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Who dat guy gonna ref dem Saints?

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by dixiehack, Sep 16, 2012.

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  1. MileHigh

    MileHigh Moderator Staff Member

    Football and baseball would be far tougher. You've seen the biggest gambling scandals involved with basketball, including most recently, Tim Donaghy.
     
    MileHigh, Sep 17, 2012
    #13
  2. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    Basketball is easy to fix. You get a star player in foul trouble and you're good to go... Baseball and football would be much, much, much more difficult to fix.
     
    Mizzougrad96, Sep 17, 2012
    #14
  3. young-gun11

    young-gun11 Member

    I've never watched for who is committing the fouls until after they are committed, though. Maybe I'm in the minority.
     
    young-gun11, Sep 17, 2012
    #15
  4. young-gun11

    young-gun11 Member

    I think football would be much easier. Not like you have to blow a whistle immediately as the foul occurs, like in basketball. You can throw your flag any time. An official has a little time to decide whether he saw a penalty or not and whether to call it.
     
    young-gun11, Sep 17, 2012
    #16
  5. Azrael

    Azrael Well-Known Member

    A partisan 'ref' doesn't have to 'fix' a game. He can just make sure to ignore the kind of contact likely to hurt an opposing player until an opposing player gets hurt.
     
    Azrael, Sep 17, 2012
    #17
  6. TheSportsPredictor

    TheSportsPredictor Well-Known Member

    True:

     
    TheSportsPredictor, Sep 17, 2012
    #18
  7. Huggy

    Huggy Well-Known Member

    Fucking right. [Canesfanboilooser]
     
    Huggy, Sep 17, 2012
    #19
  8. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    Should have posted earlier. ... First, can't be said enough. Thread title is perfect.

    Second, this should be a huge freaking embarrassment for the NFL, but they will skate because fans don't care enough to hold their feet to the fire.

    It sucks for the refs on strike. If anything was ever going to prove their worth, this should be it. My personal attitude is, if you want to play hardball with the refs, fine, but then have a plan in place to deal with their absence.

    If this is the best the league can do -- forget the horrendous officiating yesterday, but a chucklehead in fan gear on his facebook page? -- is there really any better argument for the striking refs that they are worth everything they are asking for?

    The unfortunate answer is no, because fans don't care enough. Short of some really horrendous call that changes an outcome (and I think they are flirting with this), this isn't going to affect the league one iota.

    My understanding of the situation is that the NFLRA handled the negotiations like amateurs and essentially created an impasse when there could have been a resolution, but where they are now is the NFL holding a hard line over a relatively trifling amount of money for them. Is it really worth the roulette you are playing with the product with the clowns you have officiating the games?
     
    The Big Ragu, Sep 17, 2012
    #20
  9. Azrael

    Azrael Well-Known Member

    Let's please not get political or ideological, but this is not a strike. It's a lockout.
     
    Azrael, Sep 17, 2012
    #21
  10. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    I don't see it as particularly political. It is a lockout. I am sorry for semantically getting it wrong. Most people understand what it is, though. They were negotiating over a new contract. They never reached an agreement. The refs are willing to hold out in the hope that they are missed and it pressures the league into giving more. The league is willing to play roulette with amateur refs rather than meet the ref's demands. People get that.
     
    The Big Ragu, Sep 17, 2012
    #22
  11. Bubbler

    Bubbler Well-Known Member

    Can't quote the original post from my phone, but basketball -- particularly college basketball -- is immensely easy to fix ... and it doesn't take an inordinate amount of foul calls to do it.

    An official can dominate a game via biased violation and possession calls. Stuff that would never show up in a box score or even a game play-by-play.

    Two players going for a loose ball that goes out of bounds? Give it to the team with the fix in.

    Zero tolerance on traveling calls and 3 or 5 second-calls for one team, but leniency for another? Do it for the team with the fix in.

    If the game isn't televised (or perhaps, even if it is), an official could totally skate on this because there'd be virtually no paper trail to detect it.

    The only game that I thought was fishy in my years on my beat went down in this way. Every 50/50 call went against one team. Every violation, etc.

    The team without the fix in won anyway -- in double OT.

    The experienced coach I covered also suspected something was up, but his team won anyway, so he never pursued it.

    So, yes, basketball is very easy to fix for an official.
     
    Bubbler, Sep 17, 2012
    #23
  12. young-gun11

    young-gun11 Member

    Well, I feel like a champ, then. I just don't worry about who is fouling who or what jersey the guy who knocked it OOB is wearing. Of course, I've never tried to fix a game, either.
     
    young-gun11, Sep 17, 2012
    #24
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