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ducks needs to shut the up about this call. It was a got damned week 2 game, not a playoff game or the Super Bowl.
Referee who likes to look good looks bad
By TIM DAHLBERG, AP Sports Columnist 5 hours, 19 minutes ago
Ed Hochuli likes to look good on the job.
Before Sunday you may not have known his name, but he’s instantly recognizable on the field as the guy in stripes with the biceps that threaten to explode out of his short sleeves. In a recent interview, Hochuli said he practices announcing calls in front of a mirror so he’ll look official when he gives them for real on TV.
He’s apparently a fine referee, no matter what Norv Turner may believe. The NFL likes Hochuli so much that he’s worked two Super Bowls, and he’s developed a cult following that includes a Web site that asks the question “What Would Ed Hochuli do?”
Right now the answer to that is: Stay as far away as possible from the San Diego Chargers and their fans. It was his call, after all, that took away a near-certain win over the Denver Broncos and made Turner so livid that he refused to accept the referee’s admission that he blew it.
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Turner’s anger had subsided some by Monday, but he still seemed to be having trouble digesting the fact his Chargers are 0-2 only because Hochuli couldn’t get it right on a call that even Denver quarterback Jay Cutler said should have gone against him.
“Anything that we talk about or anything that is discussed in terms of any of the rules or any of the calls, isn’t going to change the outcome of that game,” Turner said. “That game is going to be 39-38, forever.”
Forever is a long time, but Turner is right. No amount of complaining is going to change the score or the outcome, though the league did say Monday it may look into the rules after the season to try and prevent the same thing from happening again.
While the league’s at it, it might also change its video company. The Chargers lost possession on a call earlier in the game that would have surely been reversed if only the on-field video feed the referee consults in contested calls had been working.
Blown calls, of course, aren’t anything new in the NFL, even when the latest sophisticated technology to limit them is working. On any given Sunday in any given game there’s a call or two that will have players and coaches at least muttering under their breath.
Some complain a little louder, which does little except make their wallets lighter. Tennessee coach Jeff Fisher was hit up for $12,500 a few years back for post-game remarks, while Pittsburgh owner Dan Rooney had to pay $25,000 after voicing his complaints publicly after a loss to Atlanta.
Turner may have to pay, too, though he might get away without a fine because truth in this instance is a good defense. And it’s certainly true that a referee standing about 10 feet away should be able to distinguish between a ball that comes out when a quarterback is reaching back to pass and one that comes out when his arm is moving forward.
If not, here’s a tip: When the ball goes backward it’s a pretty good sign the arm was going that way, too.
What is really interesting about this case isn’t that Hochuli blew the call. It’s that in a league obsessed with using cameras and replays to eliminate human error, there was a game that was decided by human error.
That the error was made by one it its best—not to mention most visible— officials merely illustrates how complex and difficult a job officiating an NFL game can be. With 300-pound players crashing around them, officials have to make split-second decisions based on rules that are sometimes so convoluted it takes a lawyer—which Hochuli is—to understand them all.
They do a decent enough job most of the time, as evidenced by the number of calls they get right at full speed, only to be backed up by the slow motion replays. But Hochuli didn’t in this game, and the result was so embarrassing that NFL spokesman Greg Aiello quickly noted that he would be marked down for the call under a league evaluation system where high marks equal playoff jobs and low marks sometimes mean dismissal.
If the league is really serious about top-quality officiating, though, maybe it ought to quit hiring hobbyists and start employing people to do the job full time. The NFL is the richest pro league around, with Forbes estimating just last week that each team is worth an average of $1 billion. But it is the only major professional league that uses part-time officials to call its games.
This gives the league wide flexibility in the hiring and firing of officials, and makes it less likely that they’ll cause labor disruptions. But it only makes sense that someone working five days a week, 50 weeks a year, studying and practicing his craft would be that much better than someone who has to work a regular job, too.
Best of all, it would give Hochuli more time to practice in front of the mirror.
Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at [email protected]
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_yl...v=ap&type=lgns
ducks needs to shut the up about this call. It was a got damned week 2 game, not a playoff game or the Super Bowl.
what else is there to talk about
since the spurs are not playing
we could talk about how bad the chargers suck
From what I've seen, the colts suck worse. You might say they are 1-1 instead of 0-2 but we know the truth. And also from what history has told us, a colts fan can't talk to a bolts' fan
I don't like the bolts, but the colts can't say anything bad about them as long as they own their number.
chargers have choked a lead with under a minute left 2 games in a row. Colts came back from a 15 point deficit. lol, chargers
One thing we can all agree on is that the Raiders are better.
But any real NFL fan knows the Colts are a much better team with their offensive line intact. I know the backups suck... protecting Manning with Charlie Johnson and three rookies is pretty pathetic. Federkeil is a veteran backup who's starting on the line now and I think he's the only one out of them that's worth a damn. It really sucks having Saturday and our backup rookie No. 1 pick Pollack out right now.From what I've seen, the colts suck worse. You might say they are 1-1 instead of 0-2 but we know the truth. And also from what history has told us, a colts fan can't talk to a bolts' fan
I don't like the bolts, but the colts can't say anything bad about them as long as they own their number.
You could say the same for the Chargers, we know they're a better defense with Merriman in there and if he was 100% in that first game and played in the second one they could be 2-0 right now.
Haculie or what ever his name is, is biased isn't it obvious I wouldn't be surprised if he is involved in conspiracy.
colts came back from a 15 point deficit and won due to a favorable call, chargers came back from an 18 point deficit and lost on an unfavorable call. lol, watch the game next time.
If the league is really serious about top-quality officiating, though, maybe it ought to quit hiring hobbyists and start employing people to do the job full time. The NFL is the richest pro league around, with Forbes estimating just last week that each team is worth an average of $1 billion. But it is the only major professional league that uses part-time officials to call its games
^^^^^^^^ WE see how good this worked for the damn NBA now didn't we? I mean they were saying the NBA should do what the NFL does just a few short months ago, now they should get full time officials!!!! LMFAO what is is people?
I don't understand how that ref could do that. He had to be paid or something, that makes no sense. A little kid would know it was a fumble.
this stuff happens all the time in sports, whats the big deal? It all usually costs a team a win. Just coz it happened on the last play, it doesnt make it any worse than a 5 minute stretch of bad calls during the game.
It's nice to see a Californian team get owned by the refs in Denver. It usually works the other wayPayback is a biatch right ducks?
lol, stop crying.
So you are agreeing with but only by your own terms. Fine with me.
The chargers suck now but the colts suck worse. When healthy, the colts are better than they are now but the chargers are much better and have proven it time and time again.
I still don't see how your fellow colts fan can make fun of a bolts fan.
the only ca team I like are the chargers and payback if for the chargers wtfthis stuff happens all the time in sports, whats the big deal? It all usually costs a team a win. Just coz it happened on the last play, it doesnt make it any worse than a 5 minute stretch of bad calls during the game.
It's nice to see a Californian team get owned by the refs in Denver. It usually works the other way
See ducks, this is why no one likes you. Your posts don't make a damn bit of sense................plus you're an idiot.
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