Bribed?                                      

                                                                      by William Schmidt, Ph.D.          

                  NFL officiating is so bad now, you can usually tell who'll lose based either
        on which side the officials assess the penalties on or who benefits from the
        execrable calls that have now become common place.  The instant replay
        and review was supposed to help, but what happens when the home team
        turns off the replay camera so that there can be no replay, even after a
        challenge.  Nothing.  There is no review.  The visitors get screwed.  And
        what happens if the official blows his whistle to call a dead ball for no reason?
        Nothing.  There is no review. 

               Today's San Diego - Denver football game shows football is no longer
        a game about football.  The winner is fixed in advanced.  The game's outcome
        is pre-determined and the officials are there to make sure the script is
        followed, just like in a wrestling match or on Wall Street.   The biased and
        ridiculously bad officiating is not accidental.   It could only be this bad by
        design.  It must be deliberate and sinister.    What proof?   I can safely
        predict that this game's two ridiculous calls will not be seriously investigated
        by the League.    Will the media  tackle this?  No.  They know who butters
        their bread.   They will not make nearly enough about how bad and biased
        the officiating is.  Their silence has ruined the game for the millions who
        expect a modicum of fairness.

                  So, what happened that got me to write about football? 

               What was the first clue today that the officials were there to make sure
        that the home-town Denver broncos would beat the San Diego Chargers? 
        Early in the first quarter, San Diego threw a 10-yard completed pass inside its
        30 yard line.  The SD receiver was brought down.  His elbow hit the ground.
        He was down on his back and the Denver tackler then stripped the ball away
        from him and took the ball back so close to the goal line that Denver had a
        touch-down before anyone could catch their breath.  San Diego challenged
        the call.  We saw on TV the replay that showed the SD receiver should have
        been called down before the ball was taken away.  That was the much-repeated
        opinion of the two TV commentators broadcasting the game.  But the official
        said the play could not be reviewed because the replay machine, which Denver
        was expected to maintain, was not working!    How convenient for the
        home team!  Instead of SD having the ball after a completed pass, Denver
        got a quick and easy seven point lead.   Why didn't the official just get the TV
        networks to offer a replay?  Why if the home team fails to make their equipment
        work, are they not penalized and the appeal approved?  Why?  Because the "fix"
        was on and the script said Denver was to be the winner.
          (See - http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/09/14/sports/nelson/z5f99e36f532c9938882574c5001c72c3.txt   )

              This was bad.  But listened to what happened with less than a minute left
        in the game,  Denver had the ball on San Diego's 2 yard-line and was behind
        38-31,   The Denver quarterback ran to his right and looked downfield for
        someone to throw the ball to.  In his hurry to get the pass off as a burly SD
        linebacker rushed towards him, he whipped the ball back to throw it, but it fell
        out of his hands, very clearly before he started moving his passing arm forward.  
        The SD player grabbed the ball off the ground and was tackled and went out
        of bounds.  Just as they had earlier, the TV announcers did a review in slow
        motion of the play from several angles.   They all immediately agreed that
        the Denver quarterback had fumbled it and it was San Diego's ball.

              "Not so quick", said the official.  On review he claimed that the ball had
        been whistled dead.  Why?   Absolutely no explanation.  It was not a fumble.
        And it was also not considered an incomplete forward pass.  The ball was
        placed back at the 10 year line where the quarterback had dropped it.  If it had
        been considered an incomplete forward pass, the ball should have been given
        to Denver on the 2-yardline.  But the official did not try to claim that the quarter-
        back had the ball as he was moving his arm forward.  No.  This would not
        have been tenable stance.  The replay showed that he clearly lost it as he
        was taking his arm back.  So, then it was a fumble?  "No", said the official,
        it wasn't a fumble, even though that's what it looked liked to everyone else
        It was an "official's whistle-blown dead-ball."  Why the whistle?  No explanation
        was given.   So Denver got to keep the ball and then scored the winning
        touchdown and points-after.   The official claimed that once the whistle was
        blown the other team could not take possession.  But that is patently untrue.
        In March 2007, it was ruled that a fumble caused by contact is live on review,
        even when the whistle is mistakenly blown. The same rule should have applied
        here.  The quarterback dropped the ball because he was about to be hit hard.

                The official who blew both calls was Ed Hochuli.  He is an attorney.  He
                                   ehochuli@jshfirm.com TEL: 602-263-1719 FAX: 602-263-1784
        specializes in civil litigation in areas where
        expert. all right, in bad faith.  He was standing less than 20' from the quarterback
        when he blew his whistle prematurely.   This was no accident.  In his career,
        he has surely called thousands of plays involving quarerback fumbles.  He blew
        the earlier call.  And then to fix the game's outcome he blew his whistle and blew
        this call deliberately.  He could have reversed himself.  That he refused to
        is proof, he blew this call deliberately.  
        he will get a letter from the Commiss downgrading his performance for
        admitting he made a mistake, not for the error itself. 

                The letter means nothing.  He just won't officiate at other games
        involving these teams.  That's the League's typical response.  Hoculi was
        previously banned by the League officials after 2001 from officiating a
        San Diego-Denver game because of his terrible calls back then.  The owner
        of the Denver team admits that Hochili has long been one of the most
        criticized of the league's umps.  
                        See - http://forums.contracostatimes.com/topic/bad-calls-nfl-referees  

                   Video of the 2 plays.

