You can't help but notice when Ed Hightower is officiating game. Not only does he get a lot of TV time because he works a lot of games, he stands out from the crowd with his theatrical calls.
Hightower has worked 64 games this season in 22 states. Last week, Hightower's itinerary took him to Connecticut, Purdue, Louisville, Michigan, Washington, D.C. and Minneapolis, according to the site Stat Sheet, which also tracks how many fouls and technical fouls officials have been called.
It turns out that Hightower likes to blow the whistle more than most of his colleagues. Mike Hlas of the Cedar Rapids Gazette did some research into the 19 Big Ten games that Hightower has work. That number ties him for the Big Ten lead with Ted Hillary.
There have been 724 fouls called in Hightower's games compared to 611 in Hillary's. That's an average of six more fouls a game. Since the 1996-97 season, games officiated by Hightower have averaged 39 fouls.
Only 12 technical fouls have been called in Hightower's 64 games. Tom O'Neill, who has worked 82 games, has called 29 technicals.
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Posted by: WBill | February 24, 2009 at 06:16 AM