Adventures in Officiating, Part 168...

Hey!

Well, first off, congrats to HALFTAG!!!

It must have given him mixed feelings, rooting against the Packers... And he probably didn't want to win it like this, but he won it fair and square.

Halftag has to give me half his winnings, because he's a new guy. didn't I explain that before?? I guess I should have. Sorry, my bad.

(Kidding...)

Just saw this story:

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- A Las Vegas casino took an unusual step Wednesday and offered refunds to gamblers who lost money when the Seattle Seahawks beat the Green Bay Packers on a controversial touchdown at the end of Monday night's game.

Derek Stevens, owner The D Las Vegas, seized on the attention being paid to the much-derided decision by replacement officials handling the NFL game and became the only casino in Las Vegas to offer refunds.

"I know exactly how it would feel if I was laying the number and I saw what happened," Stevens said. He declared himself "disgusted" with the ruling and said he just couldn't accept the outcome.

I'm back. You may be more familiar with Fitzgerald's Casino in Las Vegas. Which is now "The D", undergoing remodeling by the new owners.

Cheerleader Update:

The Eagles, and especially Mike Vick, are turning the ball over a lot. The Eagles cheerleaders will be well rested.

Andy Reid gave Vick the dreaded vote of confidence Monday, declaring that "Michael Vick is our quarterback." Expect to see Nick Foles in a couple of weeks...

Well, I've been reading your emails... Thanks for those, by the way. How will I defend the Refs this week, and the like....

If you re-read the last post, you will see that I was not defending these replacement referees. No. I was merely pointing out that the "real" Officials were never perfect either. Raider fans haven't forgotten about the Tuck Rule call... those were "real" officials... Look, I love Tom Brady, it's no secret... But that call was wrong.

But it didn't close the game, either. Adam Vinatieri still had to make a long field goal through a driving snowstorm... The linemen on that play claimed you could not see the goal posts at all, he was just kicking blindly into a blizzard...

Now, Patriot Fans and Packer fans have some legitimate beefs, after last weekend. Tru Dat. No argument. And if anything, I'm particularly disturbed by how they're getting worse each passing week. That's troubling... these officials are not good. I never said they were.

This Packer game is particularly aggregious, since it literally decided the game. What are the odds that the only people in the nation who watched the replay and didn't see what happened were actually the officials in the game?? It's quite unbelievable.

Actually, some football theorists have debated for years, under what circumstances it might be appropriate for the league to overturn the result of a game.

(And why were they doing that, pray tell?? Because the regular officials screw up all the time!!! That's my point!)

This Packer game actually fits the bill for the most lucid of cases. Time expiring, last play of the game, action taking place on a scoring play, the score actually deciding the game one way or another. Literally the last play of the game. In that case, it would probably be appropriate, given the video evidence, for the league to overturn the call and declare the Packers the winners.

Not that they're going to, clearly they won't, but, it does represent the "theoretical" perfect scenario in which one might expect the league to overturn the result, to protect the integrity of the sport as a whole.... It rarely happens like that. It's an interesting "pure" example of a game that deserved to be overturned.

Really, Aaron Rodgers is right. I heard him tonight on Sportscenter, he said it's time to look in the mirror and see what went wrong, and that the offiense had to play better. If I told you we would fly out to Seattle and score 12 points, you wouldn't like our chances to win, would you?? No, I wouldn't either. 2 field goals, a 4th quarter TD, and a missed 2-point try. Not exactly what we expect from the reigning MZVP of the National Football League. 8 sacks??? Not what I would expect from a professional Offensive Line.

Your joy with the real officials will evaporate completely, however, at the first phantom PI call on Charles Woodson... Just sayin'. It will turn totally to hate after someone hits Aaron Rodgers on a helmet-to-helmet job, and not only will the defender not be ejected, as he should be, they won't even throw the flag. Prepare yourselves...

I'm not sure we shouldn't be wondering if the fix was in. These officials are basically "temps", they know they're only there until a deal is made with the union... They're already being criticised for bad calls... So, someone offers some cash, and all you have to do is make a few more bad calls, in a sea of bad calls??? That's easy money. This gig is going to end soon anyway, and you'll be back to calling games in low-level colleges, if at all. It's the perfect storm. You take the cash. Who's going to know?? There's bad calls all over the place... What's a few more???

I'm not saying, I'm just saying....

