In my fantasy life as the overlord of sports, here's what happens next week: The union reps for each team begin firing secret texts/emails to each other, and a plan is hatched. Next Sunday at noon, the teams line up for their opening kickoffs. The kickers tee them up, the refs blow their whistles to signal the beginning of play.............and nothing happens. Everyone-just-stands there. Eventually, the kicking teams will be flagged for delay of game....and every receiving team declines the penalty. Start it up, the kickers kick off, and the receiving teams all take a knee. Touchbacks, no time has run off any clock. The teams come out for 1st down, and at every game, the entire offense false starts. And every defense declines the penalty. Line them up again. This time, every defense violates the neutral zone....and every offense declines. This continues long enough to really get the crowds worked up (the smart crowds will figure it out and cheer the statement being made). After 10 minutes or so, play the game. Later at the press conferences, the player reps for each opposing teams will stand before the mics together and announce, since the league has made it official that it is OK to make a mockery of the game, then that's what the teams will do.
Goodell has got to be the worst commissioner the sport has ever seen. He'd rather be 'right' (in his own mind) then to anything to remedy the situation. He's also the biggest hypocrite in the world. I'm sure he's losing sleep over this, but I have ZERO respect for him. I hope the owners get together in the off season and fire his a$$.
That would be the best thing. However with what little I know of the situation I am not in favor of just throwing money at someone just because they demand it. I'm about as anti union as one can be and it just seems as if this is typical union muscle flexing. If I'm wrong then so be it, I haven't read or looked into it a bunch.
I don't think the replacement officials are that bad. so they ruin the flow of the game, they blow the same exact calls the real officials blow. It's just like watching an SEC game. Hell, I would rather have those guys in the SEC than Thomas Ritter and his band of misfits.
It's not so much that they are bad, as it is that they are uneducated and unprepared to control an NFL game. And by uneducated, I mean they get in trouble when they have to handle situations where the rules are not the same in the NFL as they are at whatever level they are used to.
Yep. And because they can't (or are unprepared to) control the game, someone eventually will get seriously injured. I believe all athletes at all levels will play as aggressively as the officials will allow. If the replacement refs don't control the games, with the athletes in the NFL, someting really bad is going to happen.
So what does everyone think the punishment for Belichik is going to be after he put his hands on the official last night? Slap on the wrist? Should he be suspended for a year? I mean Sean Payton gets suspended for a whole year for doing nothing, there is video evidence of this guy doing something the league sent out a letter for.
I would love to see that (and so would this guy http://www.democratandchronicle.com/usatoday/article/57838066?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Sports|p ) but I'd be willing to bet that, at most, Belichick will only face a fine that'll be paid by Robert Kraft.
The guy that made the BS TD call last night has high school and JUCO experience. Now he's an NFL (replacement) ref. How is he even remotely qualified to officiate a game at that level?
