Three weeks and at least as many blown calls in the SEC. We’ve had an entire officiating crew get suspended and the entire landscape of college football by the bad job they did two weeks in a row. The bad jobs of only a few people mind you.
Florida probably should have lost to Arkansas and then again they could have lost to Mississippi State. The Razorbacks and the Bulldogs had the Gators on the ropes and in both games poor officiating played a significant part in deciding the outcome of the game. I think the one that burns me the most is the one that is the most obvious:
When a Florida player is stripped of the ball before it crosses the plane of the Goal Line then it isn’t a touchdown…right? Somehow the entire officiating crew got it wrong AND they reviewed it. That means that the officials on the field blew the call because they’re old, out of shape, and ill-equipped to do their jobs. Then, the replay official sat in the box, saw “conclusive video evidence” to support the fact that Florida had not scored a touchdown and they still didn’t overturn the call on the field. This is an instance where I have no choice but to give out my first “Stuck on Stupid Award” to Dan Dembinski (the replay official for Florida/Mississippi State.) In case the reference makes no sense:
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina General Russell Honore’ called out the media for being “stuck on stupid” because they continually asked him ridiculous questions when bodies were floating all over New Orleans and everyone thought the city had been washed out to sea. I love this guy! So…
Dan Dembinski…Congratulations! You’ve Won The General’s First EVER “Stuck on Stupid” Award!
Back to our regularly schedule programming:
With Alabama having just blocked a field goal against Tennessee Terence Cody was not assessed a penalty for removing his helmet before the play was blown dead. In that same game the Alabama kicker drew a roughing the kicker penalty and as he walked back over to the sideline (after acting his way to a penalty) he gave the bench a little “gun show”. It was as if he knew he would get the call. Like he went over to the Referee and said “Hey, if a Tennessee player gets within 5 feet of me and I just fall down you’ll call roughing the kicker, right?” It’s ridiculous.
Honestly, I feel like we’re on “Quiz Show” and Florida and Bama already know the answers. At this point, after so much upheaval over officiating the SEC is continually telling us one thing with its handling of their games: “We’re in bed with Florida and Alabama. (Oh, and if Florida or Alabama starts to suck then we’ll throw them out like last week’s sweaty gym socks and hop in bed with someone else. We’re equal opportunity bandwagon riders and jock snifferse,.”
There’s no other way to say it. It is IMPOSSIBLE to get this many lucky breaks in a season. Some teams get one in a decade and Florida has gotten once-a-decade breaks in CONSECUTIVE GAMES!!! Why do you think Dan Mullen was so upset? Because knows how much preferential treatment Florida gets…he should know, since he used to work there! The only thing that makes it more obvious is that Lane Kiffin and Dan Mullen were both fined by the SEC for correctly criticizing bad officiating.
Wait just a darn minute. Lane Kiffin accuses Urban Meyer of a major recruiting violation and nothing happens, but Lane Kiffin say the officials in the SEC suck and he gets fined? This is screaming conspiracy…
Could the SEC makes themselves look more stupid? Remember that kid in school who would push everyone in line, then the teacher would say “Hey, no pushing!” and then that same s*&^head would turn to you and say “Hey, that’s right, no pushing!” Yeah, the SEC is that kid and Mike Slive is the chief of their tribe. If there isn’t a bigger doofus in the world I wouldn’t be surprised. So…
Commissioner Mike Slive of the SEC. You have been awarded The General’s “Stuck on Stupid” Award!
…The Commish could not be reached for comment ;o)
In effect what we have here is a further escalation of the “higher ups” messing up college football. First, the preseason rankings put some teams in the Driver’s Seat and others so far back that they could never catch up even if they beat God’s football team. Then we add to it the SEC allowing officials to essentially decide the outcome of games and feeling ok with just saying “My bad.” So, back to the original question: Why Should We Watch SEC Football? I wasted some valuable time watching the Tennessee/Bama game hoping for an upset. Now that I know better I won’t make the same mistake twice. I’ll still watch, but I won’t invest any real time in the game. Why do other people watch? Because they can’t stop!!!
Those SEC bastards know we are a captive audience.
They know they have the strongest conference in America and that point is not really up for debate.
They know they can’t be ignored.
They know Florida and Bama fans travel.
They know Florida and Bama fans aren’t complaining.
