Monday, November 30, 2009

Ireland appeal to be 33rd team at World Cup: Blatter

By Mike Collett


Photo

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Ireland have appealed to world governing body FIFA to be allowed to compete as a 33rd team in next year's World Cup finals, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said on Monday.

Ireland were eliminated from the competition earlier this month by France after Thierry Henry handled the ball in the build-up to William Gallas's equalizer that gave France a 1-1 draw and a 2-1 aggregate playoff win.

"We received a delegation from Ireland at FIFA and they were naturally absolutely unhappy at what has happened. They know the match cannot be replayed and the decision of the referee is final," Blatter told a keynote address at the Soccerex business conference.


click here for the whole story

Friday, November 27, 2009

NBA Referees - 13 Accused of Betting Scandal, Source Tells TV Station

nationalledger.com

By Josh Hart and Sophie Eager
Nov 27, 2009

NBA referee Tim Donaghy is out of jail, but the NBA is still taking heat and now 13 referees are accused by a "source" of being involved in a betting scandal. The New York Daily News reports, "Jimmy Battista, a former professional gambler who first met Donaghy when they attended the same Philadelphia-area high school," and claims it wasn't difficult to get him to participate, but where does this new number of a baker's dozen come into play?
NBA Referees - 13 Accused of Betting Scandal, Source Tells TV Station
NBA Referees - 13 Accused of Betting Scandal, Source Tells TV Station

The details are in a 7News Sports report from Boston and they cite a source that "says Battista showed him what the gambler claims are phone records and game notes confirming the names of all 13 referees involved." See here for the details.

***

More sports fix...David Beckham and other soccer stars (footballers) could lose millions of pounds after buying expensive apartments in Dubai. The 34-year-old is not the only footballer that has invested in the £1 million villas on the islands shaped like a palm tree.

Other Premier League players to have bought property include Michael Owen, David James, Joe Cole and Kieron Dyer. However, the developer Nakheel has now run out of money and said it is no longer able to pay its debts.

There are now fears that the Palm Jumeirah project may not get finished. The players' expensive pads could then be situated next to an unfinished construction site, which could see the price of their properties dropping.

McCabes Launch Effort to Prevent Referee Abuse

Rochester, N.Y. - Pete McCabe Jr. is on the road to recovery one month after he was slammed in the face with a football helmet after refereeing a semi-pro game in Rochester.

Helping McCabe recover are the get-well-wishes from hundreds of people, many of which hang in McCabe's living room.

McCabe Jr.’s son Pete McCabe III said, "Whether it's sitting here or laying down right here on the couch watching TV, just looking up, he's able to see the support he's got behind him. It's been phenomenal."

While the father recovers, the son is hard at work on changing the law.

Through facebook he has attracted nearly a thousand supporters of legislation aimed at stricter penalties for assaults on sports officials.

click here for the rest of the story

Detroit Red Wings: Another 'No Goal' Call Controversy at Joe Louis Arena

by Matt Hutter

bleacherreport.com

Correspondent Written on November 28, 2009
VANCOUVER, CANADA - DECEMBER 17:  NHL Referee Brad Meier makes a pointing gesture during the NHL game between the Vancouver Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers at General Motors Place on December 17, 2005 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.  The Oilers defeated the Canucks 5-4 in overtime. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images) Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images

There were a lot of familiar things about Friday's game at Joe Louis Arena.

For the fifth time this season, the Detroit Red Wings gave up a goal less than one-minute into the game.

For the eighth time this season, the Detroit Red Wings out-shot their opponent but lost the game.

For the second game in a row, the Detroit Red Wings were shutout.

And, for the second time in as many weeks, the Detroit Red Wings had a perfectly good goal denied by an NHL on-ice official.

All of these trends are disturbing, and all of these have contributed to what is now, officially, the Red Wings' worst start in 20 years.

However, its that last one that is just a bit more troubling than the others.

Playing poorly and beating yourselves is one thing. That's actually something you can control.

But, the added pressure of having to not only score goals, but then hope that they count is something no team should have to endure.

Click here for the rest of the story

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Study: College Basketball Refs Suck, Too

Study: College Basketball Refs Suck, Too

A couple of professors watched a bunch of college basketball games and came to the very reasonable conclusion, in a peer-reviewed academic journal, that they were all being reffed by Dick Bavetta.

