Pac-10 official put in witness-relocation program

Remember like way long ago when the Oregon football team was good and the Oklahoma football team too was good? Well, it was on Sept. 16 and the two teams played a friendly little football game in Eugene, Ore.

The end to the game was wild, and there was a call that was evidently not called correctly. It cost Oklahoma the game -- perhaps a shot at the National Championship -- and led to Gordon Riese loosing his job.

Riese was, well, let the much less lazy AP report sum it up.

Gordon Riese said he received death threats after a call on an onside kick near the end of the Sept. 16 game that the Ducks won 34-33. Televised replays showed the Sooners recovered that kick, but Riese did not see that angle in the replay booth.

He'll remain a Pac-10 technical assistant (whatever that means) but has been relieved of his replay duties.

Here's what gets us the most though:

Riese, who took a leave of absence for the season after the game at Autzen Stadium, told The Oregonian newspaper that his doctors had advised him not to return to the job, anyway.

His doctors advised him not to return?! What like he might get an ulcer or something from all the stress? Perhaps the FBI should have advised him not to return -- so, ya know, avid Sooners fans won't follow through on those death threats.

But looking back in retrospect, we're glad Riese blew the call. If he got it right, and Oklahoma awarded the win, this may never have happened.