball the length
     of the floor, they catch it and score.  USSR wins.

  5) US protest, but is denied by a pro-USSR group.  Not sure what the group
     was made up of.  The US lost the protest by 1 vote.
|> 
|> Incidentally, the U.S. team did not accept the silver medal and
|> still have not accepted it.  The gist of the story last night 
|> is that some of the players (Tommy Burleson was interviewed) are
|> ready to forgive the officials and accept the medal, but most
|> of the players do not feel they deserve the silver so they don't 
|> want it.  

  They agreed that they would all have to accept it, if one guy does not
  no one can.  The IOC also says they all must accept to get them.  One of 
  the guys has it in his will that noone is ever to accept it for him so I
  don't think they ever will.

|> 
|> It sounded like this episode infuriated a lot of people!   
|> However the other events occuring in Munich at the time kind of makes
|> the outcome of some basketball game seem pretty insignificant.

That's for sure.

|> 
|> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
|> -= Doug Appleyard  =-=-=-=-=-=-= voice: 919-991-7805  esn: 294-7805 -=
|> =- appleyar@bnr.ca -=-=-=-=-=-=- warning: not the views of bnr inc. =-
|> -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|> 

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