NFL Replacement Refs Becoming Issue

[Bob_R]

These replacement refs are nothing short of a joke. They're not qualified and the game is too fast for them. I think we'll see the real refs for Week 5. ** crosses fingers **

[sadaist]

As a Seahawks fan, I'm obviously conflicted about this....

I want my team to win. But I'd rather it wasn't due to incompetent referees. Just like I didn't like them "losing" Super Bowl XL due to an incompetent ref - and that fool wasn't even a SCAB.

The big irony of today though - KKKoch funded union haters Scott Walker and Eddie Munster (both from Wisconsin) are suddenly big fans of the referees union

Public vs private. HUGE difference.

[Nickdfresh]

NFL replacement referee who blew touchdown call in Green Bay Packers-Seattle Seahawks game is a full-time banker
Scab ref Lance Easley says National Football League won't let him talk about his blown call at end of Seattle and Green Bay Monday Night game

Even the Lingerie Football League piled on, revealing that some of the scab refs weren’t qualified to work its games

“Due to several on-field occurrences of incompetent officiating, we chose to part ways with a crew which apparently is now officiating in the NFL,” said Mitch Mortaza, commissioner of the female bra-and-panty league. “We have a lot of respect for our officials, but we felt the officiating was not in line with our expectations.”
...

[sadaist]

Cosmo Kramer always wanted to be a banker.....

[PETE'S BROTHER]

Tomorrow, I'm going to walk up to M.D. Jennings' car, put my hand on the hood of it, and then see if I can get a court of law to rule that it's legally mine.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

The NFL is close to a new deal now with the old refs....

[PETE'S BROTHER]

kinda close

[Little Texan]

It's a done deal...the lockout is over and the real officials will be back this weekend.

Link

NFL officials agree to deal with league, will return this weekend
NFL executive Greg Aiello confirms that an agreement was reached Wednesday night after back-to-back days of marathon negotiations in the wake of a blown call Monday night that cost the Packers a win over the Seahawks.

By Sam Farmer

9:05 PM PDT, September 26, 2012

The deal is done: The regular NFL officials are coming back for Week 4.

NFL executive Greg Aiello tweeted: "Pleased to report that an agreement has been reached with the NFL Referees Association."

Multiple reports, including one on NFL.com citing a league source, said a deal was reached Wednesday night after back-to-back days of marathon negotiations that were spurred by a blown call that cost the Green Bay Packers a win over the Seahawks in Seattle on Monday night.

The deal was first reported by ProFootballTalk.com. The NBC-owned website cited Jim Daopoulos, a longtime NFL official and supervisor of officials who joined NBC as an analyst this season.

The ProFootballTalk.com report said a crew is being assembled to work Thursday night's game between the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens and on Friday the regular officials will travel to Dallas to retrieve their equipment and receive their game assignments for Sunday and Monday. The same crews as last season will be working together this season.

According to reports, the pension issue was resolved with the existing defined-benefit plan remaining in place for five years until the officials are rolled over into a 401(k) plan.

Ending a lockout that lasted nearly four months -- and three weeks of pins-and-needles tension with replacements -- the NFL on Wednesday night reached a labor agreement with its officials, presumably in time for the regular crews to work this weekend’s games.

The crisis reached a flashpoint Monday night, when the Green Bay Packers were denied a victory against the Seahawks in Seattle on the basis of a wrong call on a Hail Mary pass.

That turned up the heat on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and team owners to find a solution that largely concerned whether the officials could maintain their defined-benefit pension plans.

During the first three weeks of the regular season, the league came under heavy criticism from fans, players, and even normally friendly broadcast partners.

“I hope it happens soon,” St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford said Wednesday. “I just don’t think it’s fair to the fans, I don’t think it’s fair to us as players to go out there and have to deal with that week in and week out.”

The replacement officials were mostly culled from the small college, junior college and high school ranks. Unlike when replacements were used for Week 1 of the regular season in 2001, major college officials watched this labor fight from the sidelines, in support of their NFL officiating brethren.

After news broke early Wednesday that a deal was at hand, Scott Green, a negotiator for the NFL Referees Assn., informed the officials in an email that the suggestion was premature and that talks were still underway.

Goodell participated in the negotiations, which took place over four days last week, during the weekend, as well as marathon sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday. A federal mediator also assisted in the talks.

[PETE'S BROTHER]

“I have been wounded but not yet slain. I shall lie here and bleed awhile. Then I shall rise and fight again. The title of champion may from time to time fall to others more than ourselves. But the heart, the spirit, and the soul of champions remains in Green Bay.” – Vince Lombardi. We have bled and now it’s time to fight. Bring on the Saints.

LET'S GO !!!