Giuseppe Rossi was born in New Jersey, but decided to try his hand with the Italian National Team (his father is an Italian citizen). After a great first half from USA, Rossi and the Italians turned on the juice and were easily able to dispatch of the Americans, who were down a player due to a terrible red card call in the first half. Here are your highlights....

GO BACK TO JERSEY! In all seriousness, the kid looks amazing and the U.S. Team should find a way to pay him off and get him back home. As far as the game goes, I enjoyed the entire contest, but I honestly had to mute it in the second half because the fans decided to continuously play these horns that turned the stadium into what sounded like a beehive.

I'm sure most people didn't have much hope for USA, given the group that they're in, but I thought they had a shot there for a second. One of these days, we'll be allowed to play Italy with eleven players.

I don't know if the dump button guy at CBS was asleep or what, but the network aired a hilarious exchange between Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo and ref Steve Welmer on Saturday. Welmer hurt his foot during State's game against Kansas, and CBS decided to air the ref's cursing explanation to Izzo. Well the fun didn't just stop there, a spliced in clip that followed offered even more cursing as Izzo explained what they should do with the guy....

"We have to put his ass in a chair at half-court."- Tom Izzo

Hilarious yes, but what the heck was CBS thinking by airing two separate curses during the replay? I love the reaction from Verne Lundquist after the clip too. Go to break! Go to break!

MSU-Kansas Mic Up Mishap (World Of Issac)

If you happened to watch the Bills epic collapse against the Jets, then you probably saw the Shaun Ellis fumble recovery to give the Jets the lead. What you may not have seen is the referee on that play getting absolutely destroyed during Ellis' romp to the endzone. The Sports Hernia provides the photographic evidence, but here's video of said destruction....

Yep, that's a broken nose. But at least he didn't get completely blindsided for no reason like this ref during a High School game in Texas last week.

Ed Hochuli's nose would've broken the field (The Sports Hernia)

Well the refs are at it again. With the Steelers down three, and under a minute to play, Ben Roethlisberger made a great move to avoid tacklers and hit Santonio Holmes at the goal line. The call on the field was that, while his body was in, the ball never crossed the plane. Well it was obviously reviewed, and after a lengthy viewing, the ref said that it was indeed a touchdown.

The problem though, is the fact that there was no way that visual evidence was strong enough to overturn the call. At least in my opinion. Take a look for yourself....

And with that call, the Steelers win the AFC North and have all but secured the 2nd seed in the playoffs and have a shot at the top seed with a win over Tennessee next weekend.

I was out of the loop this past weekend, and I apologize if you've already seen this, but this referee from the LSU-USC game needed a spot here. Watch closely as this unknown official first appears to be avoiding USC QB, Steven Garcia, but then just decides to run him over for some reason....

I honestly wish that players on my teams could tackle that well. I'm sure there's a good explanation for this, but at the present time, I have no idea what that could be. Just plain weird.

(Thanks to LO for the vid)

What a wild game between the Chargers and Broncos yesterday. It had it all. Lots of TDs, potential overtime, a terrible call by the ref (shame on you Eddie Gunz) and a gutsy call to win it by Mike Shanahan. Of course all of this confuses one Dick Enberg. In the excitement, Dick forgets that there's still time left on the clock after the Broncos go for two and get the lead with :24 seconds left....

Yeah, I'm sure you don't have multiple views of the game clock throughout the stadium or on the monitor right in front of you. The funny thing though is that it would have been a great call to end a game if that's actually what had happened. Instead Enberg sounds like he has no idea what's going on, which is probably a pretty accurate statement.

If I asked you to guess the one ref you wouldn't want on a game with a potential Game Seven looming on the horizon in the NBA....who would you say? I'm willing to bet the 70% of you would probably say Joey Crawford. Well guess who's the lead official for Game Six in Boston tonight! Ding Ding Ding!!!

1. Joey Crawford: Crawford comes in pretty high on the homer scale, but after the whole Tim Duncan scandal and the no call on Fisher against Barry earlier in the Playoffs, the guy is just unpredictable. 32-23-3 ATS (Against the Spread).

Good For: Lakers, You would think his "Homer Ranking" would help out the Celtics, but Boston is just 2-2 in the Playoffs with him as a ref. Want to know what the Lakers record is with him calling their Playoff Games? 6-0!

2. Eddie F. Rush: Comes in at number fourteen on the homerism charts with a record of 42-33-1 ATS for home teams.

Good For: The Celtics, Boston is 4-1 this Playoff season with Rush doing their games.

3. Bennett Salvatore: I don't know one person on the planet that would be happy if Salvatore was calling their game. He's one of the worst officials in any Sport, and is so inconsistent it's a joke. BS was also the official that called a charge on Paul Pierce pump fake three where he leaned into Rodney Stuckey during Game Six of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Good For: Coin Flip, The Celtics are 2-2 during Playoff games he reffed this season, and he comes in about the top third of the Homer scale at 42-36-0 ATS. The word your looking for is "unpredictability".
_______________________

Last game the refs called a pretty good game, but the stats pointed to the Lakers winning Game Five and they did. You just know the NBA wants a Game Seven but there doesn't seem to be any signs pointing to a Lakers advantage in the ref assignment. The only overwhelming statistic is the Lakers record with Crawford calling their games. To go 6-0 with one ref during the Playoffs is virtually impossible. Again, this is not a science, but still interesting to look at.