Another brutal slate of games. Chicago at Dallas. Should I start taking prozac now, or just wait and drink heavily during the game??? These decisions.... Minnesota at Detroit... Is Matthew Stafford gonna play?? Sorry, his name was legally changed to Matthew Stafford When Healthy, my mistake.

I saw The Great Cam Newton play over the weekend. Let me get this straight, Tim Tebow needs to be shot, to make sure he never throws a pass again in the NFL, but Cam Newton is a "rising star" in this league??? Cam Newton sucked. Plain and simple. And clearly he's been taking body language and leadership lessons from Jay Cutler. Wow. So Newton is a great player, and Tebow has no business on an NFL roster.... Oookaaaayyyy....

San Francisco at the Revis-less Jets... Hmmm. West Coast teams traveling east for a road game.... Hmmm...

Good luck! A deal is apparently imminent with the "real" Refs... so we'll see soon enough just how "cleaned up" these games become.

I'm taking an awful risk, Vader....

Hey, welcome to another Tuesday Afternoon analysis!!

First things first:

Week One: Smitty201! Hey, congrats on your week One win. After being shut out for 17 weeks last year, you broke through right away in week One. Nice job. Actually quite a dominating win, nobody was closer than 13 points.

Week Two: HighZ!!! Some of you may remember HighZ from years past... he took a year off. And who can blame him?? It's not easy winning all the money. Gets tiring. Beat me by one point. One. One stupid point.

And oddly enough, he didn't write the amount on his check. Oops. Well, that check is no good, so you're booted, and I will take possession of the Week Two prize money. No hard feelings, right pal???

(Okay, I'm kidding... tempting though...)

Cheerleader Update:

Ahh, the Carolina Panthers. They had something to Cheer about!!! They beat the Saints! Thus sending the Saints to 0-2. If gambling were legal, I might have the Saints under 9-1/2 wins for the season... Two losses already. I need 5 more losses to put that one in the jar... Hmm, 5 more losses over the next 14 games... I like my chances.

HighZ is venting a lot of hate on Facebook about the "replacement" officials. And so are a lotta people, not to single him out, even though he beat me by one point...

Are they worse?? Sure, yeah. But, then again, I've spent half my life screaming at my TV set after blown calls, non-calls, wrong calls, stupid calls, and all manner of officiating ineptitude... Are they THAT much worse than the "real" officials?? Really?? I'm not so sure.... It's not like we had perfect cyber officials before...

After the absurd jobbing the Arizona Cardinals took in that Super Bowl against the Steelers, did the officials apologize?? Were they disciplined?? Were there any repurcussions whatsoever?? Ahhh, no. Those refs either a)stunk or b)were doing what the league ordered them to do. I'm not even sure which possibility is more disturbing...

How about the Seahawks, when is their apology coming from the officials who totally screwed them in their Super Bowl against the Steelers?? Where do they go to receive that apology???

I could go on and on, but suffice it to say, officiating was far from perfect under the "real" officials... And when the "real" officials come back, they'll be blowing calls too, just like they always did.

To me, the real story is how fast the players adjust to what's being called and what isn't. That's been fun to watch...

Will the real Cowboys please stand up?? Tampa Bay will travel to Dallas Sunday at Noon... Yikes. Green Bay traveling to Seattle for Monday Night Football. Houston at Denver. I see both Manning brothers remembered how to throw a pick... Hey, Peyton? Don't throw the ball late and high over the middle... Quarterbacking 101. You're welcome.

Atlanta at San Diego. New England at Baltimore. Another brutal week, coming up.

Get your picks in, and enjoy!!!

You're out of your element, Donny!

Hey, what's up?!?!?

Football!!! That's what's up.

Well, I see my money making Super Bowl betting tips would have cost you a lotta money. Sorry about that. I mean, if gambling were legal...

Who knew that Eli Manning was going to have 6 horseshoes surgically implanted in his butt?? Who knew??? Who knew a career 83-rated passer could stop throwing picks?? Who knew that ANOTHER miracle catch would occur along the sidelines??

Ahh, Wednesday night. The Dallas Cowboys will travel to New Jersey to play the New Jersey Giants, where again we will see the dramatic and hilarious stylings of Eli Manning.

You may have enjoyed some real football this past weekend, for the first time in a long time. I heard Brent Mussburger say "You are looking live at Cowboys Stadium!!!", and I knew the season had started.

And then I lost ten bucks on Michigan, heh heh, and then it REALLY felt like football season had started... ouch.

These picks, I mean, that also makes me feel like the season is underway. Right away on the screen, Buffalo at the Jets. Ugh! I'm gonna pick out a lucky coin, and just flip it, I think. Or maybe shuffle a lucky deck of cards and take a cut, red or black, and pick that way....

