The first thing I thought when I read that the Steelers had been awarded a phantom first down in their game against the Jets Sunday was, “Wow. Two weeks in a row.”

Then I read the story and saw it was Pete Morelli’s crew that made the mistake. The same crew that gave the Redskins a first down they didn’t earn the week prior against Tampa Bay.

This latest SNAFU happened early in the second quarter on a 1st-and-10 play from the Jets’ 35, so it’s not quite the same as scoring on fifth down to nearly tie a game with just seconds to play. But this has to be addressed. Where is Mike Pereira on this?

It turned out not to matter, and not a lot of you saw it happen (few who did are likely to care), but the Washington Redskins apparently did get an extra down and used it to score their nearly-game-tying touchdown against Tampa Bay yesterday. Only one of the stranger endings to an NFL game that I can remember kept the mixup from mattering.
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Video to come, but this was a hilarious moment late in Chicago’s 17-14 win over Pittsburgh on Sunday afternoon as Jay Cutler walked straight into the hands of Referee Scott Green as Green was signaling time out. Knocked Cutler’s helmet clean off.

I found this while I was cleaning out a closet last night – a letter to the editor of ESPN The Magazine from December 14, 1998. This was five years before I became an official, and was in response to an article that suggested the NBA re-hire referees who had been indicted for tax fraud because their replacements were inexperienced and it was messing up the games.

The refs were reinstated by NBA Commissioner David Stern. Shows how much pull I have.

My man Kenny Stern pointed me to this, a red card in the first 15 seconds of a Copa Libertadores match yesterday. Striker Ze Carlos of Cruzeiro was sent off for this elbow to the head of Atletico Mineiro’s Renan. Judge for yourself.

One of the big reasons, actually.

This is just sad.

Dear parents: at the scholastic (high school and below) level, the court or the field is an extension of the classroom. We’re trying to teach and to provide a positive experience for young people while being involved in a sport we (well, most of us) love. That’s it. That’s the list.

We’re not trying to “get” anybody. We don’t care who wins. And you do not have the right to cross the line with us.

The Major League Soccer season is over, and an incident in the second half of MLS Cup has drawn much discussion. With that in mind, I’m presenting an interview I did with Dr. Joe Machnik, MLS’ Assistant to the Deputy Commissioner for On-Field Competition prior to the 2007 season. (more…)