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Wednesday, January 08, 2003

There were howls of protest and calls of inferior officiating when a pass interference penalty against Miami was instrumental in Ohio State winning the national championship of college football last week.

The cries were even louder Sunday when officiating played a major role in the San Francisco 49ers' win against the New York Giants in an NFC wild-card game.

Despite similar public reaction, the incidents were significantly different.

In the college game, there was nothing clear-cut about the call. It was one of those judgments that could have gone either way -- even if most people saw it as not being interference. Any rational fan could see where it at least might have been interference. It was one of those calls that are part of sports, part of the fabric of competition.

That wasn't the case in the pro game. The call that should have been made was stunningly clear-cut. Yes, it was a judgment call, but one that could be ruled only one way.

With the ball in the air, a 49ers defender pulled down a potential receiver on the last play of the game. There is no way a responsible back judge could not have seen the play, could not have called pass interference and could not have thrown his flag. Scott Green, the back judge, made no call.

If he had, because there also was penalty on the play against the Giants, the down would have been replayed. That means the Giants would have had the opportunity to try another 41-yard field goal and possibly win the game.

Incompetent officiating, not poor judgment, denied them the opportunity.

This is becoming an old story in the NFL, where more games are turned by poor officiating than any other sport.

Hours before Green choked on his penalty flag, another example of the incompetent officiating that is permeating the NFL occurred at Heinz Field in the fourth quarter of a wild-card game between the Cleveland Browns and the Steelers.

The play clock had reached zero before the ball was snapped to Cleveland quarterback Kelly Holcomb. It was an open-and-shut case of delay of game. But no flag was thrown. Instead, Holcomb took the snap and threw a touchdown pass. If the Steelers had lost the game, it would not have been because of a mistake in judgment by the official, but because of utter incompetence.

All of this is pertinent in Pittsburgh today because the Steelers remain alive in the NFL playoffs. They have been a disappointing team this season, but one that still can live out its dream and the dream of its fans. What if that dream was shattered, not by incompetent play, not by a superior opponent, not by poor judgment, but by total incompetence by an official?

Bill Cowher was asked at his weekly news conference yesterday how he would feel if the Steelers lost in such a manner.

Cowher's response was the height of sportsmanship and one that should be heard in all segments of the game -- from Joe Paterno down to the average fan.

"We understand that [officiating] is part of it. Injuries are part of it; how the game unfolds is part of it, how the ball bounces. That's why it's a game. That's why you play the game. You have to overcome those things. I know it is unfortunate when it comes down to being the last play because that gets magnified. But there are so many more plays in the game.

"I've never thought a game was won and lost on one play."

Cowher's admirable stance no doubt was honed by years in the game, years of judgment calls going for and against him and years of officiating incompetence going for and against him. It's a stance someone in the game almost has to have.

But it doesn't excuse the low level of officiating that's overrunning the NFL.

The NFL once bragged about its officials. It boasted about how successful they were in other walks of life, as if a good lawyer or business executive automatically made a good official. The NFL pretty much low keys that kind of talk these days and never speaks of the age of its officials.

The NFL doesn't need motivational speakers, futures traders, middle school principals, orthodontists, tax consultants, environmental engineers, bankers, corporate pilots and probation officers (actual jobs of these men) officiating their games. They need full-time employees.

They need men who study the rules, attend seminars and work practices during the week, not men who are fitting kids for braces or giving speeches.

A billion-dollar industry shouldn't have part-time employees in roles that decide games, seasons, championships, careers and lives.