Or something like that. The study, authored by Kyle Anderson of Indiana University's business school and David Pierce of Ball State's sports administration program, turned up several examples of officiating bias:

* The probability of a foul being called on the visiting team was 7 percent higher than on the home team.
* When the home team is leading, the probability of the next foul being called on them is about 6.3 percentage points higher than when the home team is trailing.
* The larger the foul differential between two teams, the greater the likelihood that the next call will be made against the team with fewer fouls. For example, when a home team has three or more fouls than the visiting team, the probability that the next foul call is made against the visiting team is more than 60 percent. When the foul differential is as high as five, then that probability rises to 69 percent. The researchers also observed this trend when they looked at neutral-court games.

The authors go on to draw some weird conclusions — namely that referee bias offers an untoward incentive for "aggressive play," which is probably true but so what? And because this is the age of Gladwell, everything, even an otherwise compelling study about referee bias, has to be reduced to an insipid management-consulting parable. "In terms of a management setting," Anderson explains, "it might be the slacker who benefits from the situation involving a manager who might not want to appear biased." (What?)

But this is valuable work anyway, if only because it further corrodes the wishful notion that referees can operate on some sort of frictionless plane where the normal human weaknesses don't apply. Tim Donaghy was saying roughly the same thing, only with fewer footnotes.

Study looks at officiating in college basketball, finds patterns that reward aggressive play [IU News Room]


Send an email to Tommy Craggs, the author of this post, at craggs@deadspin.com.

Monday, November 16, 2009

NFL Referee Corrente Explains Controversial Instant Replay Call

from Pewter Report





NFL referee Tony Corrente was asked about the controversial
interception call that occurred on a Josh Freeman-to-Michael Clayton
catch that resulted in an interception at the Tampa Bay 15-yard line
instead of a first down:



(On why the play which was ultimately ruled an interception by Jason Taylor was initially ruled an incomplete pass) – “One of the officials on the field felt the ball had touched the ground after it left the possession of the receiver.”


(On why was the play not ruled a completion upon review)
– “Because the player in question, the player who was possessing the
ball in the air, as he started to come down, was hit. As he is coming
down, he is now going to the ground to complete a catch and by rule, if
he’s going to the ground to complete a catch, he has to maintain
possession of the ball completely through the entire process of hitting
the ground and thereafter showing control. As he went to the ground,
basically right when he went to the ground, the ball popped out, and
went right into the arms of the Miami player. The ball had never
touched the ground.”
 


(On if the play was ever whistled dead) – “The play was never whistled dead, not until the player [Taylor] got into the end zone.”
 


(On why Taylor was unable to advance the ball) – “Because by rule, in the replay rules we can give the ball to the team, but we can’t allow the advance thereafter.”
 


(On if they are unable to allow an advance even if the ball is not whistled dead) – “Unfortunately, that’s just the replay rule because it was ruled as an incomplete pass.”
 


(On when the play was ruled an incomplete pass)
– “It wasn’t ruled incomplete until there was a discussion in the end
zone well after the touchdown was ‘scored.’ And so at that point, the
officials got together and one said ‘I felt the ball hit the ground,’
and of course any doubt, it’s incomplete.”

Friday, November 13, 2009

Ref, You Suck

Chatham Daily News Post

Instant Replay – By Ian Kennedy


American Hockey League referee Dean Morron - Rick Dikeman Photo

In the sporting world, we often want to yell three powerful words. Words that no coach or player can utter without fear of suspension. Words, however, that fans can say with freedom: Ref, You Suck.

Being one of the blind mice on the ice or field is never an easy job. I’m sure every referee has heard their fair share of taunts and insults. I myself was once suspended three games while coaching for a few choice words with a referee. For the record, that ref really did suck.

Sometimes, fans will terrorize referees just for calling a good game, other times; the booing and name calling is well deserved. Remember Phil Luckett? No, well he’s the ref that couldn’t tell “heads” from “tails” in a coin flip during a Thanksgiving Day NFL game.

How about that goal Brett Hull scored while in the crease to win the Stanley Cup? The entire city of Buffalo let out one long profanity after that obviously missed call. Some referee’s really must be blind to make (or miss) the calls they do.

Remember when the New York Yankees’ Chuck Knoblauch supposedly tagged Boston Red Sox runner Jose Offerman in the 1999 ALCS? Wow. I think every 80-old-grandmother in the last row of Fenway Park knew Offerman was safe.

My list could go on of infamous blown calls. Being a referee in sports is one of the toughest jobs on the planets. These men and women are forced to make split second decisions and live with the consequences. That doesn’t however; give them a free pass to make the wrong call.