                  Now Yahoo reports that Hochuli is publicly contrite. But he has not
           resigned.  That's the least he should do.  But in an age when arrogant
           politicians and CEOs grab all they can, I wouldn't expect Hochuli to do
           the right thing and resign.

                                                      bad faith is involved.   He's anThe League should fire him.  InsteadWhat Players Are Saying:

               Shaun Phillips, a star player on the SD defense wrote this about the
         incident:  "Damn.   I can't say that the ref cheated us because that's a fine. I can't say that
           the Broncos didn't win that game because that's being a sore loser. I can't say that it was a
           mistake that the replay machine wasn't working in the first qtr cause that would be a lie.

 
                                                                                                                                                   $        $
                                                                         
         Hochuli is the President of the NFL Referees' Association.  This should give readers
         some idea about how unfairly professional football is officiated.  I have long considered
         NFL officials to be partial, biased and determined to give one team, usually the home
         team, the game.  See my earlier Blog - http://www.tigersoft.com/Tiger-Blogs/1-16-2008/index.html
            
        
         It comes as no surprise that NFL officials supported Hochuli's ruling, even though no
         one else on the plant has.

                 Players have to be careful what they say.  They may get the same official in the next game.   
         But the SD Chargers were quick to speak out after today's badly distorted game.  It was all too
         much to take. 

                 SD Coach Norv Turner: “It was a fumble, clear to everyone on our sideline, and
                 I'm sure all the fans...Ed came over to me and said he blew it and that's not, to me,
                 acceptable. This is a high-level performance game and it is not acceptable to have a
                 game decided on that play.”  (So, why didn't he reverse himself then.  Moral cowardice?
                 Denver fan pressure?   No, I think he got money in advance and was afraid of being
                 found shot.  Officials are not full time employees of the NFL.  A little extra money
                 on the side is hard for some officals to refuse.  Two blown calls is not accidental.

                 Denver Quarterback: "I think it was a fumble,”

              LaDainian Tomlinson: "The NFL is always holding us accountable for stuff we do, and
                 so at some point, the referees have to be held accountable too," he said. "Otherwise,
                 what is the point is having referees out there?"


                                                     

              Clinton Hart: "The machine is not working in the first quarter when a call
                 should have went our way ... we thought," Chargers safety Clinton Hart said. "Then,
                 all of a sudden, it is working every other quarter." 
                (Source: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/09/14/sports/nelson/z5f99e36f532c9938882574c5001c72c3.txt )

                                               

                    Having just written this, I decide to see if anyone else on the Internet agrees:

              "NO RESPECT: I have long respected Ed Hochuli as an NFL referee. That ended Sunday."

              "REAL SCORE II: Final Score: Chargers 38, Denver 24, Referees 15".

              "Not since the 1919 Chicago White Sox has there been a more blatant fix of a professional
              sports game. The Chargers won this game twice. Why should I be a season ticket holder |
              when the games are fixed? Never before have I seen such a sham!"

               "PAGING THE FBI: In the NBA they call officiating like that “point shaving.” Perhaps the
               FBI should launch an investigation."

               "Are you kidding me?" 

               "Why even bother playing the game when the referee could have told us who was going to
                win before it started? Two major blown calls that turned a hard-fought comeback win into
                another loss. Can anyone remember an instance where an obvious missed call was not
                overturned due to an equipment malfunction? If the NFL had any integrity, it would nullify
                the results of this game and replay it. No more Super Bowls for Ed Hochuli."

               "I still have not gotten over the ridiculousness of the officiating in this game. It ranks right
                up there or actually EXCEEDS the holy roller and any other incompetent officiating we have
                had to endure as Bolt fans. This is probably the WORST officiated Bolt game in history.
                Simple fact. ALL announcers, commentator, and even players such as Cutler agree that
                call was blown at the end. This is NOT supposed to happen with a fair official replay system
                and with halfway competent officials What the hell was Hochuli doing? He wasn't in position
                to clearly see the motion of Cutler's arm, obviously. Otherwise he would have not blown the
                call. So if he is not sure, DO NOT BLOW THE PLAY DEAD.....that is the WORST thing
                that an official can do...particularly on a play at this point in the game and with consequences
                of such magnitude!....If the NFL does not seriously discipline this guy and/or demote him
                or just plain kick his *** out of the league...then something is wrong.

               A sample of opinions from this site:
                  : http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2008/sep/14/chargers-1s15chfans19185/?chargers
                                                   Many believe the mob can fix a game by
           getting to the officials.           

               Have Ed Hochuli and his crew been bribed by the mob or are they under direct orders
                from the NFL to make sure that Denver beats SD? That's the only explanation many
                observers offer for the abysmally poor officiating in this game....

                     As corrupt as the White House.. NFL ...   Other Fans' Comments:

.            "In a world where corruption routinely invades our most hallowed institutions,
                  it's silly to think the NFL is immune." Newsweek.com

         How about an investigative report uncovering bribes to an NFL officiating crew that were secretly
               paid by a highly successful NFL team   The NFL wouldn't stand for it

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