Say Anything Blog

yikes, Aretha needs to take a look at the music.  she didn’t even try to sing the song the way it was ‘sposed to be sung.  Or If I’m goin g to be nice, “ ..... Interesting rendition.”

I call tails

I’m rooting for the Steelers, but if I had to bet I’d pick the Seahawks.  Though the Steelers have been stepping it up lately.  Should be a good game.

Boooooogus ... That was no TD the bal never made over the line.  Boooooooo

The Seahawks got robbed out of one touchdown (there was no push-off that I saw) and, like Gilbyguy says, the ball never made it over the line.

Seemed like a lot of cheap calls on the Seahawks.  I’m no fan of the team, but that was my observation.

When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.

-- Thomas Jefferson

Rob’s recently listened-to songs:

I predict the Steelers to win by 11 points… Just a hunch…

I agree with you, Rob.  But even with those bad calls, the Steelers still would have come up with a victory.

I’m not so sure you can say that, Andrew.  Had the refs not made that lame push-off call in the endzone on the Seahawks it would have been a much different game.  And that’s just one of the calls.

When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.

-- Thomas Jefferson

Rob’s recently listened-to songs:

I guess I didn’t see the advantage.  It looked to me like the Pittsburgh defender was still trying to come back the other way by the time the ball was there.  I don’t think he would have made it even if the Seattle receiver hadn’t put his hands on him.

And it wasn’t much of a push.

That’s just how it looked to me, anyway.

When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.

-- Thomas Jefferson

Rob’s recently listened-to songs:

Rob: At first I also thought the call was lame, but after watching it ten or so times, what happened is that the push enabled the receiver to get separation, which is precisely why the penalty was called.  IMO, it was the proper call.  It wasn’t a big push, but it was enough to get an unfair advantage.

Rob: It was just enough to create the separation that made the catch possible.  It kept the defender from breaking for the ball at the same moment as the receiver, which is all it takes.  The receiver was very skilled, so he just pushed enough.  If the ref hadn’t been watching closely, he would have gotten away with it.  I’m a Raiders fan, btw, so have no stake in the matter.  I’m just callin’ it like I see it.

By the way, I’m very glad Hines Ward got the MVP trophy.  It truly was a pleasure to watch him play, even though I was rooting for the other team.

Well, congrats to the Steelers.  They deserve full credit for their season and Superbowl win.  However, it is obvious that the refs had a distinct impact on the course of this game.  Four observations:

1. There was no push-off.  There was as much or MORE contact by the DB on that play. Result: -4 points Seattle.

2. I don’t think Pittsburgh scored on the sneak.  Did anyone else notice that the umpire initially marked the ball a foot shy of the goal line?  (I do agree that the call was debatable and I know I’m biased, so we will call it good for Pitt.) Result: +7 points Pittsburgh.

3. Jeremey Stevens caught the ball at the Pitt 2, but it was called back by an inexplicable holding penalty on Sean Locklear.  Even the announcers noted that there was no holding on the play.  Result: a missed field goal by Seattle instead of First and goal at the 2.

4. (The worst call of the night) Hasselbeck throws a pick (bad decision on his part), tackles the ball carrier and is called for an “illegal block”.  Result: +15 yards for Pitt on a very crucial drive that scored their final touchdown.

The endgame would have been much different if Seattle had that 4 points they lost.  Instead of making a frenzied approach to the endzone having to score twice they would only have needed a single touchdown to tie the game.

Regardless, Pittsburgh is the winner.  However, it is very frustrating when the zebras make such an obvious difference in the game.

I sat down to watch what I thought was going to be one of the better super bowls in a while. What I ended up watching was a horrid National Anthem, and it wasn’t just the singing the sound was bad and it was very unrehearsed. The worst half time show again more sound issues and poor planning. Some of the worst commercials I have seen and OMG the officiating sucked. I know Pittsburgh one and more power to them they had no control over the calls however they were outplayed in almost every phase of the game. It was very clear that the ref had no control or no desire to look at something that was clearly wrong and correct it. I mean 15 yarsd for tackling somebody legally come on. Oh and the pass interference both players were using their hands the ref didn’t even through the flag until after the catch. The NFL will never recover any semblence of a good rep if they do not do something about the officiating.

Seattle was barraged by a bunch of bad calls to be sure.

But they also shot themselves in the foot with bad clock management at the end of both halves along with a boatload of dropped passes.

In the end, Pittsburgh wins by default.