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He got knocked out when one of the Giants players hit him in the back while going after a blocked punt. Bernie left the game.

(12-28) 15:39 PST EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) --

Referee Bernie Kukar was forced to leave the Panthers-Giants game after being drilled in the back by Giants safety Clarence LeBlanc trying to recover a blocked punt.

Kukar hurt his ankle and shoulder after being hit square in his back by LeBlanc with 10:51 left in the third quarter. Kukar was watching the ball rolling out of bounds at the Panthers 1-yard line after New York blocked its second punt of the game when LeBlanc caught him totally off-guard.

Kukar stayed on the ground flat on his back for about five minutes. He got up and hopped to a golf cart and was taken off the field.

Field Judge Gene Steratore took over as the referee.

That's too bad, I really like Bernie too, his name is fun to say. Kukar! Get better soon!

Holy smokes I just saw this hit on highlights. That looked brutal, I wouldn't have gotten up. I would have sat there and moaned. lol. wow, right in the lower back too. :(

DId they finish the game with 6?

Yeah Mike, they did. The FJ moved to R.

I thought they had an alternate? weird.

By no means was this Bernie\'s fault......however don\'t a lot of people use the mechanic to turn in toward the field at an out of bounds situation? I personally use the mechanic that Bernie used but I have been warned about it.
I use it to make sure nothing crazy happens out of bounds. What do others think?


Get well soon Bernie!!!!!!

That\'s how I was taught and exactly what I do. That\'s a good point though. He was just unlucky I guess.

I thought it was entirely Kukar\'s fault. If you have a situation where you are between players and a loose ball it is your fault. I think I would have turned 90 degrees and gone backwards towards the goaline, to keep the play in my view. I know he was worried about stuff out of bounds, but what was he seeing by turning away from the players like that? I thought it was an awful move on his part.

However, no one deserves the hit he took! I hope he is back for next week, he is a good Ref.

I was watching NFL Total Access, they said that he is doing fine, he actually wanted to come back and finish the game up, but the Mike Pierra didn\'t want him to because he said they really needed him for playoffs. :D

REPLY: To comment on a prior post, the NFL does <u>not</u> assign an alternate to regular season games. They do, however, assign alternates for playoff games.

Ahhh, okay thanks Bob, that makes sense.

So does the alternate during the playoffs stand on the sideline......dress and stay in the lockerroom or what? I don\'t know about everyone else but it takes me a little time to get the gear on but I would also feel funny dressed pretty mucj knowing I was not going to work. Please advise.