SCREAMIN' FROM THE CHEAP SEATS. So, who has incurred my wrath this week? None other than the NCAA referees in the Conference Championship Tournaments.

To say that the collegiate basketball game has sunk to new depths of brutality isn't an idle observation. Here's what I viewed with my own eyes over this weekend so far.

Point #1 is in the Stanford-Louisville ACC Quarterfinals tilt. In a tie game with the clock running out in regulation, UL takes the last shot with around 5 seconds to go and misses. A Stanford player gets the rebound and tries to outlet a pass to get the rock up the floor for a last shot and is fouled not once on the arm but twice by a pair of Louisville defenders and NO CALL. That caused the basketball to flutter right to UL guard Chucky Hepburn who deposited an unmolested 15 footer into the basket as the horn sounded for a two point victory. The announcers even lamented, "That was probably a foul. Oh my!"

Point #2. In the ACC Semifinals between Louisville and Clemson there were two late game no calls that were atrocious. The first was when with the Tigers trailing by two points CU guard Chase Hunter was hammered to the floor going to the basket and no whistle. Even the announcers were screaming that it wasn't a clean block but a foul and I quote, "This has to be called. There were three fouls on that possession." Then after the Cardinals made a couple of free throws Hunter attempted a trying three pointer and gets fouled again. It was so obvious that no replay was shown.

Now, being a former college basketball coach, there's an old adage that referees swallow their whistle at the end of the game because they don't want to effect the outcome. Well, let me throw this one out there. By NOT calling obvious fouls in both of these tilts it completely affected the outcome.

How's this for a couple of novel concepts for the three people officiating the contest. One is if it's a foul in the first minute its a foul in the last minute. The second is if an obvious foul occurs in the last minute of a close game and by not calling the infraction you ARE effecting the outcome.

Here's the sad part. It will probably get worse when March Madness begins next week but there is a way to change that and here's how. From the opening tip any "football level contact" will be called a foul and start it right away in the four play in games at the University of Dayton.

Make a statement right away that the brutality that has festered into the game like a plague is no longer going to be tolerated. Moving screens like a pulling guard. Contact on a shooter that resembles pass interference. Offensive players that go to the basket and throwing their shoulder into a defender like a blitzing linebacker running over an offensive lineman.

Referees need to draw a line in the sand. No more an it will take players and coaches about two minutes to figure out how this game is going to be officiated and they will adjust. It will also send a message to the rest of the teams selected to participate in The Road to the Final Four that THIS is how the game will now be played. If you don't comply you'll have a great seat on the bench watching because you're in foul trouble.

Book it Dano!