Refereeing Legend Dr. Bob Evans Passes Away

While there have been a number of touching tributes for the man who has contributed so much for so many, there are two in particular that bear special attention.

Please read, Bob Evans, Former FIFA Referee, Passes Away from the California North Refereeing Association and also a beautiful biography about the man, courtesy of NISOA.

I would also personally have a look at the archive of his blog at For the Integrity of Soccer, which provides many wonderful insights from Bob, Ed Bellion, and a few others who are highly influential in their thoughts about The Game. May he rest in peace.

Interesting - But Not Suprising

MLS ranks as the most diverse major pro league in North America

Major League Soccer has once again clocked in as the most diverse major North American sports league.

MLS announced on Tuesday that it has the most diverse group of players among the top five major sports leagues in the US and Canada as determined by birthplace. As of last Friday, a total of 59 countries were represented by the league’s pool of 536 players, with 246 players born outside of the US and Canada.

A world map of players broken out by birthplace can be found below, while a map of players born in the US and Canada can be found here. The full lists of MLS players born abroad and in the US and Canada can be found here and here, respectively.

See the whole story here, courtesy of MLS.

Kicking Back Comments: While this diversity should be celebrated as it is very positive in the MLS having an attractive product for foreign players to come to there are a couple of lessons in here.

1. If you want to be a professional referee, you better start being "culturally aware." This is not a euphemism of any type, but rather a need for any high level referee. If you want to get a head start, learn a language and be conversational.

2. Way back in soccer history, the old NASL was essentially raided by foreign players who would summer here in the US and fill their vacation funds. While MLS has some safeguards in place to make sure that happens less ... or only when they know about it ... I am a fan of domestic players playing in MLS. It's not a nationalistic thing, just recognition we need to develop our players.

Beyond that, I am all for the level of diversity MLS has. Then again ... aren't we the foreigners to The Game?

In our world, introspection is king

'It's not a red card, it's an arrestable offence!'

Webb on De Jong horror tackleThe Netherlands international kicked Xabi Alonso in the chest during the 2010 World Cup final but was not sent off, and the referee has admitted that he made a mistake

Howard Webb admits that he should have sent off Netherlands midfielder Nigel De Jong after his kung-fu kick on Spain counterpart Xabi Alonso in the 2010 World Cup final.

Having been chosen to officiate the showpiece fixture, Webb showed the former Manchester City midfielder a yellow card after a recklessly high tackle on Alonso in the 28th minute of the fixture, which ended 1-0 after Andres Iniesta's extra-time strike.

Webb was subsequently booed when he collected his medal after the final whistle, and he has now conceded that he made a mistake in refusing to dismiss the Dutchman, but has suggested that he did not see the incident clearly enough to take such a decision.

Speaking to BT Sport, Webb said: “I still thought I got it right on the pitch. So I get back into the dressing room and my assistant referee has gone to his pocket and got his phone out, and his face dropped. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of Goal.com.

Kicking Back Comments: Much has been made about the World Cup Final that Webb oversaw. Some great, some horrible. Here at Kicking Back we did an in depth analysis and contrasted it to an "A" licensed coaches analysis which proved very interesting, and not surprisingly the two entities see the game in the same was in many aspects, but have separate views on others.

This article reaffirmed an old axiom that is true among referees as well as in general for successful people in life in my opinion. Reflect and learn from your mistakes. Take what you can and implement it for next time. Webb obviously has done this.

The real trick is twofold in such cases however.

First, you have to keep going even in the face of a massive screw up. As we and many others have written, missing that send off started to unravel that match. Getting back on track to what got you there is critical in such a case.

Second, when you learn the lesson, you have to let the rest go. Hanging on to all the negative stuff that goes with such an incident is not a good thing and has the potential of dragging you back into that mindset.

Experience, reflect, learn, evolve.

And to complete the MLS trinity ...

... I offer the 2015 refereeing crew for the MLS final.

