Hi all:
I think most of us know about the incident in the Chargers / Broncos game this past Sunday where referee Ed Hochuli admitted he made a mistake but there was nothing in the rules that would allow him to give the ball to the Chargers.
For those that didn't see or hear about the game the play involved QB Cuttler from Denver attempting a forward pass late in the game. Referre Ed Hochuli blew the whistle and signalled Incomplete pass,
Since the play happened in the last 2 minutes of the game, the review comes from the booth. IR CLEARLY showed that the ball was indeed a fumble but because Hochuli blew the whistle there was nothing he could do except give the ball back to Denver at the point of the fumble which was the 10 yard line.
Here is what happened to Mr. Hochuli
Quote:
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Officials are held accountable for their calls. They are graded on every play of every game,” NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Monday. “Ed has been an outstanding official for many years, but he will be marked down for this call.”
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I mention this on the baseball Forum because I cannot remember a time when an ML umpire was "called out on the carpet" by either his superior or a major league baseball spokesman. If any of you know please site
We had the Mike Winters incident but that had nothing to do with a call that he made but in regards to comments he made about Milton Bradley.
It seems as though Football referees are held more accountable for their actions that ML baseball umpires. In addition I cannot remember a time when a ML baseball umpire was "taken to task" by one of hos superiors or a spokesman even the infamous Don Denkinger
There were some terrible calls in the BOSOX Blue Jays game this weekend that could have an impact on the playoffs yet nothing was said.
Look at Eric Gregg's terrible strike zone in the world series etc. It seems as though major league baseball umpires get a "free ride' compared to football officials
Pete Booth