Which brings me to the first thing I'd like to bet on, but can't: Over/Under number of games before Tim Tebow replaces Mark Sanchez as starting QB of the Jets. (Highly un)official line: 9. I want the under real bad, whatever the number.

Word of advice to the Jets 3rd string QB: Be ready. You are going to play this year.

Seattle at Arizona. Heh! I just laugh... This is the Official Battle of Two Teams That signed other Teams Backup QB's to big Contracts, but then their New Expensive Quarterbacks Of The Future Couldn't Unseat Their No-Name Projected Backups. That's BOTTSOTBQBTBCBTTNEQBOTFCUTNNPB for short. Arizona signs Kevin Kolb from the Eagles for big money, and Skelton will start the season. Seattle signs Green Bay's own Matt Flynn to big money, then as an afterthought they pick up Russel Wilson, former UW Quarterback, and Wilson will start. Matt flynn will continue to hold the clipboard, but he'll be waaaaay better paid to do so. So, he's got that going for him...

Cheerleader Of The Week:

Danielle of the Saints!

Is there a Bounty on her?!?!? Gadzooks.

Oh, no he didn't. He did not just go there.

Yes he did. Come on, it was too easy, I had to do it.... You would have lost respect for me if I didn't.

Alright, get your picks in!!! 55 Hours to Kickoff!!!

Super Bowl XLVI

Hey, whats up??

Obviously, it took me awhile to get over that Packer loss. Ugh. Brutal. to the stupid stinking Giants no less. It's too painful. Let's just move on.

Giants at Patriots. Lucas Oil Stadium. Indianapolis, Indiana. 5:30 Central time.

The Patriots could excorcise a lotta demons here.

1. The obvious brutal loss to the Giants a few years ago, spoiling the perfect 19-0 season. A guy catches a poorly thrown pass on the side of his helmet, while Rodney Harrison does everything he can to knock the ball out. You can still watch that clip on Youtube. It looks like a bad hollywood special effect. If you saw that in "The Replacements" or "Any Given Sunday", you'd say come on, man, no way... to beat these Giants wouldn't really atone that loss.... Nothing could atone that loss. But this would go a long way towards easing that pain....

2. Indianapolis has been the scene of the crime for a lot of Patriots losses. Obviously not to the Giants, but for many years, Patriots Colts was one of the toughest rivalries in the AFC. To get a win, in this building, on this field, would purge a few demons....

3. The Patriots are the "home" team for this one... thus, Tom Brady and the Patriots will be in the Home Locker Room. Tom Brady may very well be in Peyton Manning's actual locker prior to this game. How crazy is that?!?!? While Peyton sits in a luxury box and grits his teeth, Tom Brady will suit up in front of Peyton Manning's own locker... Insane.

Also, Brady and Belichick aren't getting any younger. Belichick is 60. Brady is 35. This run is going to end soon. If these guys really want to be immortals, the Princes of the NFL history books, they need to win this. 4 Super Bowl wins for Brady would be some very rare air. The Mighty Joe Montana, and Terry Bradshaw. I think that's it. Hell, 3 put him in some rare air. Troy Aikman, that's it. Chuck Noll is the only Coach with 4. Belichick could join him. Very rare air indeed.

Check this out:

Coach Appearances Record
Schula 6 2-4

Landry 5 2-3
Belichick 5 3-1 (tbd)

Grant 4 0-4
Noll 4 4-0
Gibbs 4 3-1
Levy 4 0-4
Reeves 4 0-4

Some pretty rare air already.

I'm not sure what people see in these Giants, but I read a lot about how a lot of smart people think they can win. Let's see, December 18th the lost to the Redksins led by Rex Grossman, completing being swept by the Redskins this year. Then they hosted a Falcons team that tried a very strange game plan, and only scored a Safety on Eli Manning all day. Several dropped Eli picks in that game.

Next was the Packers. I'll never understand the onside kick in the first half. Never. It's not like we were underdogs, on the road, who needed to steal a possesion to try and beat a superior team. We were the better team. I'll never get that. They're still adding up how many passes Jermichael Finley dropped. allowing the TD on a prayer hail mary to end the first half... What a strange game. We handed them that one.

