Sunday, April 6, 2008

Sports and the Gambling Refs!!!

I know it will seem like a biased piece but so what, it's my blog and I'll rant if I want to, rant if I want to, rant if I want to. You would rant too if it happened to you! (Sorry Leslie.)

I watched two games this weekend, the Mets against Atlanta in baseball and the Rangers against the Devils in hockey. Both games featured calls that should, if it really mattered cause the ref or umpire who made the call to be barred for life from their respective game and even investigated for gambling and other crimes.

In the Mets game with bases loaded and nobody out the Mets were losing to the hated Atlanta Braves and thier cadre of "in the pocket" umpires by 3 runs. A short fly ball to center dropped in and two runs would score and a rally would be under way. But wait, this is Atlanta and everyone knows they are good so the umpire called the fly ball single an out and even a double play when one of the runners who saw the ball drop in was caught off base. A long argument ensued and when the corrupt umpire realized that the replay would show his ridiculously bought and paid for call as a clear as day bull shit call he reversed his decision. BUT he only allowed the Mets one run instead of the two that surely would have scored had he been a legitimate employee and not a gambling umpire and the rally was effectively over. The Mets lost the game failing to go ahead in the inning and the umpire collected his pay, secure in the knowledge that noone would ever find out he was in the pocket of the Braves.

In the hockey game that appeared to be important between the New York Rangers and the home New Jersey Devils the game was tied late in the third period. The Rangers needed a win in regulation time to go ahead of the Devils and get home ice advantage over, you guessed it, the Devils in the playoffs. A devil skater shot the puck from his ice out of the rink to avoid Rangers pressure with around 4 minutes left in the game. This is by rule a penalty and the Rangers would have a golden chance to win the game. However the 3 referees and umpires officiating the game chose not to call the obvious penalty against the home team and let the game continue. Seconds later a Ranger player was called for a penalty against the skater who got the puck that had left the ice area. In effect the Rangers were penalized for the infraction by the Devils.Will either of these obviously corrupt or in the very least inept refs be punished?

Do pigs fly?

There will be no action against these men and their bookies count on it.

Several years ago the New York Giants in football failed to get into the playoffs because a corrupt gambling ref mad a ridiculously obvious bad call. The Giant fans were audibly upset but to no avail as the hated "Americas Team" (Crock of shit) Dallas Cowboys enjoyed another playoff run and the New York Team went home to lick their wounds. It made the back page headlines but so what? It wasn't until several months after the season ended that a tiny article way back in the double digit pages of the paper announed that a football ref was indited for gambling that Giant fans realized they were scammed and the Dallas Cowboys had used their money wisely. Did anything change? Of course not.

When will professional sports realize their problem and get rid of these piece of shit phoneys?

Obviously never. The fans are the only ones who can make them change. Demand that refs and umps be vetted out and any obvious bullshit calls be investigated. If criminal charges should be brought do so and make the games that reap so much money as to be obscene at least be played on a level and fair playing field!

For anyone who likes their sports
Their friends and all their cohorts
We must all try to dump
A corrupt evil ump
They’re like pimples and real ugly warts.

No comments: