Sounds like it, after what you guys pulled on Sunday.
Two major points of contention at the end of the game.
First, the scoreboard -- now, one can say that the players and coaches need to pay attention on their own to down, time, distance, etc. and so forth. The problem is that the kicker (if you watch almost any game that's that close) is off to the side practicing his kicking into a small net!
So he's the one who's got to concentrate on getting himself ready to (if he's called on to do so) put the ball through the uprights.
So, when all Hell breaks loose, he has to run out onto the field, rush everything (never mind that the Ravens' coach does NOT call his time out -- dum dum DUUUUUUUUUUM...), and botch the kick horribly to put Tom Brady and the Patriots back into the Super Bowl since the LAST time they played the Giants (SpygateBowl).
But here's the thing: Doesn't the clock operator have a responsibility to keep the clocks accurate? (And, on occasion, the referees will ask the clock operator to relevantly reset the clock...)
Keep all this in mind when we rewind a couple plays to the OTHER controversy...
2nd and 1 -- 16 yard line -- :25 to go. (This YouTube clip has both that play and the missed kick.)
Flacco goes back, passes to the end zone, it's caught by the receiver (Lee Evans), he is able to take a step or two in the end zone, but is ruled incomplete when "at the last second" (according to the announcer) the Patriot defender gets a hand in.
But let's take another look at this play on the replay, starting at :17 of the clip...
Evans catches the ball cleanly.
He is in the end zone, but when he catches the ball, both feet are in the air.
He absolutely gets one foot down with full possession, but the Patriot defender (Sterling Moore) appears to be able to slap the ball out before the second foot gets down. It's probably not even Calvin Johnson material.
Now, the key look at :27 of the clip, side on...
The official is right there, Evans is in the end zone for a touchdown. But, again, when he catches it, both feet are in the air, so he has no by-rule possession credit at this point.
One foot down at about :31.
Second foot comes down, and if you stop it right as the second foot comes down, you see the ball being slapped out.
Sorry guys... The scoreboard debacle I will give as a possible evidence of a Patsy rig-job. But the pass was incomplete. Yes, Evans needs to catch that and hold it -- but he didn't, not QUITE long enough. He literally was an eyelash from the Super Bowl.
------------------
One final thought on the whole 49er debacle:
Does anyone else want to forward the possibility that the league actually got to that punt returner instead of the quarterback, knowing they were able to script a close game for good primetime ratings?
Just a thought... This is no coincidence.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
So the NFL script has changed...
1) Tebow and Denver go down. That put me in a very good mood -- it was getting so bad that I learned from a podcast (I think it The Karel Show) that Focus on the Family actually had an ad in last Saturday's game (this was the same group which was allowed to put an anti-abortion Super Bowl commercial in the same Super Bowl that a pro-gay marriage group was denied for "political reasons"...) which took only three days from concept-to-air.
This fundraiser was placed directly into the New England vs. Denver game -- oh GEE, I WONDER WHY!!!
But, as one commenter to this blog pointed out, it was getting so obvious that it basically broke the Other Cardinal Rule of game-rigging: it can't become so obvious that the illusion of fair competition is broken. The Tim Tebow thing was almost taking on 1960's-ish proportions (as you'll see when I discuss the first of Brian Tuohy's FBI Files revelations), and that would be dangerous to the business nature of the league -- just as dangerous, if not worse, than allowing the games to end with legitimate results.
So they finally took the should've-sucked-for-Luck Broncos and finally put them out to pasture.
2) The other half of my thought-scripted Super Bowl also left the playing field, as the defending champs were basically exposed as a league manipulation (Brian Tuohy talked about Packer games no fewer than six times on his season page, largely noting that the Packers never got called for penalties for offensive holding, it seemed.)
So what happens Sunday? They get called for O-holding, and they get summarily ROLLED. 15-1, my ass!!
-------------
So with that in mind, who's going to be in Indianapolis now (other than Andrew Luck, who the NFL would be out of their mind to slip a couple Super Bowl tickets!)?
The NFC winner appears to be San Francisco -- for one very simple reason: When the league decides to have FOX insert a blurb about "The Catch" -- I, II, and now III (last Saturday's game-winner to dispatch New Orleans) -- in the middle of the PACKER-GIANT game, you know something is up!!
AFC? Bugger if I know. Do they want a replay of Spygate Bowl -- the game in which the Giants probably only ended the 19-0 chances because the Boston Globe revealed Spygate the week before on the Cheatriots?
Or do they want Harbaugh vs. Harbaugh?
One more thing which points to the only thing we might know before Sunday: There's another reason I don't think the Giants are going much further: Consider Vegas, which just made a boatload on losing Packer bets for the playoffs this year. The Giants, six weeks ago, were 100-1 to win the Super Bowl.
Almost reminds me of that one Cardinals fan...
This fundraiser was placed directly into the New England vs. Denver game -- oh GEE, I WONDER WHY!!!
But, as one commenter to this blog pointed out, it was getting so obvious that it basically broke the Other Cardinal Rule of game-rigging: it can't become so obvious that the illusion of fair competition is broken. The Tim Tebow thing was almost taking on 1960's-ish proportions (as you'll see when I discuss the first of Brian Tuohy's FBI Files revelations), and that would be dangerous to the business nature of the league -- just as dangerous, if not worse, than allowing the games to end with legitimate results.
So they finally took the should've-sucked-for-Luck Broncos and finally put them out to pasture.
2) The other half of my thought-scripted Super Bowl also left the playing field, as the defending champs were basically exposed as a league manipulation (Brian Tuohy talked about Packer games no fewer than six times on his season page, largely noting that the Packers never got called for penalties for offensive holding, it seemed.)
So what happens Sunday? They get called for O-holding, and they get summarily ROLLED. 15-1, my ass!!
-------------
So with that in mind, who's going to be in Indianapolis now (other than Andrew Luck, who the NFL would be out of their mind to slip a couple Super Bowl tickets!)?
The NFC winner appears to be San Francisco -- for one very simple reason: When the league decides to have FOX insert a blurb about "The Catch" -- I, II, and now III (last Saturday's game-winner to dispatch New Orleans) -- in the middle of the PACKER-GIANT game, you know something is up!!
AFC? Bugger if I know. Do they want a replay of Spygate Bowl -- the game in which the Giants probably only ended the 19-0 chances because the Boston Globe revealed Spygate the week before on the Cheatriots?
Or do they want Harbaugh vs. Harbaugh?
One more thing which points to the only thing we might know before Sunday: There's another reason I don't think the Giants are going much further: Consider Vegas, which just made a boatload on losing Packer bets for the playoffs this year. The Giants, six weeks ago, were 100-1 to win the Super Bowl.
Almost reminds me of that one Cardinals fan...
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
And the hits just keep on coming for the Tebow Express
Yahoo! Sports today: The 80-yard touchdown pass that created Tebow 3:16? Probably illegal, due to an illegal formation in which the tight end is lined up in the backfield, leaving only six on the line.
And the FOX Sports officiating analyst says this happens all the time...
Keep believing, people...
EDIT: That was the text of an e-mail I sent to Brian Tuohy. I found out something in his reply: I was only the sixth different person to send it to him. :)
And the FOX Sports officiating analyst says this happens all the time...
Keep believing, people...
EDIT: That was the text of an e-mail I sent to Brian Tuohy. I found out something in his reply: I was only the sixth different person to send it to him. :)
Monday, January 9, 2012
This Tebow baloney gets even more freaky...
It wasn't just that he passed for exactly 316 yards with the 80-yarder which won the game on the first play of overtime.
Tim Tebow also passed for an average per completion of exactly 31.6 yards (he was 10 for 21).
(Also, a hattip to a friend who pointed out that Pittsburgh had only had completed against them two passes of over 40 yards for the entire regular season. Yesterday, they gave up SIX such completions: Five in the second quarter (when he became the first player in playoff history to complete four passes of over 30 yards in one quarter), plus the game-winner to start overtime.)