Next, the 49ers. Alex Smith did his best Tim Tebow impression in that one. Covered the field with bad throws. Guys on punt coverage hitting the ball with their knee. Fumbled kick returns. Mistakes. Multiple dropped picks, guys injuring their own teammates lunging for the interceptions. Victor Cruz oughtta be league MVP, for the catches of Eli passes he makes. Just for a laugh, add up how many times the ball hits a Giants receiver between the numbers. Don't worry, you'll only need one hand. Despite all that, Alex Smith had the ball with 3 minutes left, at midfield. Get a couple first downs, kick a field goal, the game is over. Nope.

I don't see it. Sorry, I just don't. The Giants are luckier than lucky to even be here right now. The whole world is loving this Giants +3 line. I say, take the Patriots and enjoy the game. -3 is a bargain for a superior Patriots team. Plus, for you Brady watchers, he NEVER has 2 bad games in a row. Never. If you want, Tease the Patriots and the over. If you like, throw a Patriots money line in there too, you'll cash that ticket, which is always nice. 3 moneymaker bets for you, right there, to make up for your loss in that 100 square pool you threw in on....

Our last football game.... enjoy it!!

Your Shipment of Fail Has Arrived...

I think that about sums it up.....

Playoffs?!?!?

Yes, it's the playoffs....

First, I saw this in the paper today....



The answer is no, he has not....

In any case, I was a little busy last weekend, so I did not put up my money-winning selections. I would have given you Denver and the points, and I guess you'll just have to take my word for it...

It started snowing here today... Lovely. Just lovely. Made me wanna do something that the pills I was taking were making me do....

Let's go to my true feelings, expressed in cartoon form:



That sums it up.

Cheerleader Update: It seems that "Thunder" rides into Mile High Stadium before every Denver home game. A long standing tradition, apparently.





The things I learn researching this stuff. Apparently, at USC, they have a tradition of a guy in an outfit riding a horse into the Stadium, and plunging a sword into the turf. The blogger where I found this stuff called the Broncos Tradition "Awesome", and referred to the USC thing as "Homoerotic at best." I'm no expert on homoeroticism, so I'll let that go... Google it up if you're interested in homoeroticism, or USC, or whatever...

Another famous "Animal" Mascot, Man's Best Friend, the doggie....



Apparently, being "Ugga", the mascot of the Georgia Bulldogs, is a tough gig. The average lifespan of Ugga is 4 years. Stop giving him beers after wins!!!

Now, this weekend in Foxboro, Thunder will not be riding into the Stadium... No. Tom Brady and The Patriots will be riding into the Stadium. They have yet to win a playoff game in their new building.

That will change Sunday. More on that later...

Uhh, also, quick note, Cowboy haters, you can stop emailing me the details of how Tim Tebow and TJ Yates now have as many playoff wins as Tony Romo. I am painfully aware of this, but thanks for those emails, I appreciate it. Your dedication to keeping me informed is touching, so, thanks. ;)

I don't get all the hate for Tim Tebow, really. One of the Florida Boys is really something, he watches a Broncos game for 5 minutes, Tebow completes a pass, his face turns red, and he changes the channel. Look, I've had a lotta fun taking Tebow's side, just to rile up Tebow haters... But seriously, if you wanna hate, how about Mike Vick?? Exploiter and murderer and abuser of dogs. Here's a guy you can hate. Ray Lewis, hate away. Probably murdered a dude in an alley, and if he didn't, he was standing right there when it happened. We're okay with that? How many season-ending hits and concussions does James Harrison have to lay on other players??? Ohhh, so he says he "didn't mean to hurt " Decker of the Broncos. Ohh, okayyyy, fine.... I'm sure he didn't mean to knock Colt McCoy out of the game either. If you wanna hate, people, there's plenty to hate. Tim Tebow??? What'd he ever do???


Anyway, let's get to the picks. For the young (or new) gamblers out there, This is a great weekend to take the home teams. The home teams, coming off their well-earned byes, are historically around .700 winnning percentage. Plus, it's very easy to be overly swayed by what you just saw last weekend. The Giants are the classic example of that. Let's review some real recent Giants games: got blown away by Rex Grossman and the Redskins. Barely got past a pathetic Jets team. Looked pretty good against a highly disappointing Atlanta Team that is clearly built to play indoors. Hmmm. The Fraud that is Eli Manning. Hmmm. These guys are going to fly up to Austin Stroebel Airport, get off the plane, and beat the Packers in Green Bay??? Uhh, no they're not.