Fans, media, and league officials should be vocal when a call is wrong. In minor sports, when the referee is often only a teenager, we need to cut them some slack. In professional sports though, when this is your role, your employment, and your profession, there needs to be consequences for making bad calls.

Referees and umpires should be fined, suspended, or flat out fired for consistently bad calls. Crowds can be merciless and rightfully so. If I pay good money to watch a professional game, I’m going to yell and scream when some bozo can’t get a coin flip right or can’t follow the rules they’re paid to enforce.

Fans should be allowed to make their feelings known (within reason). Recently, some faithful Anaheim Ducks fans held a referee protest. Why? They felt that their experience was cheapened by the bad calls during the Ducks vs. Toronto Maple Leafs game the week before. They had had enough of bad calls, in this case, bad calls that cost the Ducks the game and helped the Maple Leafs to their first win of the season.

What was the response? The Honda Center banned the group of protesters, all wearing “Ref You Suck” t-shirts, from the arena; most of whom were season’s tickets holders. In fact, entire websites, such as the one they purchased their shirts from, www.refyousuck.com have popped up devoted to this topic. According to the arena, it wasn’t the fact they protested, but the fact they were wearing “Ref you suck” t-shirts that caused the ban. Check out the shirts at www.refyousuck.com. They’re neither crude, nor offensive in any way. Unless you take offense to the word “suck.” And if you do, you’re probably rather offended by this column.

I’m not telling everyone to start a protest, I’m not saying to curse or throw things onto the ice or field. I’m saying, without fans, there would be no professional sports. Just as players are penalized for not following the rules, referees should face similar penalties when they fail to enforce the rules. It’s about integrity in the game, and upholding that integrity for the fans.

As paying spectators, it’s our right to boo, or yell during a game. It’s definitely our right to wear a t-shirt to a game that says “Ref you suck;” because frankly, quite often, a referee does stink up the place. No umpire or referee will ever make all the right calls, but when they mess up, there needs to be consequences.

Until then, feel free to scream at the TV and from the stands. Not that the referees will hear you. Remember, they often can’t hear buzzers, rational explanations, or their own whistles.

Let the games begin.

NFL Fines Ochocinco $20K For His 'Bribe'

Photobucket

Chad Ochocinco has been fined $20,000 by the NFL for flashing a dollar bill at an official during a replay challenge -- a joking attempt at what the Bengals receiver referred to as a "bribe" -- in last Sunday's Cincinnati-Baltimore game.

In the third quarter of the Bengals' eventual victory, Cincinnati quarterback Carson Palmer

completed a 15-yard pass to Ochocinco. Baltimore challenged the call, contending that he was out of bounds, and the Ravens won the challenge.

While the play was under review, Ochocinco held a $1 bill at his side. The official appeared aware of his antic and waved him off.

"I was just being me," Ochocinco told the NFL Network after the game. "I wasn't going to do it for real."


click here for the rest of the story

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Monday, November 9, 2009

Ferguson 'losing faith' in referees

Alex Ferguson said he is losing faith in referees after Manchester United's 1-0 defeat to Chelsea in the English Premier League.

(CNN) -- Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson admitted he is losing faith in referees after he disputed the decision which led to the decisive goal in his side's English Premier League defeat to Chelsea.

The match at Stamford Bridge was decided by a 76th minute freekick awarded to Chelsea by referee Martin Atkinson who judged that Darren Fletcher had fouled Ashley Cole close to the touchline.

Frank Lampard's took the resulting set piece and his inswinging delivery was glanced into the net by Chelsea captain John Terry.

"Clearly, Darren Fletcher's won the ball, Ashley Cole's never touched and has jumped up in the air, and then (Didier) Drogba's pulled Brown to the ground for the goal," Ferguson told reporters.

"The referee's position to make the decision was absolutely ridiculous, he can't see anything. He's got a Chelsea player (Joe Cole) standing right in front of him and he doesn't even move.

"That goal shouldn't have been allowed. It was a bad decision, but there's nothing we can do about it. You lose faith in refereeing sometimes, that's the way the players are talking in there. It was a bad one."

Ferguson is already facing the possibility of a fine or touchline ban after he admitted a Football Association charge of improper conduct for questioning the fitness of referee Alan Wiley.

But the Scot will not face any action from the FA for his latest outburst as the United boss did not question the referee's integrity or claim there was any bias.