MLS Cup 2015: PRO announce refereeing crew for final

The 2015 MLS Cup will see Columbus Crew and Portland Timbers go head-to-head at MAPFRE Stadium, and PRO's Jair Marrufo will referee the game after the Organization named him as the center official for Sunday's showdown (4pm EDT).

Marrufo will be assisted at a sold-out stadium by Peter Manikowski (AR1) and Corey Parker (AR2). Chris Penso will be on fourth official duties, while James Conlee is the fifth official.

PRO General Manager Peter Walton told proreferees.com: "We have witnessed some very good officiating performances both in the regular season and throughout these Playoff games. ...

See the whole article here, courtesy of PRO.

Kicking Back Comments: There is a good follow up on PRO here focusing on Jair. While named MLS referee of the year in 2008, he has not been without his controversy throughout his career in MLS. Then again, what referee doesn't that has been around long enough. He also has some tremendous shoes to fill from his father, Antonio, FIFA referee from Mexico.

I am happy to see him with this match and wish he and his entire crew a great game!  

George Gansner, FIFA AR Extradonare, Announces Retirement

George Gansner turns attentions to family after announcing retirement

PRO assistant referee George Gansner says family will fill the officiating void when he retires at the end of the current season.

The 44-year-old has been assigned the Eastern Conference Championship first leg of the MLS Cup Playoffs, but will wave goodbye to the flag after a successful 19-year career at the conclusion of 2015.

Read more: 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs - Conference Championship first leg assignments

His time as an official includes such honors as being assigned to the 2005 MLS All-Star game and the 2007 U.S. Open Cup Final, as well as FIFA World Cup and Olympic Games qualifiers.

Gansner, who made his professional debut as an AR in 1999, is now looking forward to spending his spare time in the company of his loved ones.

“The bottom line on my decision to retire is simple – my family,” he told proreferees.com. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of PRO.

Kicking Back Comments: George is a class act that I have had the pleasure to work with several times and have always find him to be a professionals' professional ... and a hell of a nice guy honestly. He always has a kind word and a smile and frankly helped me to dig a bit deeper with his inspirational words often.

I wish him well in the next part of his refereeing career.

Ever wanted to know what it would be like ...

Ethan Steinman delighted after release of behind the scenes film with PRO

Ethan Steinman of Daltonic Films was the man responsible for the production of the recently-published behind the scenes film with PRO, and we've caught up with him to discuss the making of the short documentary.

In July, Ethan and his crew were at a training camp in Park City, Utah, before following Allen Chapman and his colleagues at Rio Tinto Stadium for Sporting Kansas City's match at Real Salt Lake in MLS. Referee Alan Kelly was also the focus of a gameday, when he took charge of Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers derby at CenturyLink Field. ... 

See the whole story and amazing video here, courtesy of PRO. 

Kicking Back Comments: This is as real as it gets folks ... well worth the 12 minutes.

And the winner is ...

Alan Kelly named MLS Referee of the Year; Corey Parker voted Assistant Referee of the Year

Major League Soccer announced on Monday that Alan Kelly has been selected the 2015 MLS Referee of the Year, while Corey Parker has been named Assistant Referee of the Year.

Kelly, in his second season as an MLS referee, was the center official for 21 MLS regular season matches in 2015, which was second most among PRO referees. He brought an impressive resumé to his current position: A native of Ireland, Kelly moved through the ranks in his home country, notably winning the inaugural Players’ Football Association of Ireland’s Referee of the Year Award in 2006 (and four subsequent ones). He eventually served as a UEFA official, where he was a referee for Champions League and World Cup qualifiers, among other competitions. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of MLS.

Kicking Back Comments: Congratulations to Alan and Corey, it is an honor well deserved.

What is your safety plan?

Stade de France referee had 'no idea' what was happening as attacks rocked Paris 

Referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz spoke of the ‘troubling, tough’ time in Paris after he blew the final whistle at the Stade de France.

‘We had no idea about what was going on until after the game had ended,’ the Spanish official, 38, told AS when reflecting on events unfolding around Friday’s game between France and Germany.

