REPLY: On the play where Tom reversed the TD call, you probably noticed that the SJ (Joe Larrew) slipped and fell onto his butt when he tried to plant at the goal line. Every official watching the game and most of the people watching knew that the TD wouldn't stand. But Larrew couldn't see the play properly because he was moving (toward the turf!) when the ball was coming loose. No doubt he would have nailed the call if he had been able to plant and watch the play while standing still. There's a lesson to be learned. When the 'climax' of any play occurs in your area,
stop and get a good look at it. Try not to be moving at this time.
By the way, White's crew also had the Monday Night game between Cleveland and St. Louis a few weeks ago. Right before he boarded the plane to return home, Larrew received a phone call informing him that his son had been killed in an auto accident.
This passage can be found in the "Around the League" section of Len Pasquarelli's column found here:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/column...len&id=1690115
This has been a difficult season for the officiating crew of Tom White, the referee whose group created a well-publicized administrative error in the Nov. 23 Seattle-Baltimore tilt when they failed to re-start the clock properly. That oversight helped provide the Ravens more time, of course, to enact one of the best comebacks in recent years. But things grew even tougher for the crew last week, when side judge Joe Larrew lost his son: 19-year-old Jake Larrew was killed in a one-car accident after attending, with some friends, the Monday night game of Dec. 8 that his father had worked. The entire crew, in a show of support and fellowship with Joe Larrew and his family, attended the funeral of Jake Larrew on Friday, Dec. 12. They then flew to Nashville to work last Sunday's Tennessee-Buffalo game. It's easy to criticize game officials, but one thing people can never question is the devotion to the game, and to each other, the officiating crews possess. The diligence of Joe Larrew after the death of his son is a tragic and poignant reminder of that. The next time you scream at an official, you might balance the books a little by following it up with a prayer for Larrew and his family.