So what do they care? We know that the bias towards Florida and Bama is palpable. We just can’t look away. It’s a train wreck and the wreck has only begun. How much pull does the SEC have? Enough to get Florida and Alabama in the BCS Title Game even if one loses to the other in the SEC Championship Game? The Big 10 couldn’t do it with Ohio State and Michigan. I bet ole’ Mike Sly wants to give it a try.
Something has happened in sports today where we look away from obvious trouble and get so engrossed in the moment that we forget the games should be played and officiated fairly. At this rate Tim Tebow will win a National Title on a bad call, be crowned Mr. College Football, and win the Heisman that he clearly does NOT deserve all at the expense of the integrity of the game. (I know it didn’t have much to begin with, but the tiny little shred that was left will be gone.)
If you take the argument to Baseball we can see the issues. The league favors big market teams: Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Cubs, Mets, Angels and it prays for small market teams to lose.
In the NBA guys NEVER get called for taking the 3rd step. Travelling is only called if the player literally walks to the basket (and even then they miss it sometimes.) I mean Kobe, D12, LeBron, D-Wade, KG, TD, and Paul Pierce never get called for anything. We don’t bat an eye either. I mean, David Stern almost played the season with replacement refs and we all went “eh…” like it didn’t really matter (because it didn’t.)
In Little League Baseball kids who are like 27 play against 12 year olds and only one high-profile case of “age cheating” has been uncovered.
In Tennis we KNOW that people are throwing matches and that the ATP and WTA are constantly investigating these problems.
For some reason all of these things, as non-chalantly as we treat them, STILL get more attention than obviously blown calls that everyone and their mother on the Jumbotron. It’s weird…and frustrating
I have a solution…a retired official like Jerry Markbright should start an officiating clearinghouse that handles officiating for ALL major college and pro sports. This company would hire the refs and train them and pay them and the leagues would pay for this service, and the teams and schools would chip in. I’m this close to e-mailing David Stern and pitching it to him.
I’m still going to watch the SEC, but I’ve got my finger on the button. I’m going to be optimistic, but if they give me more drama I’m definitely turning it to Spongebob.
Check out my college picks and a look at Florida/Georgia after the jump…
Virginia Tech already lost to UNC and now…
(11)Georgia Tech controls its own destiny and they play Vanderbilt this week. I’m not wasting any energy on this. What’s the over/under on GT’s rushing yards for this game? 595? GT rolls..
(22) South Carolina is at Tennessee and I think this is a great time for UT to take out their frustrations on somebody. We all know that South Carolina is another one of those teams that always loses at the worst freaking time. No time like the present after you just got back into the Top 25. Vols clean up…
(3) Texas plays (14) Oklahoma State and the Cowboys are still treading water and now they get Texas. There’s no suckier way to get all your dreams dashed than by a Texas team that figures it in the BCS Title Game if it wins out. Horns hook the Boys…
(5) USC has to go to (10) Oregon. I look at it this way: We’re all tired of USC and we all love Oregon because they’re the underdog and they had all the “Punch” drama early this season. I say Oregon takes the Trojans to task. Matt Barkley’s nice, but he won’t feel nice when the Oregon defense acquaints themselves with his knees. Ducks Quack the Trojans
Florida and Georgia met in Jacksonville for “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party”. Let’s face it that’s what it is. This isn’t a rivalry game. It’s a marketing ploy (a smart one), but it’s a marketing ploy. Jacksonville must kick-back heavy on this one…
Here’s the deal: Florida is NOT as good as advertised. Georgia sucks. People are talking about Mark Richt getting replaced by Charlie Strong.[Which would be the stupidest decision Georgia made since allowing Jim Harrick to go on TV and say “We don’t give money to young people.”] This game is going to be a freaking-ever-loving-disaster. Joe Cox and Tim Tebow, right this second, are not that much different. {I’m just waiting for the angry comments from Gators fans.} (On a related note: If you were a real Florida fan and you considered writing a flame-ridden rant about how Tim Tebow is the man you aren’t a Florida fan, you’re a Tim Tebow fan. That’s fine, I happen to like him, but keep it real.)
I honestly don’t know who’s going to show up in this game. Let’s assume nothing changed from last week. Guess what? It’s a pick ‘em. I won’t push, but the line should be tight as hell. I’ll go with Florida since they have the obvious bias coming from the conference office, bu if a rogue official is somehow calling this game I won’t be shocked if Georgia wins.
Enjoy the cocktail party!