‘We have all been through some very difficult moments, moments of great uncertainty because, at first, we were told that we were not allowed to leave the stadium, but now things are a little calmer. This is a very troubling, tough moment and I don’t really feel like speaking right now. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of Mail Online.

Kicking Back Comments: Working big stadiums people sometimes think that everything is "taken care of." Nothing can be further from the truth in some cases. There have been situations where the refereeing team needed to be evacuated from a venue in a hurry at the old Foxboro Stadium, and the security manager for the venue (who worked NFL games) was clearly an expert. He had a plan and we were out and escorted by State Police in less than 5 minuets ... and escorted to the highway in 15 minutes.

There have also been venues where I have asked about the safety of the refereeing team and was met with a summer intern and a blank stare. Yes, this was at a professional match as well.

Ultimately the safety of the refereeing team is up to the refereeing team. While many venues may have a comprehensive plan in place, no one can know about all scenarios.

A regular instruction for my teams was if something went really bad, like a riot with a field invasion, lose your refereeing shirt, roll down your socks, start cheering with whoever is yelling the most, and meet at location X.

You may laugh ... I used it once.

Do you have a plan next time out?

Monkeys (and men) with small testicles howl loudest

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

For any who think this is a joke (at least the monkeys part), please take a look here from The American Bazaar. There is a real honest to goodness research paper on the topic as well. Yes, the "and men" comment was mine.

For me there is a clear analogy to real life as I am sure we have all met and dealt with people who howl, whine, and frankly bully others to get their way. I am in fact dealing with one such individual right now and it is really draining, even having already seen through the ruse to what the end game is about.

So too is true in refereeing. Now we may have dealt with players that are loud and unsavory, but my comments are not about them, they are about us as referees.

I shared the other day the referee who was overseeing Jr.'s match and after a foul, when he was asked about the decision, out came the reply "... because I said so." There dear friends is a howler monkey with small testicles.

"Words can wound" is an oft used expression that I personally think is overly dramatic in some situations, a refereeing context being one of them. What words can do however is paint a pretty accurate picture of the mental state of a referee.

Take the example from Jr.'s match. If the referee had simply said, "I saw a push" or "I thought it was a handball" even if dead wrong about the decision it will at least have the player left to feel like "... well he saw something." By slamming the door shut however with his "... because I said so." answer, the players at that point lost all respect, and even continued to ask knowing it would bother the referee further.

Keith Hackett, FIFA referee, and an all round talented guy, penned a great article from his series, "You Are The Ref," titled "The Importance of Presence as a Referee." In the article he talks about things like voice control, posture, empathy, and my personal favorite "sparkle." All of which are critical not just in the big parks around the world, but even more so in the little ones.

Don't be a monkey with small balls and scream because you can. Be the leader inside the field and when (not if) you get challenged, treat the players with the respect you would want to get. You may be surprised to find after such an exchange, they will be more willing to give that respect back.

Get Serious, Or Go Home

As many of you regular readers know I have a high school age soccer player in the house named (for purposes here) "Jr." He is what I would call a serious soccer player in so far as he has committed to training for 2 hours a day, 5 days a week and there is a match or two in there as well. On at least one of his off days, he also referees youth matches.

Over the last month or so I have enjoyed watching his matches both that he plays in and that he referees. Many times we chat on the way to the pitch before he does referee and we talk about how he feels or what his goal is for the particular day.

Last weekend our conversation turned very frank in that he was really frustrated. As I probed the feelings a bit more, the main source of his frustration was how serious he takes playing and refereeing, only to have many of the referees who come out to his match, not take it seriously at all.

He was right.

In one match I saw a referee miss a goal line decision because he was standing in the midfield circle and essentially wore a path from one side of the circle to the other. In another match I witnessed the referee asking parents on a touchline for help ... truly asking for help with a decision. What recently took the cake for me was a referee when asked about a decision, stated his reasoning as "... because I said so."