And here's the final freakiness which is giving me even more indication that New England better prepare their vacation plans for next week, and this is according to John Ourand of Sports Business Journal: The final quarter-hour rating of the game for the overnight ratings?? 31.6!!
(Source for the three statistics of 3:16: Yahoo! Sports and their "Shutdown Corner" blog.)
And if you don't think the NFL is probably going to rig this entire playoffs for Tebow, consider this statistic from the blog post: Twitter reported yesterday that, the moment Tebow threw the touchdown pass to win the game in overtime, tweets about Tebow, the NFL, etc. were coming in at over 9,400 a SECOND! (That's about 560,000 per minute, and a record for a sports situation on the site.)
Tim Tebow also passed for an average per completion of exactly 31.6 yards (he was 10 for 21).
(Also, a hattip to a friend who pointed out that Pittsburgh had only had completed against them two passes of over 40 yards for the entire regular season. Yesterday, they gave up SIX such completions: Five in the second quarter (when he became the first player in playoff history to complete four passes of over 30 yards in one quarter), plus the game-winner to start overtime.)
And here's the final freakiness which is giving me even more indication that New England better prepare their vacation plans for next week, and this is according to John Ourand of Sports Business Journal: The final quarter-hour rating of the game for the overnight ratings?? 31.6!!
(Source for the three statistics of 3:16: Yahoo! Sports and their "Shutdown Corner" blog.)
And if you don't think the NFL is probably going to rig this entire playoffs for Tebow, consider this statistic from the blog post: Twitter reported yesterday that, the moment Tebow threw the touchdown pass to win the game in overtime, tweets about Tebow, the NFL, etc. were coming in at over 9,400 a SECOND! (That's about 560,000 per minute, and a record for a sports situation on the site.)
That's one for God's Quarterback.
And, with an 80-yarder to win it in overtime, Tim Tebow apparently passed for exactly...
THREE HUNDRED AND SIXTEEN YARDS...
Oh COME ON, NFL!!!
THREE HUNDRED AND SIXTEEN YARDS...
Oh COME ON, NFL!!!
Thursday, January 5, 2012
More perils of bad/crooked officiating:
Kinda rummaging around the Net today as I prepare to head to Los Angeles for the weekend, I saw this blog post concerning a YouTube video that a pissed-off person in Washington State made to force the state high school athletic association to either sanction the player/s involved or get competent officials before someone gets hurt or worse.
It is a compilation of believed "flagrant fouls" in a game between Connell and Highland high schools in Washington State on December 22, 2011.
So let's take a look at these fouls.
-------------
First foul: A Highland (in red with gray numbers) player, off the screen, comes into the lane. You can't get a very good look at it, because the play is almost off the screen to the right. However, you can see #34 for Connell (in white with gold numbers -- Cole Vanderbilt (listed at 6'3" and TWO HUNDRED EIGHTY POUNDS)) commit a fairly hard hack foul on the driving player. He doesn't appear to leave his feet nor make any real motion to make a play, save taking a hard swat with clobbers both arms of the Highland player (#30?), while bumping him to the ground.
I don't see that as a flagrant foul, but I do think it's a hard foul and the officials should've made sure that Vanderbilt didn't do it again under any circumstances. I think a second foul of that variety should've resulted in his expulsion from the contest.
(Not to mention that Vanderbilt looks about 21 or 22 years old. Both of the players involved, according to the Tri-City Herald, were offensive linemen on the state championship football team. The guy appears completely unable to take to the air and remain "straight-up-and-down".)
Second foul (0:45): Connell player shoots about an 18-foot jump shot, which is missed and rebounded by #20 from Highland on the near side of the basket. #42 from Connell, Keenan VanHollenbeeke (listed at 6'4" and 235 pounds) reaches around fairly hard and swats the ball out of his hands and gets a foul called.
To whomever made the video and posted it on YouTube: That's a hard reach-in, and happens all the freaking time. That's a foul which can happen several times a game. That's not a flagrant foul. Personal foul, walk the floor, shoot the bonus, and play on. I can understand that you would like to see that kind of foul not happen, but that would have to change how a lot of those things happen on plays like that.