Pick #1 Packers -9

Pick #2 49ers +3.5

As a gambler, you have to love a home underdog in this spot. You have to. I don't love this pick. The 49ers didn't play any team with a top 6 offense all year. This Saints offense is HISTORICALLY good. On several levels. An all time great offense. Are the 49ers ready for that?? Not sure. If you wanna lay off this one, go ahead, it's purely a home dog play. In case you were wondering, the weather is supposed to be mid-60's and nice, so the dome / outdoors thing probably won't be a factor.

Pick #3 Ravens money line

I don't like laying the 9, but I think they win the game. This will pay less than 1:1, but it's better to cash the ticket, than to throw it in the garbage.

Pick #4 Patriots -14

I see a big Patriots win. The Broncos are a very different team at home. This will not be at home. Dick LeBeau (Defensive co-ordinator, Pittsburgh Steelers) will not be calling cover-zero plays with both safeties at the line this week. The Patriots will not be playing with a 1-legged quarterback.

Pick #5 2-team teaser, Patriots and Packers

Pick #6 2 team parlay, Patriots and Packers

So there you go!!! A 6 pack of money making picks. My usual disclaimer, I take no responsibility for anything. All picks are free, or your money back.

Enjoy.

Regular Season: Complete

Greetings!

Well, the Regular Season is over. They just fly by, don't they?? Amazing. A Baseball Season lasts 3 years, I think...

Anyways, Congrats go out to air Myles for his week 16 win. 3rd win of the Season for Air Myles. Wow. Nice job. Only person to win 3 weeks.

Congrats also go out to Elusive, for his week 17 win. Nice job man! He had the perfect paper going for awhile there... That was intersting to see.

The season battle was quite a spectacle. The Sears / Ardita / Leo Woods / Elusive combo has been trading the top spot for weeks. In the end, it was ARDITA. Unbelievable. Last year's Season Champion REPEATS as champion again. Unreal. Apparently, the crown was not too heavy after all. Nice job man. Congrats.

Congrats also go out to Elusive, for his 2nd place finish. Huge final week for Ardita and Elusive. Possibly the hardest week of the year to pick, and they made it look easy.

And obviously congrats go out to Sears, for his 3rd place finish. I've already received the email from Sears, detailing his disgust at falling from 1st to third in one week. Still a great finish though. I was in fifth at around week 15, and started picking crazy, and took myself right out of it. The Cowboys complete implosion didn't help me a bit. Ugh.

Checks will be going out shortly.

Cheerleader Update: These cheerleader updates have worn me out. Seriously, pouring through pictures of cheerleaders, night after night, trying to find just the right ones, to thematically complete the blog... It's not easy. Grueling, backbreaking work... God, if I have to look at another picture of a cheerleader.....



Well, the Team may have imploded, and splattered on the ground like that P-51 at the air show in spring, but The Cowboys still have the cheerleaders...



The Cardinals season is over, but they still have Cheerleaders too...



If the Dolphins hire Jeff Fischer, she might have something to cheer about....



This young lady still has some work to do... Denver is in the Playoffs!!! I know, they have no chance against Pittsburgh. Just like Seattle had no chance against the Saints last year...



Good call on the Jacket and Chaps... It's cold this time of year....

Moving right along, I like to do this every year. Take a look at the picking records in our pool, and compare them to the highly paid punditocracy out there, and see how we stack up....

Mike Silver of Yahoo Sports 176-80
Erin07 174-82

Florida Boys 171-85

Elusive 170-86
Les Carpenter of Yahoo Sports 170-86

Sears 169-87
Leo Woods 168-88

Wickersham of ESPN 167-89
Schlereth of ESPN 167-89

Sharpcheddar 166-90

VBS
KathB4 165-91
Patrick686

The normally very good
Chris Mortensen of ESPN 155-101

So, in a very tough year to pick, again we had many pickers as good or better than the highly paid analysts. Nice job to everyone. Leaving out people who missed a week for whatever reason, nobody in our pool was as bad as Chris Mortensen. Nobody. So, pat yourselves on the back for a job well done.

KathB4 and I wish everyone the best and brightest for the New Year.

I may publish a few more of these, with some of my locks of the week in the playoffs. If you took my advice, you would have made money the last 2 years. Sadly, the internet has sort of been shut down for sports betting. bovada.lv is supposedly taking action. I would advise you to keep cashing out, and keep your balance low, if possible. This is not an endorsement of any website or any activity. Proceed at your own risk. I take no responsibility for anything. There's a disclaimer for ya!

If you have friends that want to come in next year, I'll send something out next summer, they can come in.

Best Regards in Football
Cadillac Pat