I'm so official all I need is a whistle

I'm not one to complain about officiating in sports. It's always been a lame cop out for me, complaining about it will not change the call. You know what else doesn't work? Yelling at the television. I've finally reached a tipping point. Umpires, referees, and officials are ruining games. The human element could change the playoff picture for numerous teams in the MLB, NBA, and NFL.

It's 2012 and we have the technology to do something about it. The fact that officials are not held accountable for their blown calls is beyond me. The way that these professional teams continue to sit around and do nothing about it is frustrating.

The NHL is about the only sport that has it right. Unless a terrible penalty is called, the NHL league office is just a phone call away. How hard is that MLB, NBA, NFL?  Instant replay is used in every sport, but it's simply not used enough. How hard would it be for all professional sports to adopt the system that the NHL uses.

Major League Baseball could sure use some help. Did you happen to catch some of the blown calls by Tim Welke this season?

April 22, 2012. Tim Welke was umpiring a game in Detroit between the Tigers and Rangers. In the 11th inning of a 2-2 ball game, Rangers utility infielder Alberto Gonzalez bunted for a successful suicide squeeze that clearly hit him in the right knee. Home plate umpire Tim Welke said, "We did not see the ball hit anybody on the field.We called what we saw, and we didn't see him get hit."

I guess it would have taken too long for the umpires to go check a replay After the game, Tim Welke checked the replay and said the ball went off Gonzalez's knee. Tough break for the Tigers, they lost 3-2. Now imagine if the Tigers do not make the playoffs by a half game. Tim Welke just changed the history books.

May 2, 2012. During the Colorado Rockies 8-5 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tim Welke added to his resume of blown calls. In the 6th inning, Welke ruled Dodgers third baseman Jerry Harriston out at first after hitting a hard grounder to Chris Nelson who made a diving play. One problem. Rockies first baseman Todd Helton was a good three feet off the bag. Look for yourself below.

http://youtu.be/goZAKhjG15k

The video doesn't lie Tim. Major League Baseball did nothing about it.

National Basketball Association

Poor officiating in the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat series is fueling the talks of conspiracy. After the controversy over last weeks NBA draft lottery, (The NBA-owned New Orleans Hornets got the #1 pick), the NBA is being questioned. Boston Celtics fans can't help but complain about the "home cooking" that the  star-studded Miami Heat are getting. Going into Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, the Celtics were not happy about some of the terrible calls they were subject to in the first two contests.

The play-by-play from overtime of Game 2 reads: "MISS Rondo 1' Driving Layup, Haslem REBOUND. Haslem 1' Dunk (James). TIMEOUT."


Here is what really happened. 


http://youtu.be/KmGTDBR2ye4


Rondo was outraged, so were NBA fans around the league. How can we allow calls like this to happen? 


I didn't forget about you National Football League. 


Back in January, in a playoff game played between the Detroit Lions and New Orleans Saints, some of the calls were so egregious the NFL had to come out and apologize the following day, admitting there were multiple blown calls. Did I say it was a playoff game? Yes, it was. 


In the second quarter, Saints quarterback Drew Brees dropped back to throw a pass, when he was hit by Lions defensive end Willie Young, clearly causing a fumble. Justin Durant picked it up for the Lions. He would have scored on the return but one official blew his whistle. Another official ruled the play a fumble, which was the correct call. However, because of the inadvertent whistle, the play was ruled over and no return was allowed. 


The referees not only botched the call by blowing the whistle and preventing a return, but they also applied the rule incorrectly after the initial mistake was made. Here is the explanation from the NFL. 


Profootballtalk.com wrote: "Referee Tony Corrente ruled the play was a fumble and a recovery by Detroit," the league said in a statement emailed Sunday night to PFT. "However, during the play and before Detroit recovered the fumble, another official blew the whistle believing it was an incomplete pass. Because the ruling on the field was a fumble, and the whistle came before the recovery, the play is dead because of the inadvertent whistle and the Saints should have retained possession of the ball. New Orleans would then have had the choice to put the ball in play at the spot where possession was lost or to replay the down. Inadvertent whistles are not reviewable."

The play could have changed the outcome of the quarter as the Lions would have gone up 21-7 if the whistle was not blown, barring the extra point. The Lions ended up losing the game. Some can't help but argue the Lions chances to win would have increased tremendously, if the right call was made. 

We, as fans of sport, need to voice our opinion. These calls are going to diminish the integrity of every professional sport that does not use instant replay, just to be sure. It certainly wont kill us to admit as humans, we make mistakes. With so many cameras and different angles available in the modern era, why should we have to live with that?