Return to story

REFS MAKING ALL RIGHT CALLS? DON'T BET ON IT

November 19, 2008 12:36 am

BY STEVE DeSHAZO

Like offensive linemen, NFL officials are at their best when they're not noticed. That's why it's been a bad year for zebras.

Starting with Ed Hochuli's blown fumble call that likely cost the San Diego Chargers a win over Denver in Week 2, the scrutiny has never been more intense.

Sunday's curious ending to the San Diego-Pittsburgh game didn't affect the outcome, but it did influence the point spread--a fact that saved Las Vegas bookies millions of dollars and did not escape the attention of conspiracy theorists.

If you missed it (and in a world of endless replay, that's unlikely), the Chargers began lateraling desperately on the final play of a game they trailed 11-10. Pittsburgh's Troy Polamalu recovered an errant lateral and ran it into the end zone for an apparent touchdown.

No flag was thrown on the play, and a booth review confirmed the play was legal. Referee Scott Green signaled touchdown, then incorrectly reversed the call, saying the Chargers had thrown an illegal forward pass on one of the exchanges. The game ended 11-10--a first in NFL history.

That was good news for anyone who bet against the Steelers, who were four-point favorites. According to reports, about $10 million had been bet on the game legally in Nevada, and about 70 percent of the money was wagered on the Steelers to cover, so bookies also saved a mint.

But the NFL comes across looking a little dubious, and not for the first time. The league would love to have us believe that everything is about winning and losing.

But it's not.

If it were, teams wouldn't be required to submit daily injury reports. Those are of particular interest to two groups: bettors (to determine point spreads) and fantasy-league players.

The latter group is relatively harmless, if annoying. The former group often wagers huge amounts of money--a fact the NFL would like to sweep under the rug, but comes to light any time an error like Sunday's arises.

Former commissioner Pete Rozelle suspended stars Paul Hornung and Alex Karras for the 1963 season for betting illegally on NFL games. The fear then was that they might take payoffs from gamblers to influence games in which they played.

Given the players' huge salaries today, that's much less of a concern for Roger Goodell. A larger problem is the image of officials in all pro sports, thanks to the prosecution of former NBA official Tim Donaghy.

Calling games between huge, fast athletes is never easy, but it is crucial. Hours before the Steelers-Chargers game, referee Tony Corrente called a dubious overtime roughing-the-passer penalty against Philadelphia's Sheldon Brown that gave the Cincinnati Bengals a chance at a game-winning field goal.

Shayne Graham's 47-yard attempt went wide, sparing the league even more unwanted attention.

On Monday, the NFL announced its competition committee may tweak its review rule in the off-season to allow officials to take a second look at controversial plays in an attempt to avoid a repeat of Sunday's snafu.

With so much at stake, and so many people watching, it shouldn't wait that long.

UPSET PICK

Count us among the Brett Favre believers. Rested and confident after beating the Patriots last Thursday, here's a vote for the 5-point underdog New York Jets to hand Tennessee its first loss at home on Sunday.

Steve DeShazo: 540/374-5443
Email: sdeshazo@freelancestar.com