Mr. Higgins:
I understand your job as CFL director of officiating is a tough one. It must be very tough when you have to keep standing up and defending your officials even though you know deep down that you are in charge of a group of morons. How can you honestly defend the travesty that happened at MacMahon Stadium Saturday afternoon? Do you not have the onions to come out and say your officials did a poor job, because everyone that watched on TSN and was in the stadium on Saturday afternoon sure knows that their job was far less from adequate.
The rough play call on John Chick was one of the worst calls I have ever seen, but it just added to a group of terrible calls all afternoon long both on Calgary and Saskatchewan. How can you justify the penalty on Chick when it was clear that Henry Burris was still trying to make a play. I understand you have to protect the quarterbacks, but if that is the case, your referee should have blown the whistle when he fell for the first time. You add that to a missed face mask on Andy Fantuz earlier in the game and an obvious fumble by Steven Jyles that your six blind mice couldn't see and it proves that the men you are responsible for are simply not good enough.
Perhaps if your officials would have called Henry Burris in the grasp a few times as he was instead of letting the play go on, this would not have happened, but once again the fact that your guys seemingly don't know the rules comes into play.
As you know the CFL is a great product and one that has fans sitting on the edge of their seats week after week watching exciting game after exciting game. Sadly, the efforts of the officials only hurt the league's credibility. Your credibility is also shot when you try and defend these officials for the calls they make or don't make. It is inexcusable.
You need to come out and sanction Mr. Murphy and his crew for the pathetic job they did in this game and tell them that they can take a couple of weeks off. They can use that time to brush up on the rulebook. They can also learn that its OK to throw a flag for taunting which is something I think Nik Lewis does every time he catches the football and stands there and howls. Is that not taunting the opposition? It is in my books.
What transpired on the MacMahon Stadium turf Saturday was a classic. There might not have been a better game in this league in years. In fact, one person has already said that game was better than the 1989 Grey Cup which was arguably one of the best games in the history of football period. Its too bad the effort of both teams is tainted by talk of the shoddy officiating that Mr. Murphy and his crew put forth Saturday.
10 comments:
You hit the nail on the head with that post! Well done!
PK
I hope you sent the letter to Mr. Higgins, with a cc to Commissioner Mark Cohon.
It was an unfortunate turn of events. But the rule states that if the player is on the turf not advancing the football then he can't be hit. True, he could have gotten up and still made a play, but at the time he was hit, he was clearly not, and Chick could just as easily touched him, instead of jumping on him. Other than that series, the Riders could not stop the Stamps at any point in overtime.
Texas Rider Fan
Great post, but you forgot another key play in the game and that was Miller having to challenge the "incomplete pass" call when Chick clearly knocked the ball out of Hank's hands. Is this game just too fast for the refs or what. Why is it we always seem to get the short end of the stick? Its nice getting 3 out of 4 points in Calgary, but we may have to go back there now because of this. I have watched that play over and over and you can't tell me Burris wasn't trying to advance the ball. I just wish Chick would have been a second slower because he then would have hammered Hank and the ball would have come loose and we could have taken it in to end it right there.
David
Nick Lewis is a complete A$$hole and his buddy Dwight Anderson isn't far behind. Those two guys just embarass their club week after week with their antics.
JN
I agree with almost everything you mentioned, but Nik Lewis... taunting... come on! Stupid! Annoying! Yes! But taunting... give me a break! By the way, I am not a Stamps fan!
Lewis=douchebag. Nothing more needs to be said.
Bill
Mr. Anonymous:
I question the Nik Lewis taunting statement as well, but I ask this question.
If Hank throws Lewis a pass and Morgan or Davis or whoever bats it down and then stands there and yells at the top of his lungs with other players nearby like Nicky boy does, would a flag be thrown. I think it would.
The rough play call was the worst call I have ever seen. If Chick doesn't come roaring in, Burris likely gets up and throws a complete pass. Murphy made a terrible call. Here's hoping his playoff bonus flew out the window after that one.
Mike
Lewis doing his howling thing is his sad attempt to be like "Rampage" Jackson from the UFC when he wins a fight. It's rediculous, makes him look moronic, and he should be penalized for it. As for the insanely inept refs not calling penalties, there is a serious need to get some people who can call a game the proper way.
Don't get me wrong, this was probably the most exciting game of the year, but it didn't have to be. There were too many opportunities for a change in the outcome had the refs been either on the ball or at least following the actions around it. Honestly, Helen Keller could have called a more accurate game.
Amen sistah!
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