Third foul (1:33): After a couple of passes, #24 of Highland gets the ball just outside the three-point line at the top of the key. He dribble-drives down into the lane, where #42 of Connell is again, as he swings his arm and decks the Highland player to the floor with a fairly strong arm to the head.
That should've been all for VanHollenbeeke. That was a flagrant foul, probably a Flagrant-2 under the NBA rules. VanHollenbeeke should've been tossed right then and there, and I'm somewhat surprised someone didn't start at least a scrum-style situation, because those are the kinds of fouls which can start fights. Credit to the Highland players for not doing so -- just surprised it didn't happen.
But that was a completely flagrant foul and he should've been expelled from the contest right then and there. You cannot allow a player to flail his arms like that in the approximation of "making a play". That was a dirty foul, and he should've been tossed.
Fourth foul (2:13): We're under the offensive basket (all these fouls, according to the Tri-City Herald, occur within the first ten minutes of the contest!!), and Highland gets an offensive rebound, #24 again. He goes up to shoot a layup, misses it, and it appears as if VanHollenbeeke gets the rebound for Connell, only for #24 to slap it out of his hands, no call, apparently clean.
A scramble for the ball occurs, and VanHollenbeeke openly shoves #34 to the ground as he tries to shield VanHollenbeeke from getting the ball.
Shouldn't have even been in the game to do this, as he should've been tossed for the other foul of his. But that's at least a Flagrant-1.
Fifth Foul (2:53): Presumed the worst of the bunch in the Yahoo! blog article.
#30 is dribbling down the court for Highland. He decides, upon seeing an open lane, to drive the lane. He takes a CLOTHESLINE from Vanderbilt.
A straight-up fucking CLOTHESLINE. No effort is made to play the ball.
And the referee calls the foul a HOLD...
If I'm reffing, he's gone -- so is the coach for failing to control his players!!
The whole point of me actually discussing this is not that I feel this game was rigged. The point of me discussing this is that this is what CAN happen when a dirty referee or a compromised official involves themselves in a game and deliberately ignores fouls and penalties to manipulate a certain result or storyline.
I do not believe that was the case here. I believe this officiating crew is dangerously incompetent and should not referee again without a long course in how to officiate a basketball game.
But when a compromised official gets involved in his chicanery, things like this can result from the deliberate ignorance of the rules of the game and the sportsmanship required.
That was Vanderbilt's third foul of the first quarter, and you saw two of them.
All five of these fouls occurred in the FIRST QUARTER!
Sixth foul (4:42): Now, finally, in the second quarter.
Highland player drives the middle, almost (if not) gets fouled driving the middle of the court. Passes to an open player under the basket (#12). Layup, no good, rebounded by Highland's #34 and here's Vanderbilt again, with his fourth foul of the game (in ten minutes), reaching over the top and knocking the kid to the ground.
A hard over-the-back call, but it's moot by this point.
----------------
This is what can happen when officials have their own agendas. You let things get this out of control, and all Hell can break loose. We are fortunate this game didn't turn into a brawl, or even someone coming out of the stands to go after the kids.
For the record, Connell actually defeats Highland by a single point, 38-37 -- and there was some trash-talking in the game as well, according to the Tri-City Herald. VanHollenbeeke actually scored the game-winner with about 90 seconds left.
There is no word, as of this time, if the Washington State high school association has suspended the two players (now branded the dirtiest in America -- a stretch, IMHO, for VanHollenbeeke, but Vanderbilt is up there!), but the school will not. The coach has stated his players and he are behind the players.
It is a compilation of believed "flagrant fouls" in a game between Connell and Highland high schools in Washington State on December 22, 2011.
So let's take a look at these fouls.
-------------
First foul: A Highland (in red with gray numbers) player, off the screen, comes into the lane. You can't get a very good look at it, because the play is almost off the screen to the right. However, you can see #34 for Connell (in white with gold numbers -- Cole Vanderbilt (listed at 6'3" and TWO HUNDRED EIGHTY POUNDS)) commit a fairly hard hack foul on the driving player. He doesn't appear to leave his feet nor make any real motion to make a play, save taking a hard swat with clobbers both arms of the Highland player (#30?), while bumping him to the ground.
