Whatever happened with the NFL refs -- has that been settled?

[rocktivity]

Is the pre-season being played with scab refs? If so, why aren't the players protesting?


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[bluedigger]

1. QUOTE/TWEET OF THE DAY

"Can't wait."
- A smiling Belichick, when asked if he was looking forward to the replacement refs arriving at camp today (we're pretty sure that was sarcasm.)

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/extra_points/

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2. ...(R)eplacement officials working the Hall of Fame Game made so many errors,

players from both sidelines began openly mocking them...

...(O)fficials forgot to move the marker after a 3-yard loss. The loss was followed by an incomplete pass. So it should have been third-and-13 but the marker showed third-and-10 because the official forgot to move it...

The National Football League Referees Association, the union for the locked out officials, released a statement later on Monday saying it documented a number of mistakes as well...

- A no call for offensive holding in the end zone
- A no call for illegal motion
- A no call for illegal hands to the face
- A no call for facemask
- A no call for helmet to helmet on defenseless punte
- A no call on intentional grounding...
link

The NFLRA should put up a special Web site and record every bad call after every game until things are settled. By doing a background check, they could even tally the mistakes of each referee by name.


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[hughee99]

4. I don't think the regular NFL officials want to start a trend of documenting mistakes...

I'm sure they're better than the replacements, but they'd be mad as hell if the players union or teams were "documenting their mistakes" on a website after the games.

[rocktivity]

3. NFL Makes (Union-Busting) History With First Female Official

Shannon Eastin says she’s excited and a bit nervous but not at all intimidated by the challenge of working a pro game. Eastin makes her NFL debut Thursday night as the line judge when the Green Bay Packers play at San Diego in the preseason opener for both teams. A 42-year-old referee in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference — college football’s second-highest level — Eastin has 16 years of officiating experience.

She is among the replacement officials hired by the league while the regular officials are locked out. Like the rest of her current colleagues, she could easily be back to her regular officiating gig once a new labor deal is struck.

Eastin is in a particularly difficult spot for three reasons:

— No woman has officiated an NFL game;

— The Chargers host the Packers on national television;

— She is viewed by some of the NFL’s regular officials as a scab....

“I believe I am ready,” she said. “I’m a realistic person and I know what is realistic for me. I am not going to play football. I feel it is realistic for me to officiate.

“I make myself ready for any opportunity that comes my way. I will come in with my eyes wide open.”
link

Cut the comedy, hon -- you know perfectly well that you're being used as both a scab AND a firewall against pro-union criticism: "Shame on you, you sexist pigs, for putting your greedy demands ahead of this intrepid woman's history-making opportunity!" Who do you and the NFL think you're kidding?


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[charlie and algernon]

5. TWICE now, these replacement refs have called Atlanta "Arizona"

No wonder the Ravens are losing 14-7: they're facing two teams.

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6. The female scab ref has been told that her hat and whistle are going to the Hall of Fame

I hope she realizes she's being pimped in more ways than one -- and that the NFL already has a built-in mechanism for dumping her when the time comes.


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[trotsky]

9. It's the ref's union pursuing that angle.

According to ESPN, the NFL doesn't have a problem with it - so long as she doesn't participate in a gambling event during the time she is performing her duties as a referee.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/8252131/report-female-ref-shannon-eastin-poker-ok-nfl

"The NFL does extensive background checks on prospective officials, including the current group of replacement officials," NFL spokesman Michael Signora said, according to the website. "All of them have passed the NFL's rigorous screening process, including Shannon Eastin. Past participation in an event such as a poker tournament does not disqualify a person from consideration as an NFL game official."

The league is using replacement officials after not being able to reach a new labor agreement with its referees.

Per the NFL's rules on gambling and officials, Signora did say that if Eastin became a regular official she would not be allowed to take part "in a professional gambling event, such as the World Series of Poker, at any time of the year."

I am torn here, I love to see women making inroads in the NFL. But I am 100% in support of the refs and their union. We need to have the best people calling NFL games, and they should be compensated in proportion to their importance in the games.

[HuckleB]

7. I really hope the NFL just goes away.

So, you know. I don't care.

[Auggie]

8. Now it's official: NFL has a problem

Vic Tafur, San Francisco Chronicle

There were six games on the docket Thursday (August 9th) night, and the locked-out officials' leverage skyrocketed. There were blown calls left and right, including one in the Bills-Redskins game where the ball was downed at the 4 and ruled a touchback.

SNIP

None of the replacement officials came from a Division I conference, and the usual NFL trainers balked at helping out "scabs," out of loyalty to the officials they used to work with.

So Thursday night, you had a bunch of unqualified, under-prepared high school and junior college officials trying to keep up with the fastest sport that has varying degrees of guys getting mugged and/or steamrolled on every play.

Roger Goodell has had his hands full the last two offseasons, and he thinks of himself as a hard-liner. But the commissioner needs to back down and give the real officials whatever they want. There is enough money in his piggy bank that it shouldn't sting too badly.

http://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/Now-it-s-official-NFL-has-a-problem-3777504.php

One replacement ref, Craig Ochoa, used to call games in the Lingerie Football League.

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10. ESPN: NFL must get real officials back soon

Mistake-prone replacements are embarrassing the league, even in the preseason

...(I)f the NFL doesn't get a deal to bring the real officials back by the third preseason week, the league could ruin what might be a great season. Millions of dollars are being spent to enhance the in-game experience for fans, including the addition of apps for fans to watch enhanced replays and other games live. Enhancing the game experience is one thing, but not investing enough to assure games are officiated by the best officials is hypocritical. The NFL has said it has offered 5 to 11 percent raises for officials and that the officials' union must accept significant changes in its pension plan. I'm not taking sides on who is right or wrong in the money talks. I'm just saying this lockout can't continue longer than two preseason games...



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