Pittsburg Wins!

[Walter Thompson]

21-10

[Gary Swartzlander]

Congratulations to the Steelers. It has been a great week here in Michigan. Detroit has done a wonderful job of being the Superbowl host. The Detroit area and the State of Michigan needed a lift.

[Jim Franklin]

Extremely sad officiating, Dave must have taken a Nazarene nap and was not able to help the Seahawks. The "Coach" John Madden questioned some of the calls that went against the Seahawks. Eastern money buys the refs.

[Bruce Carriker]

I don't think the refs were "bought off", as Jim suggests. I do think they did a poor job.

Question for anyone who knows: Are Super Bowl officials selected by ROTATION, or are they selected on merit? I'm sure there's some kind of game by game evaluation that these guys receive. As an umpire who did some college and semi-pro games, I know we received evaluations, even at that level, so I'm sure the pros must be evaluated.

The officials who work the playoffs and Super Bowl ought to be the best in the game. If that means the same crew works 10 straight Super Bowls, I don't care. The players are trying to prove their team is the best in the league. The officials who are involved ought to also be the best.

[Ron Davis]

Question for anyone who knows: Are Super Bowl officials selected by ROTATION, or are they selected on merit? I'm sure there's some kind of game by game evaluation that these guys receive. As an umpire who did some college and semi-pro games, I know we received evaluations, even at that level, so I'm sure the pros must be evaluated.

The officials who work the playoffs and Super Bowl ought to be the best in the game. If that means the same crew works 10 straight Super Bowls, I don't care. The players are trying to prove their team is the best in the league. The officials who are involved ought to also be the best.

My understanding is that this in an all star crew. NFL officials are the most scrutinized officials in football. This past season some officials were reprimanded for bad calls. The reprimands are rarely publicized although this season was an exception.

Some of the calls that Madden questioned were not necessarily bad calls. In my experience coaches were not the best judges of officiating. Of course I never worked a game above the high school level.

One problem Super Bowl officials may have is that they are not working with their usual crew. A football officiating crew relies on teamwork just as much as the football team does. I would suppose that the officials could also be affected just as much as the players at the pressure of performing in the Superbowl. Cowher said at half time that all they needed was for Roethlisberger to settle down.

Calls are always easier to make on replay and in slow motion than at the speed of an NFL game.

[Ed Sherman]

Eastern money buys the refs.
Just about the funniest take I've read on the Super Bowl yet! LOL I agree the refs inserted themselves into the game far more than was comfortable, even for someone without a vested interest in the outcome. It was one of the wierdest Super Bowls I've ever seen!;)

[Bruce Carriker]

Calls are always easier to make on replay and in slow motion than at the speed of an NFL game.

No question. And I'm not hopping on the Madden bandwagon.

However, I thought the offensive pass interference call that negated a Seattle touchdown was highly questionable. The receiver clearly pushed off, but to what degree? I thought it was very incidental. If that was offensive pass interference, then you can call offensive pass interference on almost every play.

And the "chop block" call on Hasselbeck as he was tackling an opponent has to be the most ludicrous call I've seen lately.

I was rooting for Pittsburgh, and I don't think the refs cost Seattle the game. The Seahawks made enough mistakes of their own, and their clock management at the end of both halves was atrocious. But it's too bad that the Super Bowl has to be marred with several crucial, highly questionable calls.

[Joel Merrill]

No question. And I'm not hopping on the Madden bandwagon.

However, I thought the offensive pass interference call that negated a Seattle touchdown was highly questionable. The receiver clearly pushed off, but to what degree? I thought it was very incidental. If that was offensive pass interference, then you can call offensive pass interference on almost every play.

And the "chop block" call on Hasselbeck as he was tackling an opponent has to be the most ludicrous call I've seen lately.

I was rooting for Pittsburgh, and I don't think the refs cost Seattle the game. The Seahawks made enough mistakes of their own, and their clock management at the end of both halves was atrocious. But it's too bad that the Super Bowl has to be marred with several crucial, highly questionable calls.

Yep, I watched it with a group of guys in which some were for the Seattle and some were for Pittsburgh. They were all disapointed by the calls.

Joel

[Ron Davis]

No question. And I'm not hopping on the Madden bandwagon.

However, I thought the offensive pass interference call that negated a Seattle touchdown was highly questionable. The receiver clearly pushed off, but to what degree? I thought it was very incidental. If that was offensive pass interference, then you can call offensive pass interference on almost every play.

And the "chop block" call on Hasselbeck as he was tackling an opponent has to be the most ludicrous call I've seen lately.



I would give the officials the benefit of the doubt on the pass interference call. They probably hadn't settled in to the game yet. However I'm with you on the chop block. I can't even imagine what they were thinking on that one. I would hope before the game was even over they were thinking how they had blown that call.

[Bruce Carriker]

Concerning the Hasselbeck "chop block" -

The only thing that comes close lately is the basketball official who gave a coach a technical foul when he passed out on the floor. The official thought the guy was grandstanding because of a bad call. Turns out they had to wheel him out of the gym on a gurney.

AND THEN THE OFFICIALS DIDN'T CANCEL THE TECHNICAL FOUL. According to the rule book, an incorrect technical foul call is not a reversible error. How stupid is that? Where does common sense come in?

[Ron Davis]

AND THEN THE OFFICIALS DIDN'T CANCEL THE TECHNICAL FOUL. According to the rule book, an incorrect technical foul call is not a reversible error. How stupid is that? Where does common sense come in?

Had I been in that position I would have reversed the call, apologized to the coach, and let whomever reprimand me for doing so. I was taught that the referee had the discretion to rule on anything not covered by the rule book.