The correct spelling of the official's last name is RIESE. Additionally, Gordon Riese is far from being a respected official in any normal D-IA conference sense. He is best known for being a part of the officiating crew that called "The Play" between Cal and Stanford in 1982. However, in recent years he has been relegated to the replay booth, as would be right to assume, because he got older(he's 66), his eyes blurier, mind duller, and his legs a tad slower. He got stuck upstairs because, to put it bluntly, he was f*cking up so many calls on the field. That's right...Mr. Riese's bad calls started a riot in a WSU vs WU in a 2002 game and he single handidly gave a game to USC against UCLA in 2004. At first the Pac-10 tried demoting Mr. Riese from Referee to Line Judge but even then the complaints regarding his officiating became to numerous for even the Pac-10 to ignore. They eventually forced him to 'retire' by placeing him behind a replay screen. He resides in Beaverton, OR and is a graduate of Portland State. Oh, and he wears Nike Airs.
This will have me "talking like a pirate" a day early. Arrrrrggh!
Something needs to be done about this OREGON guy. Good to know his own Coasties have also had problems with him. Good find - thanks for posting it!
Boren is asking for: 1) an apology from the Pac 10 for what Boren calls "gross errors in officiating"; 2) that the game not be recorded as a win or a loss by either team; 3) that the officials who reviewed the plays be suspended for the rest of the season; 4) that the Big 12 ask the Pac 10 to change its rule calling for only Pac 10 officials at non-conference home games; and 5) for the Big 12 to call for a discussion of how the replay review process should be implemented.
Pac-10 hands out one-game suspension to officiating crew
http://www.sportsline.com/collegefootball/story/9669306