I don't see that as a flagrant foul, but I do think it's a hard foul and the officials should've made sure that Vanderbilt didn't do it again under any circumstances. I think a second foul of that variety should've resulted in his expulsion from the contest.
(Not to mention that Vanderbilt looks about 21 or 22 years old. Both of the players involved, according to the Tri-City Herald, were offensive linemen on the state championship football team. The guy appears completely unable to take to the air and remain "straight-up-and-down".)
Second foul (0:45): Connell player shoots about an 18-foot jump shot, which is missed and rebounded by #20 from Highland on the near side of the basket. #42 from Connell, Keenan VanHollenbeeke (listed at 6'4" and 235 pounds) reaches around fairly hard and swats the ball out of his hands and gets a foul called.
To whomever made the video and posted it on YouTube: That's a hard reach-in, and happens all the freaking time. That's a foul which can happen several times a game. That's not a flagrant foul. Personal foul, walk the floor, shoot the bonus, and play on. I can understand that you would like to see that kind of foul not happen, but that would have to change how a lot of those things happen on plays like that.
Third foul (1:33): After a couple of passes, #24 of Highland gets the ball just outside the three-point line at the top of the key. He dribble-drives down into the lane, where #42 of Connell is again, as he swings his arm and decks the Highland player to the floor with a fairly strong arm to the head.
That should've been all for VanHollenbeeke. That was a flagrant foul, probably a Flagrant-2 under the NBA rules. VanHollenbeeke should've been tossed right then and there, and I'm somewhat surprised someone didn't start at least a scrum-style situation, because those are the kinds of fouls which can start fights. Credit to the Highland players for not doing so -- just surprised it didn't happen.
But that was a completely flagrant foul and he should've been expelled from the contest right then and there. You cannot allow a player to flail his arms like that in the approximation of "making a play". That was a dirty foul, and he should've been tossed.
Fourth foul (2:13): We're under the offensive basket (all these fouls, according to the Tri-City Herald, occur within the first ten minutes of the contest!!), and Highland gets an offensive rebound, #24 again. He goes up to shoot a layup, misses it, and it appears as if VanHollenbeeke gets the rebound for Connell, only for #24 to slap it out of his hands, no call, apparently clean.
A scramble for the ball occurs, and VanHollenbeeke openly shoves #34 to the ground as he tries to shield VanHollenbeeke from getting the ball.
Shouldn't have even been in the game to do this, as he should've been tossed for the other foul of his. But that's at least a Flagrant-1.
Fifth Foul (2:53): Presumed the worst of the bunch in the Yahoo! blog article.
#30 is dribbling down the court for Highland. He decides, upon seeing an open lane, to drive the lane. He takes a CLOTHESLINE from Vanderbilt.
A straight-up fucking CLOTHESLINE. No effort is made to play the ball.
And the referee calls the foul a HOLD...
If I'm reffing, he's gone -- so is the coach for failing to control his players!!
The whole point of me actually discussing this is not that I feel this game was rigged. The point of me discussing this is that this is what CAN happen when a dirty referee or a compromised official involves themselves in a game and deliberately ignores fouls and penalties to manipulate a certain result or storyline.
I do not believe that was the case here. I believe this officiating crew is dangerously incompetent and should not referee again without a long course in how to officiate a basketball game.
But when a compromised official gets involved in his chicanery, things like this can result from the deliberate ignorance of the rules of the game and the sportsmanship required.
That was Vanderbilt's third foul of the first quarter, and you saw two of them.
All five of these fouls occurred in the FIRST QUARTER!
Sixth foul (4:42): Now, finally, in the second quarter.
Highland player drives the middle, almost (if not) gets fouled driving the middle of the court. Passes to an open player under the basket (#12). Layup, no good, rebounded by Highland's #34 and here's Vanderbilt again, with his fourth foul of the game (in ten minutes), reaching over the top and knocking the kid to the ground.
