Maintaining Control

Everyone hates referees in sports today. They're insulted, teased and probably have a few threats against their person from time to time for making the correct call 99% of the time. However, it's usually that 1% that gets the attention of almost everyone because it's a colossal blunder. Should those referees pay for their mistakes? I personally believe that they should.

Ed Hochuli made an incorrect call in a week 2 game between the Broncos and Charges a few years ago. Near the end of the game with Denver driving, Ed called a ball that was clearly fumbled a forward pass, and was therefore un-challengable. He owned up to his mistake immediately on the field However, Denver still got the touchdown and the inevitable 2-point conversion to win the game. He still has his job, and remains one of the best referees in the League, but he's still chastised about that call. I think it was a mistake, and it was sort of nice to see a referee own up to it, especially quickly. In spite of this, he was punished by the League, and didn't appear in any Playoff games that season and has mainly remained out of the spotlight of national TV since.

Last night brought forth something I'd call egregious, where the referee overturned a Virginia Tech Touchdown in Overtime, causing them to lose the game. Unlike Hochuli, he hasn't owned up to his mistake, and I doubt ever will. After looking at every replay from four or five different angles, they all showed the receiver catching the ball, his elbow hitting the turf, and eventually sliding out of bounds with possession of the football. Keep in mind also that in College Football you only need 1 foot or another body part in play for it to be considered a catch. The referee came back and said 'the receiver did not maintain control' of the football, when he clearly did. Virginia Tech then missed a field goal, which allowed Michigan to make one and win. Now you might say this is the same situation, but it's not due to the NCAA's overtime rules, which places the ball at the opponent's 25 yard line for each possession, so victory wasn't that far away for Michigan when you think about it.

The problem here is two-fold: One, in Overtime, teams start too close to scoring either a field goal/touchdown and should be moved back to at least the 35, perhaps the 40 yard line. Second, is that unlike Hochuli, this referee won't get punished for the same type of situation, apology excluded of course. In this type of business, it doesn't pay to be the good guy.