Awful Officiating Recap

There were two calls during Sunday's Vikings/Packers game that were missed:

1) Adrian Peterson not getting a pentalty for removing his helmet in the endzone after scoring the game winning touchdown.

2) Aaron Rodgers called for intentional grounding in the endzone resulting in a safety.

Starting with Peterson, the NFL admitted Wednesday that a pentalty should have been called so that led Imig over at TBL to take a look at just how lucky the Vikings have been this season:

• In their 3 point win over the Saints in Week 5 (MNF), the officials failed to flag the Vikings for a facemask on what proved to be a Reggie Bush lost fumble. They also deemed Adrian Peterson down by contact on a fumble in which he wasn’t actually down. The gaffes led to at least a three point swing, which means, at worse, the Saints and Vikings should have been playing for overtime.
• In their two point win over the Lions in Week 6, the Officials handed 42 yards to the Vikings when Leigh Bodden was flagged for pass interference. Ryan Longwell kicked a game-winning 26 yard field goal soon after. Not to mention Dan Orlovsky ran out of bounds in the end zone. That two pointer could be considered the difference, though that’s not luck on the Vikings so much as shear stupidity on the Lions.
• In their one point win over the Packers, Adrian Peterson avoids a 15 yard penalty. Mason Crosby’s 52 yard field goal try sails wide right - and would have been good from 37. I’ll concede that Mike McCarthy’s playcalling inside two minutes was atrocious, but I won’t concede that the Vikings aren’t lucky.

On to the Rodgers safety, PFT made this observation during last night's Jets/Pats game:

Facing a stiff rush from the Patriots during Thursday night’s game, Favre essentially turned his body and whipped the ball to no one. He wasn’t outside the pocket, and the ball didn’t make it near or beyond the line of scrimmage.

But there was no flag.

The official explanation was that the ball was tipped. Replays suggested otherwise.

Even the officials are mesmerized by the great Farve. He's invicible!

Speaking of last night's game, if you watched the end, you will surely remember a bad holding call on Mike Vrabel on a key 3rd down for the Jets. There was no hold, and Collinsworth actually made this comment... "If that's holding, then I was assulted during my career". As for the call, even though it was bad at the time, it didn't affect the outcome of the game. If the Jets kick a field goal there, there is no way the Patriots go for it on 4th and 1 from the 16 with 8 seconds to go. They would have simply kicked the field goal and instead of being tied at 31 heading into overtime, the game would have been tied at 27. Regardless, a bad call has to be pointed out and not excused.

One note from the NBA last night. Via basketbawful:

Joey Crawford: Joey strikes again! The ref with the infamously itchy whistle-finger hit Kenyon Martin with a flagrant 2 foul, which means an automatic ejection this season. Good call? Bad call? Ridiculous call? I'll let you be the judge.



Martin was understandably indignant after the game. "It's basketball, man -- it's a contact sport. It's not bowling or table tennis." No, it's certainly not. Fans can actually stay awake through most NBA games (assuming the Spurs aren't involved). What made the call even more ridiculous is that Dahntay Jones and LeBron got into a shoving match earlier in the game...and nothing was called. Not even a tech. Ah, NBA officiating: A model of inconsistency.

Somewhere Tim Duncan is smiling.

Joey Crawford's Most Dispicable Moment

I urge you - if you ever need a good laugh - to head over and visit the guys at The Sports Pickle. Among other hilarious activities they partake in over there, one thing they do is put together a weekly poll. This week's question is: What is Joey Crawford's most despicable moment from his 31-year NBA officiating career?

These are obviously not real... but enjoy these humorous results:

The NBA's Zero Tolerance Policy

Found in SI's truth and rumors section was this little tidbit:

The league, privately, has told a few folks that referee Joey Crawford was working under a zero-tolerance policy. Referees have been feeling they've been working under similar conditions for years, with Crawford being the latest example. What they intend to do about it remains to be seen. -- Philadelphia Inquirer

Listen, if this is true - and David Stern wants to create the impression that his ref's are being held to strict guidelines and must call the game by the rules and will be held responsible for any bad calls they make, then this is good. So what if their credibility is taken away. One of their top dogs just ruined it for the rest of the refs by trying to be a showboater and be bigger than the game. It's like the old saying - one bad apple can ruin it for the whole bunch. Thanks Joseph - the rest of your referee fraternity graciously thanks you.

UPDATE: CRAWFORD DONE FOR THE YEAR!!

NBA.com just announced the suspension of Joe Crawford for the rest of the year. David Stern was really left with no choice. He did what he had to do.

Oh... and that didn't take long. His wikipedia page has already been updated as well.

Update via NBA.com:
San Antonio’s Tim Duncan has been fined $25,000 for verbal abuse of a game official, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President Basketball Operations.
The incident occurred after Duncan's second technical foul and ejection, with 1:04 remaining in the third period of the Mavericks' 91-86 win over the Spurs on Sunday, April 15 at American Airlines Center.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Tim walk off the court calmly? First ejected for laughing, and then fined for cooperating with a horrible call. Wow... rough day for Duncan. I think I'm gonna email Mark Cuban about this.

Correction: Apparently Duncan called Crawford a "piece of S***" I guess it's standard anytime a player curses out an official to fine them, but I think under these circumstances the NBA should have cut Duncan a break. Either way - it's still just pocket change for the man making a little more than 17 mil per year. I think he can afford it.

Joe Crawford needs to check back into Anger Management

I'm sure by now, you have seen the video or heard the story of what happened to Tim Duncan during yesterday's Spurs/Mavs showdown in Dallas. Personally I do believe that Tim Duncan is one of the many guys in the NBA who frequently complain and argue with the officials about every little ticky tack no-call, but what he did yesterday was in, under no circumstances, worthy of a technical foul (and his 2nd!) meaning an automatic ejection. After the game, Duncan went onto say that Crawford challenged him to a fight, which is probably most definitely what Duncan and Horry were laughing about on the bench. If you haven't seen the video, it's a good one: Courtesy of AA:



Side note - is it just me, or has the world become a better place since AA purchased his Tivo - do yourself a favor and subscribe to his you tube page - good stuff always!

Anyway - back to Crawford. According to his wikipedia page:

Joe developed a reputation early in his NBA career for being "the guy handing out all the technical fouls, throwing guys out of games, a hothead, a real red-ass." Among his fellow officials, he became "the guy you wanted to go to war with, someone who’d have your back and take care of business." He firmly stood behind his profession and did not tolerate players or coaches who disrespected it. His philosophy was that he had to be aggressive. Crawford would later discover about himself that he had problems controlling his temper and sought anger management after an altercation with a coach. To this day, Joe continues to battle his temper problems.

Despite his short temper on the court, Crawford is considered one of the premier officials in the NBA. He has worked more playoff and NBA Finals games than any other active referee in the league and has appeared in the Finals every year since 1986.

The best comment I have seen so far about this - and I agree, comes from reader tarheels28 over at the fanhouse. He said:

3. If David Stern is half as interested in improving the quality of his game as he is in improving the "image" of his game (dress code, zero-tolerance on griping), he needs to suspend Joey Crawford for the entire playoffs. The finals last year were an absolute debacle with regard to officiating, and the last thing we need is a situation like this ruining what could be an incredible playoffs. This game meant nothing, but what if this happened in the Western Coast Finals with the Spurs and the Mavs? A referee should not think he's the main attraction, which unfortunately, is exactly what Joey Crawford thinks.

However, now that the Lakers have clinched a playoff spot. Stern could arrange for Crawford to officiate the Lakers home games under one condition: He spends the afternoon with Jack Nicholson...