This was when I turned to "Madame X", my ever patient wife, and asked out loud if she would mind if I got dismissed as a spectator from a match. I did not get an answer.

Trust me I get that there is a lack of good referees for all high schools at all levels and theoretically the best referees are doing the best matches (cough), but for the love of the game you have to at least try. Just try.

These kids are spending hundreds of hours in a season practicing and playing, and for a referee to not even try is pathetic. I'm not even saying to get it right all the time, or even most of the time, just make the effort. I'm not even sure if these folks even know how bad they truly are.

So what to do? Share with the league how terrible these referees are? Try to work one on one with them to get them to "step up?" Implement a system like in US Colleges where the coaches in essence choose who they want to referee their matches?

I dunno, but to allow such baboonery on a regular basis is criminal for the kids who are working hard to earn their playing time.

Next time you go out to do a match that you think will not be challenging ... challenge yourself to be "spotless." Perfect mechanics, perfect decorum, perfect decisions. In a sense practice "virtuosity" where some would call it the skill of performing the common, uncommonly well.

Above all, try your best, and if you can't do that, do us all a favor and just stay home.

When dissent ... isin't

Let's take a closer look at Jose Bautista's epic bat flip

Jose Bautista is often known as Joey Bats. Now people are calling him "Joey Bat Flip," after his epic celebration capped a monstrous three-run home run in the seventh inning of Wednesday's deciding Game 5 of the American League Division Series.

With the hit, Bautista helped send the Blue Jays to the American League Championship Series. With the flip, Bautista created an image that rivals Joe Carter's 1993 World Series-winning blast. ...

See the whole article here, courtesy of ESPN.

Kicking Back Comments: As referees we need to let players emote. Just as players need to let referees emote too and not think that we are all robots. Take a look here at an interesting article about referee communication ... some of which you have seen here at Kicking Back before.

If we take a look at Bautista's reaction, it is completely understandable in context. Big game, big hit. If instead he flipped his bat in the 1st inning if he crushed one over the wall, then a different reaction from the umpire would be necessary involving a dressing down I would imagine.

As referees we need to keep the contest in context to best determine a course of action. Is this a big game? Is this a big game for the particular player for some reason? (1st match back after a long injury? Last match before retirement?)

We need to allow such a player some latitude in expressing their emotions about the situation. If we don't, well, frankly we are robbing the fun out of the sport for them and that is not why we are here.

Consider the opposite number, Dyson in this case, the pitcher who just got lit up for a 3 run homer. He's upset as it is for giving up those runs in such a critical scenario, now add to that a gleeful Bautista and we have an issue. #10 from the Blue Jays did not help by hanging around and egging the crowd on which of course lead to the benches clearing.

In the same way we allowed Bautista to emote, we should allow Dyson to as well. The real magic is now not letting that brushfire spread wildly between the teams. It can be very powerful to let a player, or players have their say with each other and come in as a referee and say, "OK, are we done now?"

Like anything else, it is a fine line and a balancing act to be sure. We may even need to take a barb or two as referees in the process. I would opine however, it is a small price to pay to let some of the air out of the tire to finish with 22.

A MUST SEE for parents of US Soccer referees

A worthy 5 minutes of your time for parents of referees of all types, but especially US Soccer referees. Take a look here, you will not be disappointed.

Botched or Brilliant?

By now for anyone who is even casually connected to American pop culture, you have heard of the "blown call" from Monday Night Football. Some may even now know who Greg Wilson is.

Much has been made about the rule that was apparently violated Rule 12, Section 4, Article 1(b), where a player may not "bat" a ball out of the end zone (I am simplifying here).

Take a look at the video here from SB Nation and a spectacular shot of what the Back Judge Greg Wilson saw.

Public outrage aside about how "bad" a call this is, I think there are a few obtuse points worth mentioning that most have not stated so far.