A hard over-the-back call, but it's moot by this point.
----------------
This is what can happen when officials have their own agendas. You let things get this out of control, and all Hell can break loose. We are fortunate this game didn't turn into a brawl, or even someone coming out of the stands to go after the kids.
For the record, Connell actually defeats Highland by a single point, 38-37 -- and there was some trash-talking in the game as well, according to the Tri-City Herald. VanHollenbeeke actually scored the game-winner with about 90 seconds left.
There is no word, as of this time, if the Washington State high school association has suspended the two players (now branded the dirtiest in America -- a stretch, IMHO, for VanHollenbeeke, but Vanderbilt is up there!), but the school will not. The coach has stated his players and he are behind the players.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Final Score Update: Week 17 and 2001-2011 averages per game
Well, that's it for the regular season, and here's what we had on a wild Week 17 in the NFL:
Week 17 averaged 47.4375 points per game -- even with that 7-3 stinkeroo in Denver!
2007 averaged 49.25
2011 was second to that.
There were four years below 40 -- 2010 was 37.75!!
And that means that 2011 is the highest-scoring season in the NFL, going back at least to 2001!
2011: 44.371
2008: 44.059
2010: 44.027
2002: 43.414
2007: 43.359
2004: 43.015
2009: 42.855
2003: 41.664
2006: 41.348
2005: 41.273
2001: 40.583
Some other interesting 2011 scoring quips:
Week 17 averaged 47.4375 points per game -- even with that 7-3 stinkeroo in Denver!
2007 averaged 49.25
2011 was second to that.
There were four years below 40 -- 2010 was 37.75!!
And that means that 2011 is the highest-scoring season in the NFL, going back at least to 2001!
2011: 44.371
2008: 44.059
2010: 44.027
2002: 43.414
2007: 43.359
2004: 43.015
2009: 42.855
2003: 41.664
2006: 41.348
2005: 41.273
2001: 40.583
Some other interesting 2011 scoring quips:
- There were only five shutouts in the entire 2011 NFL regular season. (Pittsburgh 24-0 Seahawks Week 2, Chiefs 28-0 Raiders in Oakland in Week 7, Buffalo 23-0 Washington Week 8, San Francisco 26-0 St. Louis Week 13, Pittsburgh 27-0 St. Louis Week 16). Pittsburgh had two, while Kansas City, Buffalo, and San Francisco had one each.
- Lowest-scoring game of the year was NOT the 7-3 debacle in Mile High yesterday. That "honor" went to Cleveland and Seattle in Week 7. Cleveland 6 - Seattle 3.
- Only five games in the NFL had the total points scored under 20.
- In contrast, here's the list of games in which the teams scored 70 points or more:
- Green Bay 42 - New Orleans 34 (Week 1, the opener) 76
- Buffalo 38 - Oakland 35 (Week 2) 73
- New Orleans 40 - Houston 33 (Week 3) 73
- Green Bay 49 - Denver 23 (Week 4) 72
- Green Bay 45 - San Diego 38 (Week 9) 83
- Detroit 49 - Carolina 35 (Week 11) 84
- New Orleans 49 - New York Giants 24 (Week 12 MNF) 73
- Green Bay 38 - New York Giants 35 (Week 13) 73
- New England 49 - Buffalo 21 (Week 17 -- NE scores 49 straight to take AFC home-field) 70
- Green Bay 45 - Detroit 41 (Week 17 -- all sorts of passing records entertain the brutes) 86
- Green Bay-Detroit Week 17 with the highest scoring game of the year.
- Detroit-Carolina was next
- Then Green Bay-San Diego
- Then Green Bay-New Orleans
- Then a tie between Green Bay-New York Giants, Buffalo-Oakland, New Orleans-New York Giants, New Orleans-Houston
Of the 10 games, Green Bay was involved in half of them (5-0), New Orleans in three (2-1), Detroit in 2 (1-1), New York Giants in two (0-2). All four teams are in the NFC playoffs.
Think all this doesn't have a lot to do with what's going on in the NFL right now? Year of the Quarterback and all?
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