cia Page 197 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
NFL's VP Of Officiating Defends Very Bad Year Of Officiating
One of the defining characteristics of this NFL season has been late-game officiating controversies. There was the tumultuous ending to the Patriots-Bills game, the weird anti-Cam Newton grandstanding by Ed Hochuli, the phantom offensive pass interference call that allowed the Broncos to give the Pa...
The Facemask Penalty On The Lions Was The Right Call In The Moment
This will sound self-contradictory and bring consolation to absolutely no one, but the facemask call that extended the game and gave the Packers the chance to win on a hail mary was the wrong call—and one that no official should be blamed for making....
NFL Demotes Officiating Crew After Screwups In Cardinals-Niners Game
Sunday’s Cardinals-49ers game was a disaster for the officials, one that stood out even against the backdrop of an especially woeful season for the zebras. How bad was it? The crew responsible has been demoted from primetime....
<i>The Danish Girl</i> Makes Transgender Issues Safe For The Oscar Crowd
Of all the adjectives to describe a movie, “well-intentioned” is among the least scintillating and most wearying. It’s why a lot of people have an aversion to so-called Oscar-bait— they’re the kind of films that pop up around award season to address important subjects in a respectful way, with the h...
Report: Bad Call At End Of Patriots-Bills Game Was Because Official Forgot He Wasn't In College
The inadvertent whistle is justly getting most of the attention, but the Patriots’ 20-13 win over the Bills was a terrible game all around for the zebras. And the Boston Globe has a source in the referees’ union who blames the blown call on the final play of the game on an official who mixed up a co...
What's Wrong With NFL Officiating?
It’s getting exhausting emerging from each weekend with our choice of questionable and downright bad refereeing decisions to analyze, but it feels unavoidable these days. I don’t know if it’s confirmation bias or if it’s real, but NFL officiating feels as bad this season as it’s ever been. Last nigh...
NFL Admits Officials Screwed Ravens Out Of A Win
Yesterday’s Jaguars-Ravens game ended with the Jags kicking a game-winning field goal on the final play of the game. According to an NFL spokesman, that play should have never happened, and the Ravens should have won....
Undefeated Michigan State Beaten By Officials As Apparent Blown Call Hands Game To Nebraska
Michigan State’s undefeated season is no more after officials awarded a game-winning touchdown to Nebraska’s Brandon Reilly despite the fact the Cornhuskers receiver appeared to go out of bounds on his own before re-entering the field to catch the pass with just seconds remaining in Lincoln....
Twitter Favorites Had To Die So That Twitter Could Live
Today, Twitter turned all your faves into likes, swapping out a star for a heart. This represents a huge and important paradigm shift in the world of technology and culture at large. Haha, okay. You got me! None of this shit matters. None of it! Or not to you, anyway....
ACC Suspends Officiating Crew That Allowed Miami To Beat Duke
The Atlantic Coast Conference has suspended both the on-field officiating crew and the replay official for allowing Miami’s game-winning kickoff return to stand during last night’s game against Duke....
The Ravens Are (Rightfully) Pissed Off About The Officiating
Every team has calls go against it over the course of the game, but two in particular boned the Ravens last night, both in big spots, and both more or less inexplicable. Baltimore WR Steve Smith is not going to let the officials get away with this: “Two stars. That’s what I’m putting on my Yelp.”...
Russell Wilson And Ciara Channel Supposed Sexual Frustration Into Costume Party
R&B singer Ciara’s 30th birthday was Sunday, and to celebrate, her boyfriend Russell Wilson threw her a party. The couple dressed up as Catwoman and Batman, and Wilson strengthened the theory that it’s incredibly difficult to not look like a dork in a full Batman costume. (Sure, you feel cool, and t...
Raccoon Caught Trying To Watch Giants-Eagles Game
Check out this raccoon trying to get a seat at The Linc. Not today, pal. Stadium staff captured the animal before kickoff, and deprived it of watching any of Sam Bradford’s interceptions....
Greg Oden Put Up A Double-Double In His Chinese Basketball Debut
Hey, remember Greg Oden? The former Trail Blazer with two different sized legs? The former top pick is back playing basketball, this time in China with the Jiangsu Dragons and he looks pretty good, albeit it’s still preseason there too. He’ll share go-to duties with Arnett Moultrie, former Sixers wa...
Toronto Mayor Attempts To Ruin Jose Bautista's Bat Flip
Toronto Mayor John Tory went on camera to talk some good-natured shit about Kansas City and the Royals, and then he dumped a giant bucket of mayonnaise on one of the coolest moments in baseball history....
NFL Suspends Official For Clock Screwup In Steelers Game
Side judge Rob Vernatchi has been suspended for one game with pay for failing to notice or correct a running clock after a touchback, a mistake that ultimately ran 18 seconds off the clock before the Steelers’ game-winning drive....
The Steelers Mysteriously Lost 18 Seconds On Their Final Drive
As a reasonable person who wants sports to be fair and knows they wouldn’t exist otherwise, I’m so glad the Steelers didn’t lose the game because of 18 seconds that mysteriously disappeared from the clock before their game-winning drive. As a fan of drama and controversy, I wish the Steelers had got...
Timofey Mozgov Is Still Really Good At Local Commercials
Timofey Mozgov has already produced a body of work that would secure him a spot in the Athlete Local Commercial Hall Of Fame, if such a thing existed. Which is to say that Mozgov didn’t need to cut this spot for Sky Zone in order to prove his greatness, but he did it anyway, because that’s what lege...
The Caucasian's Guide To Black Churches
Eleven a.m. Sunday morning was once called “the most segregated hour in America,” but as the nation becomes more diverse, so do its institutions of worship. Steeped in traditions passed down since slavery, churches are one of the cornerstones of the African-American community, and navigating the sub...
The Seahawks Know They Got Away With One
Now that we’ve had a night to sleep on the Seahawks’ controversial 13-10 win over the Lions, sealed by an uncalled “illegal bat,” let’s try to process what we saw—even as the NFL figures out what it can do to fix a very bad rule....