Congrats to the Pittsburgh Steelers and all of their fans.
I grew up with sports, playing all the way through college, and yes I did fucking go to college, and the one thing you learn is that things that are out of your fucking control are simply the "breaks of the game". That having been said, I personally think it’s time that the NFL looked at how poor the officiating has become and take some active steps to correct the problem.
Now understand I am neither a Steeler or a Cardinal fan. I am a football fan, period. Throughout out this entire season, game after game, poor officiating was the norm. From the bad call during the Chargers / Bronco’s game back in September, through out the season and into the Super Bowl referee’s either made bad calls (or ticky-tack calls that didn’t effect the play and were questionable to begin with) or simply missed calls that should have been made. I think the fact that Ed Hochuli (the official in charge of the Charger / Bronco game) was named the top NFL official is an indication that things are not well when it comes to the NFL and its referee’s.
If you look at the last thirty seconds of the Super Bowl there were two penelties that should have been called for obvious infractions against the Steelers and the final Cardinal play that wasn’t even reviewed. A review which if it would have happened, I believe, would have overturned the call made on the field. The other penalties that weren’t called, the celebration by Holmes after scoring the winning touchdown in which the ball was used as a prop (15 yds) and an instance where a Steeler removed his helmet (another 15yd’er). In fact, even Yahoo sports dude Michael Silver, in his "over-the-top, Ephedrine-laced diatribe before dawn" states in an apology to Seahawk fans (who have claimed that poor officiating cost the them the super bowl a couple years ago):
Yet after Sunday, I can totally see how an objective observer would wonder whether the Steelers have some cosmic, unconscious hold on the hearts and minds of the zebras. Some examples: After Roethlisberger threw an incompletion on first-and-10 from the 50 midway through the third quarter, he was pushed in the back by Dansby, whose momentum appeared to carry him into the quarterback. The refs called a personal foul. Later that drive, on third-and-goal from the Arizona 9, Big Ben was about to get sacked and chucked the ball toward nobody in what seemed like a logical time for an intentional-grounding call. The officials didn’t flag him, ruling that he was outside the pocket – it looked pretty borderline to me. On the next play, Jeff Reed’s 27-yard field goal attempt, Adrian Wilson unintentionally ran into the holder, Mitch Berger, and a personal foul was called. It may have been legitimate, but things had become so one-sided that from that point on reporters in my section of the press box started conjuring up sarcastic fouls every time the Cards made a play: The defender threw the ballcarrier to the ground, resulting in a 15-yard penalty … Then, midway through the fourth quarter, on second-and-goal from the Pittsburgh 4, Warner threw an underneath pass to halfback Tim Hightower and got absolutely clocked by Harrison. The hit was far more egregious than Dansby’s push of Roethlisberger earlier, but no flag was thrown. Awful. Finally, after Holmes’ game-winning touchdown catch, his celebration – a LeBron James powder-throwing tribute – seemed to violate the rule against using the football as a prop, which could have resulted in a 15-yard penalty that would’ve forced Pittsburgh to kick off from its own 15. I’m not suggesting there was a conspiracy in Pittsburgh’s favor. I do believe, however, that this supposed all-star cast of officials had Ed Hochuli Disease: a tendency to make the game more about them than necessary. There were 11 penalties on the Cards for 106 yards, and seven for 56 on the Steelers.
Now here’s the real diatribe:
On the penultimate play of the game, after Warner was hit by Woodley while seemingly trying to throw a pass, the play was ruled a fumble, recovered by Woodley – and the officials acted like they had a table waiting at Mons Venus and needed to get there by 11. For all I know, the play would not have been overturned, and perhaps the replay official was able to determine that conclusively in a very short period. But even if it were only for the sake of appearances, how could the officials not stop the game and go through the process of conducting a formal review? I mean, this is the league that brought you the Tuck Rule, a play whose reversal at the time of the replay review seemed utterly incomprehensible, until Walt Coleman informed us how little we knew about football. Speaking of which, maybe Warner tucked the ball at some point during the play in question; or, perhaps, a conclusive case could be made that his arm was going forward. Or maybe not, but at least slow it down and take a few good looks at the replay. Because, you know, it’s only the most important game of the season. Sure, only five seconds remained, but had there been a reversal, the ball would’ve moved from the Pittsburgh 44 to the 29, because a personal foul had been called on Woodley for taunting after the play. Hmmm, let’s see, Warner throwing up top to Fitzgerald from about his own 35? I’d say there’s a little bit better chance of completing that than your typical Hail Mary. Again, it’s quite possible that the fumble would’ve been upheld on replay, and all of this would then become moot. I’m just stunned that the officials didn’t even bother to hash it out.
Would these have changed the outcome, we’ll never know but it seems odd that during a game when reviews were the norm and the officials littering the field with their dirty laundry was common place that these things didn’t happen when the game was definately on the line. Conspiracy theorists might have a field day with the outcome of this game and would have plenty of ammunition to go with it.
But I personally think that the decline of on-field officiating began with the inception of the reviews. You hear the talking heads who are supposed to be some type of expert often lament when a bad call is made it needs to be reviewed and that the list of reviewable items needs to be expanded. I’ve even heard it stated that sometimes a referee should make a call a certain way so that it can be reviewed.
BULL SHIT, if the referee can’t make the call correctly and makes the wrong call consistantly then he needs to take his cleats off, turn in his whistle and move on down the road. If the game has become too fast for the officials then the NFL needs to find faster officials.
In the days before official reviews, most of the time slo mo replay should that as close as the call was, the on field referee made the correct call. While I haven’t done a statistical analysis, today, I would bet that reviews reverse the call about 50% of the time. Why the decline? I think it’s because in the "old days" officials were completely responsible for the game. If they fucked up, it was a major fuck-up that fell squarely on their shoulders. Like I said, they were responsible. But now, they’ve got the replay rule and no longer are held responsible for their calls. If they make a bad call, it’s reviewable. If it’s not reviewable, then its the replay rules that need changed.
Thats my 2 cents but yet I do congratulate the Pittsburgh Steelers. They have no control of the shitty referee’s and did what they needed to do to win the game. It’s time to move on…and yes, that does mean it’s time for a Babe of the Post!
Brittany is a nurse in training
Brittany Nicole
Columbus State
SPECS:
AGE: 22
HAIR COLOR: Blonde
HEIGHT: 5ft 3in
WEIGHT:102 lb
BREASTS: 34C
MEASUREMENTS: 34C-25-30
Playboy’s Student Bodies
Brittany is a nurse in training. Hmm I think I feel a cold coming on. Cough cough. She enjoys sand volleyball with friends and shopping. To learn more about this Florence Nightingale check out her interview video in the members area. Learn more about Brittany at Playboy’s Student Bodies
Dude, you been reading my shit for awhile now. How about leaving a fucking comment and letting me fucking know how you feel about the shit I write or possibly Share Chasing The Walrus with Twitter
Tags: Sports Commentary by Walrus
No Comments »
Hope this fucking picture didn’t scare the fuck out of you too bad. This is one of the many really fucking ugly hookers arrested during last week as the Tampa police cracked down on hookers. The sad thing is, this is not the worst. This chick was selling her "goodies?" for $150.00. The sexy ass bitch that was with her, she was only valued at $100.00 a pop. Thank fucking god no pictures of her surfaced, this one will cause not only nightmares for myself but for everyone else who fucking checks out the blog. Suckers!