You lose faith in refereeing sometimes, that's the way the players are talking in there. It was a bad one.
--Alex Ferguson

The FA could, though, investigate comments made by Wayne Rooney after he appeared to mouth the words "12 men" into a TV camera as he left the field.

United had dominated the game and Ferguson was frustrated that his could not convert possession and chances into goals.

He added: "We had great opportunities to get to the edge of the box and some really good chances in and around the box, but we should be finishing it off.

"We've only ourselves to blame in that respect. But you do need a break - and we never got that break.

"The fact is Chelsea go five points clear of us - the defeat to Liverpool didn't affect our position in the league, this affects our position in the sense that if we'd have won we'd have gone top."

Ocho Cinco bribe of referee explained-iphone ap promo


Ocho Cinco (85) - (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

November 9, 12:17 AMSports Twitter Examiner

by Andrew Yates

Chad Ocho Cinco was up to his usual nonconformist ways during Sunday's 17-7 victory over the visiting Baltimore Ravens.

At one point in the third quarter, the officials reviewed a questionable catch in which Ocho Cinco stepped out of bounds before getting both feet down. During the review, he convinced an assistant coach to give him a dollar. He then walked to a nearby official to attempt to give him the bill as a bribe to call the catch in bounds. The referee would have none of it and didn't even engage Ocho Cinco in conversation.

In a message directed at Trey Wingo, Ocho Cinco explained his latest prank, "lol, just having fun bud that's all, I was gonna give the dollar to the ref to call my catch in bounds<---just jokingly though."

He then attempted to make up for the action: "In honor of today's ref, my app is $1 until midnight tonight. Go here and get it www.rockapp.com/ocho" An application dedicated solely to Ocho Cinco called "Chad Ochocinco Experience" is available on iTunes.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

SEC fines Meyer $30,000

Another ref story discovered by Ref You Suck!

Florida coach Urban Meyer has been fined $30,000 by the Southeastern Conference for public comments he made regarding a call he believes officials missed during last week's game against Georgia, the conference announced Friday.

It's the first time the SEC has fined a coach under bylaws the conference toughened late last month, following a spate of public comments by SEC coaches questioning calls and criticizing officials.

"Coach Meyer has violated the Southeastern Conference code of ethics," commissioner Mike Slive said. "SEC bylaw 10.5.4 clearly states that the coaches, players and support personnel shall refrain from public criticism of officials. The league's athletics directors and presidents and chancellors have made it clear that negative public comments on officiating are not acceptable."

to read the rest of the story, click here

Friday, November 6, 2009

Ref You Suck! Prime Time Sports Interview 11/05/09

Here is the link to the tv/radio interview that took place on 11/5/09 with Canadian sports show "Prime Time Sports" with Bob McCown and Jim Kelley. Our segment is towards the end of the show. Brian Gilmore talks about the referee protest that took place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA on 10/30/09- which resulted in the arena banning the t-shirts and turning away ticket holders who refused to remove their t-shirts.

http://radiotime.com/WebTuner.aspx?ProgramId=48668&TopicId=32229759&


for media inquiries, please contact- sam@refyousuck.com

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

IHL brawl- abuse of officials

Video: Shoving ref for fight an easy path to 15-game suspension

The Leafs section of Fan Dome posted this line brawl video between the International Hockey League's Muskegon Lumberjacks and Fort Wayne Komets from Oct. 31, and it's pretty much the expected chaos until the 55-second mark. That's when a linesman makes the mistake of trying to get between Komets forward Brad MacMillan and the target of his fists.





read more here

Sunday, November 1, 2009

30,000 plus apparently looking for a new commissioner

by hockeynation.blogspot.com

30,000 plus apparently looking for a new commissioner




The NHLFA, the fan based organization that from time to time offers up some interesting proposals for the NHL's executive offices to consider, have come up with one that we suspect won't get too far along the food chain at the New York office.

In an email forwarded to the organizations 30,000 plus registered members on Sunday, the call for some feedback on the potential replacement of Gary Bettman was put out.

The content of the letter is as follows:

Recently, many suggestions have been received from Members related to the activities the NHLFA should pursue in its attempt to have Gary Bettman removed as the commissioner of the NHL this season. One such suggestion is to coordinate a league-wide protest week that will rally fans attending games to hold signs calling for the dismissal of Bettman.

If you would like to contribute an idea, please visit

The link provides access to the organizations mini poll, as well as a place to outline some creative ideas, designed to move Mr. Bettman out to pasture.

To read the rest of this article please click here