Mittwoch, 26. September 2012

Back to the replacements

While my last entry in this blog was dealing with the possible repercussions of the current referee situation in the NFL, reality has once again overtaken me and it is now even worse than I had expected. While during the last weeks the replacement refs made many critical and obviously wrong calls, it has reached a new level with the result of Monday Night Football.

On Monday the Green Bay Packers played at Seattle to match the Seahawks. Most of the game was a brilliant defensive effort (sadly nobody is talking about that)  from Seattle and not much offense took place. And it was a "usual" replacements game, as there were numerous dubious pass interference calls, some critical penalties and a general feeling that they were not 100% in control of what was going on all the time.

But then there was th final play. And it was a big one, as Seattle was back 5 points and they needed a hail mary pass to win the game with the final play. So Seattle QB Wilson, after avoiding a sack, threw it up for grabs into the end zone in the general area where Golden Tate was waiting for it. He was surrounded by at least four Packers and Packers DB M. Jennings was in perfect position to defend the pass. Instead of doing what defenders are tought to do in such a situation, i.e. knocking the ball down, he tried to catch it. And he DID catch it and all replay angles showed he caught it first and although Tate might have had simultaneous possession of the ball while going to the ground for a split second, it was Jennings who had the ball in the end.

By now everybody knows the end of the story. The catch was awarded to Tate (even after review) and the NFL has admitted the mistake. However, they are only admitting that Tate was actually pushing off before the "catch" (enough to overturn it) and still call it a simultaneous catch which, by rule, should go to the offense. Everybody who saw what happened knows that this is wrong. There was a push off, yes, but Tate never caught the ball. It was a clear mistake that I do not think regular NFL refs would have made.

The way the NFL is handling the situation is definitely deciding games. We saw that on Monday. The integrity of the game is in danger. Some Packers have come forward and argued that the NFL was "more about money than the integrity of the game". Well, that's news! The NFL is the best sports business in the world. Of course, it is all about money. If it was just about competing in the game of football it would not be a billion dollar industry. Interesting, though, that this criticism comes from the only NFL team which is publicly owned (Packers). So there is no owner involved who wants his profits maximized rather than the success of his team on the field of play.

I agree. The integrity of the game is in danger. But I would go a step further: the only fans who might be happy right now live in the city of Seattle. If fans see that the current situation goes on and more games are decided by wrong officiating, they will turn away and the NFL as a whole product could suffer.

The NFL could have changed the call or set a rematch. They decided to stick to the result and come up with bad excuses. Fine, but please, for the sake of the game and the league, pay the regular refs and bring them back!

Freitag, 21. September 2012

Their A game!


One of this year's big stories in sports is the season the Oakland A's are having. They are currently ranked 2nd in the American League West and tied for first in the Wild Card race with the Baltimore Orioles. While they are technically not yet in the playoffs, they are in a good spot and there is no indication that they will fall off.

But is is the way they reached their current spot that is so amazing: The A's are playing with rookie starters (5 at one point), they have really no major names on their roster and their lineup does not scare anyone in the American League. AND they are doing it with Major League's second lowest payroll at $ 55,372,500. This is substantially lower than what the Texans spend ($ 120,510,974), who they trail by just 4 games in the AL West. The A's are ranked 5th in the majors in pitching with a team ERA of 3.50. They rank 9th in terms of home runs with 172. So they have it all: pitching and power. And they are doing it while they should actually be rebuilding.

The A's manager Bob Melvin seems to be doing a lot right. But the whole organization from top to bottom does a perfect job. In sport economics the final word on the causal relationship between team payrolls and success has not yet been said. The A's once again show that maybe it is not money you need to win.


Donnerstag, 20. September 2012

NFL replacement refs - dangerous for the game?

We are well into the current NFL season, and apart from the usual media buzz, injury news and endless discussions about the performances of rookies Quarterbacks, there is one thing standing out: the usual NFL referees are locked out and replacement crews are refereeing the games.  These replacement crews were installed in preseason and mostly consist of non-BCS conference referees from the NCAA. While this might not sound too spectacular, it might actually be a big deal for the league.

It is still a debate how good a job these referees are doing. The media are highly critical, while the broadcasting TV networks are still hesitant to be overly critical regarding the product they offer. But the first two weeks of regular season games showed that the replacement officials got at least a few major calls wrong, mixed up some penalties and generally made more mistakes than the usual referees.

The entry salary for an NFL official  is $78,000. While this might not sound bad for a season of 16 plus postseason games, their salary is significantly below those of the other major sports leagues. The talks between the officials and the NFL have basically been suspended. Both sides could not come even close to an agreement so far.

So is it really about a few blown calls or some misplaced balls on the field? I guess not, because now that two weeks of regular season play are in the books something else - even more problematic - has emerged. Numerous personal fouls were not called on the field by the replacements and the atmosphere in numerous games was more than just competitive. So my guess is that while they try to avoid any mistakes, the replacements referees miss many overly rough plays. The NFL was quick to fine the guilty players (ask Golden Tate of the Seattle Seahawks) , but on-field calls would certainly be better to stop the extracurricular chippiness and unnecessary roughness between players. Some media observes have even gone as far as arguing that the replacement refs might actually be the reason why the game is more violent and dangerous at the moment.

One of the big objectives of NFL boss commission Roger Goodell was to make the NFL saver and reduce the risk of severe (head) injuries. Rightfully so, with the high number of potential lawsuits lingering. But by being overly strict in the negotiations with the referees he might have reached the contrary. Maybe it would just be better to give the referees what they want instead of having to deal with the consequences of an increase in the number of injuries. And it is not just about the general perception of the NFL as a "save" league, but I do not think that fans want to pay for watching teams that are substantially decimated by injuries.