• Mega kudos to Kam Chancellor, who delivered the hit to cause the fumble and do so before the ball crossed the plain of the goal line. This was a great football play and a rules controversy is sadly overshadowing a phenomenal play in crunch time. #respect

• It is more clear than ever to me that the players, coaches, and staff at that level do not understand the rules of football, with a few notable exceptions. Stories are out now that the guilty player himself did not know the rule, there was no uproar on the sideline about it, or talk of it in the locker rooms until well after the fact, and the TV analysis, when they finally caught on was ... embarrassing. Note to all younger referees, the words "I used to be a pro" mean absolutely nothing in so far as knowledge or application of the LOTG go. This was proven painfully true again last night.

• I happen to think Greg Wilson is a great referee for making the right call. SB Nation allowed for only two possibilities on the matter. (1) Wilson didn't know the rule. or (2) Wilson incorrectly felt that Wright's strike of the ball wasn't obvious. This article also notes that the Director of Officiating was ducking under #2 ... and for him that was really the only choice. I believe there is a 3rd option that existed ... and it was Wilson in essence played an "advantage." Now, understanding that no such construct exists officially in the NFL rules, we see it exercised all the time with fouls like pass interference, some are flagged, most are not and this largely goes to if an advantage was gained or not. Here we have the case that the ball was on the way out from the fumble. There was little doubt that was the case. Even with the players batting the ball (and he did bat the ball) it would have made no difference to what would have occurred next. Why then, if the foul would serve to give a significant and inappropriate advantage to the team who legitimately fumbled the ball, would we do that?

For me Wilson actually did the game (royally speaking) a great service by not punishing the trivial or obscure to many and as such altering the outcome. Most are seeing it the other way, including my friends at FootballZebras ... some even saying that the odds shifted ~%75 with this call ... for me it was courageous and on the grander scale completely correct.

Most clearly do not feel that way, but to me, they are dead wrong.

Frankly, I don't blame him ... well maybe a little

Brazilian football referee pulls GUN on the pitch after row over red card

A Brazilian referee is facing disciplinary action after he reacted to a dispute with players by pulling a GUN.

Gabriel Murta was kicked and slapped by players from lower-league Amantes de Bola, while the manager invaded the pitch demanding a red card, it is claimed.

Murta, said to be a policeman by day, reacted by racing to the changing rooms and returning with a firearm. ...

See the whole story (and video) here, courtesy of Mirror.

Kicking Back Comments: I have to say frankly that part of me wonders why this does not happen more, where referees lash out physically. There have been a number of recent incidents that come to mind where a referee has been killed as a result of player violence. See here, here, here, and here (warning very graphic content). This last incident saw a referee killed, quartered, beheaded, and his severed head placed on a pike near midfield. There have been dozens more assaults and hundreds more of provocations by players. See here for some other examples. So what is stopping referees from fighting back? Duty? Honor? Respect for the craft?

I do agree that brandishing a weapon is not the way, and in fact if this occurred in the US it would be considered a crime, not self defense as the referee went back into the locker room to retrieve the weapon and come back out to confront the player who assaulted him.

How long before we see a referee provoked into assaulting a player?

There's Rule #95 Again

Not all that long ago I spoke about referees not violating Rule #95 to Never Lift Your Bike Over Your Head. This was in reference to a call that two NFL officials openly celebrated during play and were incorrectly chastised for it.

This time however, the NFL official who foolishly chose to lift his bike over his head has earned the ridicule he is getting for it. Enter Mark Baltz.

Photo Courtesy LarryBrownSports.com

Mr. Baltz recently went onto a sports program and stated how he was always suspicious of Jim McNally, one of the locker room attendants related to #deflategate. He continued by saying that he visited New England 10 - 15 times and the conduct was so strange he reported same to the NFL.

Now the reality is very different than the story shared by Mr. Baltz where he was apparently in New England (3) times for a Brady game and there was no report filed to the NFL, per the NFL themselves.

So what the heck is going on here?

Constructed in a way most favorable to Mr. Baltz, maybe he just forgot how many times he was in New England ... heck I have lost count with the number of times I have been in particular stadiums.

