NFL Referee Lockout Is Over - Regular Officials Return This Weekend



Welcome back.

In the wake of the worst call you will ever see in sports and a team being unquestionably robbed of a win, the NFL and the NFL officials’ union started two days of intense negotiations. It appears that these negotiations have been a success, as an eight-year agreement has been reached between the two parties. The NFL referee lockout is now officially over, and the regular officials will return for this weekend’s games.

Several coaches, players and media analysts had strongly voiced their displeasure regarding the replacement officials throughout the season, although Monday night’s game between the Packers and Seahawks is likely what finally made the league cave in. The referees made a blatant wrong call at the end of the game while also missing the most obvious offensive pass interference call you will ever see. Even worse, the officials reviewed the play and still got it wrong. The public outcry after the game was absolutely shocking – current and former players, fans and the media all teed off on the league and the massive failure its replacement officials plan had become.

This tentative deal must be ratified by at least 51 percent of the union’s 121 members, who plan on meeting and voting tomorrow and Saturday in Dallas, TX. Officials were adamant about working out a pension and retirement plan, despite the fact that they are part-time employees of the league. The new tentative plan calls for a salary increase from a league average of $149,000 a year to $173,000 in 2013, with an additional increase to $205,000 by 2019.

Football fans can finally breathe a sigh of relief; however, it is unfortunate it took four games for the NFL to cave. While the regular officials are back, a team like Green Bay still has a loss on its record that shouldn’t be there. The league better hope the Packers go on a run and comfortably make the playoffs – if they finish one game out there will be another PR nightmare. Until then, we can all enjoy football with its proper officials, and hopefully erase the memories of watching failed Lingerie League refs try to officiate NFL games.

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NFL Replacement Refs Make Worst Call In Football History

This was somehow ruled a Seattle TD

Just when it appeared that the NFL replacement referee fiasco couldn’t get any worst, last night happened. The Packers lost to the Seattle Seahawks on what will go down in history as the worst, most egregious, asinine and baffling game-deciding play in the history of football. The Seattle Seahawks were given a victory over the Green Bay Packers when a Packer interception was somehow ruled a touchdown.

On the final play of the game, Seattle had to throw a jump ball in the end zone. Seahawks receiver Golden Tate first shoved the Packers Sam Shields so hard that the cornerback hit the ground. The refs ignored what was the most obvious pass interference call in the league’s history and let the jump ball continue. The Packers M.D. Jennings secured the ball with two hands, then hit the ground and rolled over. Replays showed that he had secure possession against his chest. Yet the refs gave Tate the touchdown, then reviewed the play, and ruled the call stood.

This is the lowest moment in the NFL’s history. The league decided to replace its normal officials with low-level college officials, Arena League failures and even refs from the Lingerie League. The end result? An NFL team was blatantly robbed of a victory. Welcome to the 2012 NFL season, ladies and gentlemen.

The officials’ decision making was baffling. The one closest to the play waved his hands above his head and prepared to signal for a touchback. The other stood there, frozen… and suddenly raised his hands in the hair to signal a touchdown. Even worse, the officials never held a conference to talk about the play. The play went to review, where it was somehow upheld. How does someone not get a line to the referee’s headset and say “for the love of God call that an interception.”

The officials made the worst call in sports history, but blame the NFL for having them out there in the first place. The league got tangled into a nasty labor dispute with its officials, and thought a rag-tag group could officiate NFL football. NFL fans should not put up with this any longer. Why watch a game for three and a half hours when this happens at the end?

The greatest sports league in America, and possibly the world, has turned into a complete and utter joke.

Kansas City News, official kc news site with breaking stories on The Kansas City Royals, Chiefs, charity events, the 2012 MLB All Star Game, weather, sports, MU, KU, ufo sightings, dui checkpoints, Kansas City neighborhoods, nightlife, concerts, the Sprint Center, the Power and Light District and current Kansas City news articles.