I thought I heard somewhere that in order to be an NFL official, you have to have a regular job that pays over six figures, just to be sure you wouldn't take a bribe. Has anyone else heard something like that?

I heard that as well. I know I officiate high school basketball and was told you had to have like over 60k a year to officiate college to limit that.

Have everyone of you guys absolutely lost your mind? Do you realize what kind of message board fodder this thread will be for all the other teams out there? Oh Yeah, LSU against the world!! Now that I've said that, I've considered the same exact scenarios the past two days. How would these refs accept payment for such a coup? Cash? Certainly nothing traceable. Blackmail seems very plausible to me. :hihi:

Let's see, just from the past two years -- USC/ND, OU/Oregon, LSU/Auburn -- all blatant. All big games.

Of course it's crooked. The only question in my mind is who's pulling the strings.

I hate to have this attitude, but until there's a playoff that mitigates the impact of these actions, I have a hard time respecting the game as much as I would like to.

If they need message board material, and if my posts can count as such, I would be happy to give them all they want.

Hell, I'll even play the dozens by myself.

Hey Chris Leak, yo momma is so stupid, she thought a quarterback was a refund.

My post was meant to be sarcastic, I really have thought about such things the past couple of days. But I thought I was surely over reacting and there's no way anyone else could think the same. It's good to know I'm not the only conspiracy theorist out there.

Paying off the refs in one way or another, not to totally determine the outcome of the game, but to see that Auburn "has a fair shake, if ya know wut i mean," doesn't seem out of the question. Not that I think it happened, but I don't feel confident enough to rule it out.

All I have to say to that is, "It's rolling baby." I'm sure Mike Price can eat some Denny's as much as the next old guy, but it didn't keep him from his other appetites. :hihi:

How many games have you seen over the years where calls were made that were just unbelievable? Many. How much money is riding on these games? Lots. So yes I think it's possible for the officiating to be crooked.

I am beginning anything is possible, I would hope that it is not true, but it could happen.

Face it:

When they call a holding penalty on a key first down
When it looks like LSU is driving and could score
When the guy that was apparently holding has a broken finger AND IS WEARING A CAST AND CAN'T GRAB EVEN IF HE WANTED TO...

Well, draw your own conclusions. That certainly constitutes a "fair shake" for the home team. Or doing whatever it takes to ensure that "fair shake." Frauds.