The report to the NFL? Maybe he legitimately told someone and expected it to be filed. I could almost see that in some cases.

That said, while these may be a stretch, one thing is not, that Mr. Baltz intentionally put himself in the "line of fire" by agreeing to answer any questions of the type in the first place and detail his experiences for no other reason than to fan the flames of a recent controversy.

In short, he wanted his 15 minutes of fame and he lifted his bike over his head.

Only problem is, he has either been caught lying through his teeth or was so out of touch with the facts as to be not believable. I am not sure which, and I am not asking either.

Please, lets leave the playing to the players. If Mr. Baltz did indeed have questions or concerns, leave it between the referee and the league. Why is there a need to "tell all" in a hyped story?

Ultimately it has disgraced him and the craft we all share.

Your 15 minutes are up sir, please exit the stage now.

We need *more* crying in baseball

My comment is from looking at video of Wilmer Flores here, where he became understandably upset, to the point of tears, when he learned (or thought he did) he was going to be traded. Lets face it, the Mets are an organization he has been with since he was (16) years old and to be forced to up and move from what you knew since you were (literally) a kid is traumatic.

I for one was heartened to see this as far too often we see professional athletes taking their "fame" for granted and not seemingly giving a care to the very thing they are supposed to love. It is clear Flores does.

This goes for referees (of all sports) too. I wish people would take the time and emote as officials. Show you are human and share how you feel (within some bounds) to the players and spectators. Empathy, happiness, anger, even sadness ... it's all fair game.

Try it some time, you may be pleasantly surprised at the reactions you get.

All that said, the scene from A League of Their Own is classic. It also is not lost on me the umpire tried to help the manager there ... to which he was rebuked most ... hilariously. Explicit language warning. =)

It's a five year mission ... or is it?

Well here we are again friends. It has been a while, but not without some significant events unfolding before us.

So as not to get into too much, too fast, as tempted as I am, I wanted to address the beginnings of the Women's World Cup in Canada.

Back in 2011 I wrote about my genuine lack of interest in the WWC, awarding myself the "Media Pinhead Gold Medal" in jest all while receiving a few barbed emails from one of the other medal recipients who clearly had a funnybone-ectemy in their youth.

I find myself back in that same spot now, somewhat apathetic to the actual WWC play. Of course the run up was fun with the turf controversy (and Abby now an official spokesperson of Scotts), Hope Solo's epic meltdown, arrest, suspension, trial, subsequent dismissal on procedural grounds, and arrest reports which paint a not so flattering picture of the National Team keeper.

Let's face it, FIFA is not interested, as they have a few other things going on right now. In fact I would be surprised if Blatter or Valcke even went to Canada for fear of an arrest and extradition to the US. Oh by the way, FIFA fixed the tournament as well to maximize the gate too ... so they have a pretty good idea how it is going to all turn out anyway.

Local fans are not all that interested, as while the opening and USA matches were well attended (mostly by US fans), most of the other matches are not, and in fact are quite dismal. I am sure this makes FIFA very sad as they went to great lengths to make sure the matches were as competitive as they could be (see above for the source).

What is more scary though is the demographic that should be excited does not seem to be. Not that my daughter is a representative sample but she has no interest whatsoever about the tournament, and was not even aware. Same too with her team and even most of the parents. As the US progresses in the tournament I do expect this to change, but so far, a little scary.

Even the media is not interested as the coverage from most outlets has been "meh" at best and offensive at worst ... Stephen A. Smith, the gift that keeps on giving. ESPN would you please fire this clown?

Commentators have been pretty awful actually too. There are exceptions with J.P. Dellacamera, Tony DiCicco, Eric Wynalda, and Alexi Lalas, but beyond that it has been really awful with poor commentary and frankly some incorrect comments from folks who should know better. Their default banter is how the referee missed this or that, not filling with interesting facts about what is actually going on. Give me Foudy all day every day and twice on Sunday.

On a related note, FOX should take a page out of their NFL playbook and hire a referee analyst for decisions they want to discuss. Heck I'd bet you can get a bunch of quality folks to do this for a round trip to the World Cup in Canada. It would bring some sanity to a portion of the commentary.

So for my money a poorish start to the WWC with one exception that is Margaret Domka, our lone referee representative form the US, who had a good, albeit unchallenging first round match. It is unfortunate both US teams will not advance as far as the other.

Superbowl Officiating Observations

With Superbowl XLIX behind us and finished in dramatic fashion, commentary regarding the officiating was generally very good. There were several things I noted, but turned to Football Zebras for a pro look.

Here are the top six points they came up with. One was right in front of our collective faces and I was stunned when I read it (it's point #6).

For me the largest point was the entire crew allowed the teams to play without any undue interference.

Yes there were a couple of calls (literally two) that I think they missed (roughing the kicker against the Seahawks and PI on Butler against the Pats when he stumbled and with a hand tripped the receiver). Beyond that they lets the boys play ... and play they did. There were wars going on in the front and while exceptionally physical, it was tolerated both ways.

There was also a very serious injury the team dealt well with on the Lane interception and ensuing runback. WARNING: VERY GRAPHIC PHOTO. Stuff like this takes a toll on a referee and crew and in addition to the natural tendency to be concerned about a player, equally as natural are the questions of "did I miss a call?"

We also had all the nonsense about "deflategate" swirling around, and the additional pressure (ahem) the referees were under, not because they had to do anything different, and in fact it is easier in the Superbowl (and has been in the past due to a neutral equipment manager) but all the extra eyes that were on the footballs was likely a PIA. I am sure the recording sheet that Walt Anderson did not turn in regarding ball pressure was done in triplicate and faxed into the league office 2h before the start of the game. I'm actually surprised that we have not seen it yet from the media. We did however have this crap from Seattle during the game.

Also, and finally, keep in mind none of these guys work together during the season (you can see the regular crew assignments here). So the NFL has basically put seven guys together, who never worked together before, in the biggest single annual sporting event on the planet earth and expect each to perform as flawlessly as possible.

Yes they do ... and yes they did.

Well done men ... you let the teams decide today

Photo Credit:Ben Liebenberg/NFL (via Football Zebras)

Congratulation to the entire Superbowl crew on a job well done:

Bill Vinovich, Bill Schuster, Dana McKenzie, Mark Perlman, Bob Waggoner, Tom Hill, Terrence Miles, Carl Cheffers, Fred Bryan, Rusty Baynes, Barry Anderson, Todd Prukop

Best (Gridiron) Football Referee Analysis

Superbowl is here again and (for me) is a particular thrill as it again includes the New England Patriots. For those who have been following deflategate I will comment on that later ... and as I previously predicted, the referees are (at least in part) going to be blamed.

This year however instead of a discussion of the number of chicken wings that will be consumed (it's in the billions) or other millions of pounds of snack foods (source), best and worst commercial (my best vote is below ... worst is a toss up between T-Mobile and Esurance), lets talk the increased scrutiny the referees are under this year.

Lets face it, it has been a very rough year for the NFL in general and the referees have has their share of issues, at least perceived ones.

Working backwards, we of course have #deflategate where Walt Anderson is coming under some scrutiny for his handling of footballs prior to the AFC Championship game, Tony Corrente heard a little as well regarding the formation on the on-side kick that sealed the deal of the Seahawks. Of course this later "issue" is not one at all as debunked several times over, and was the subject of a tweet from @DeanBlandinio (folks should follow him!).

Heck, if you want to get all "grassy knoll" take a look at TheFixIsIn.net. They have a section on the 2014 referee controversies and some honestly are not bad analysis ... some of course are crap.

Finally, if you want to get a good look at NFL officials, other than following Dean, take a look at FootballZebras.com. Excellent articles and insight into anther sports referees.

A worthy read for anyone who enjoys referees in sport.