NBA Referees “Homer” Sorted By ATS (Covers)
Referee assignments for Game 6 (Boston.com)

Well here's an interesting twist to the whole "NBA is Fixed"/Tim Donaghy mess. I don't know if this is a David Stern inspired angle but Dan Wetzel has decided to talk to David Stern about that local announcers might have a role in this whole NBA mess.

“Sometimes you listen to a game from both (local) feeds and you’d think you were listening to completely different games,” NBA commissioner David Stern said Thursday.

The way the NBA is consumed by fans is mostly on the local level, either via television or radio. Night after night these days, fans hear that their team is being jobbed by officials; not just losing out on all 50-50 calls or the unfortunate victims of human error but downright cheated out of victories.

“I would say that there’s a lot of officiating done by local announcers,” Stern said

The broadcasters didn’t cause Tim Donaghy, the FBI investigation or the NBA’s current challenge with conspiracy catcalls from fans. The NBA has issues it needs to address; in some ways the league had made its own trouble.

But in a number of markets, the announcers create a distrusting environment. While there are plenty of exceptions, on many broadcasts objectivity isn’t a concern. Bias may come more from the color commentator, often a former player, and not the straighter play-by-play person, but the result is the same.

I urge you to read the whole article because it's a great read, and Wetzel even got some great quotes from Mike Breen regarding the issue. I find it hard to believe that local announcers could have any lasting effect in regards to the refereeing issue, but I guess anything is possible these days. Sure homeristic announcers put some spin on the game, but most (not all) NBA fans are smart enough to pick out these moments.

In the end David Stern just has to suck it up and get a third party to address it. Everyone knows this but it seems as if the NBA is too stubborn to admit it. I really hope this isn't just a diversionary tactic because as much as I pick on homer announcers they're there for a reason. Fans identify with them and at this point no ref should be getting the benefit of the doubt.

Refs caught in crosshairs of biased announcers (Yahoo)

Since these posts always seem to spark up some interest let's try again for Game Four. Drumroll Please!

Joe DeRosa: An extremely favorable ref for home teams and in fact leads all referees with a 51-27-2 ATS (Against the Spread).

Good For: Lakers, Derosa called three Celts Playoffs games this year and they were 2-1 but his homerism record speaks for itself.

Tom Washington: Comes in at number four on the homerism charts with a record of 48-31-1 for home teams.

Good For: The Lakers, Celts are 0-2 in Playoff games he's called for them this postseason.

Steve Javie: He's one of the most despised referees by hometown fans because he never cuts the host team any slack. Comes in 59 of 62 on the same ratings scale as the above two refs were measured on.

Good For: The Celtics, The Celtics are 2-1 during Playoff games he reffed this season, and one of those victories came at home against the Hawks (Game Seven)

So who looks good? Obviously the Lakers but as Fanhouse points out, Javie is the lead official so he's got the final word. Should be interesting, but let's hope they stay out of the mix for good. And at least Steve Javie is kind to babies right? That has to count for something.

Here Are Your Referees for Game 4: Which Team Has the Edge? (Fanhouse)
Referee assignments for tonight (Boston.com)
NBA Referees “Homer” Sorted By ATS (Covers)

Here is the ref assignments for Game Three Tonight. The last time I posted the refs ahead of the game was the Joey Crawford non-call on Derek Fisher when he fouled (or didn't foul) Brent Barry in Game Six of the Western Conference Finals. Hey, well lookie here! Via Boston.com....

Official 1: Joey Crawford

In April 2007, NBA commissioner David Stern suspended Crawford for his conduct toward the Spurs' Tim Duncan. Crawford ejected Duncan from San Antonio's loss to the Mavericks after calling a second technical foul on the Spurs star while he was laughing on the bench. Duncan contended that Crawford challenged him to a fight.

The Celtics are 2-1 in '08 postseason games in which Crawford was part of the officiating crew.

Official 2: Bennett Salvatore

Salvatore made a controversial call against Celtics captain Paul Pierce late in the third quarter of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals, when Pierce pumped faked Rodney Stuckey, leaned in, and hit a long three-pointer. But Salvatore called a charge on Pierce and a potential four-point play turned into a Detroit possession.

The Celtics are 3-2 in '08 postseason games in which Salvatore was part of the officiating crew.

Official 3: Mark Wunderlich

Wonderlich, along with Crawford and Joe Forte, was part of the three-man crew that did not call of foul on Lakers guard Derek Fisher for banging into San Antonio's Brent Barry on the final play of the Spurs’ 93-91 loss in Game of Game 4 in the Western Conference finals. The NBA later admitted that it appears a foul should have been called on Fisher.

Obviously since this comes from Boston.com the article is writing in regards to them, but it never ceases to amaze me how David Stern puts the most controversial refs in some of the most important Playoff games. Not only is Joey Crawford involved but if you need a home team to win a game there's no better ref to choose than Bennett Salvatore. From a Bill Simmons column back in June of 2006.....

"I don't think the NBA fixes games, but they have one trick that they use for situations like this -- when they want a home team to win the game, they invariably assign the worst referees possible to that game for two reasons: Bad referees have a tendency to get swayed by the home crowd, and bad referees never have the stones to make a tough call on the road.

Then I went on to list the worst six referees. Here was No. 2 on the list:

"2. Bennett Salvatore -- Always one of the worst, he took it to another level this season. If you see him on the court at the start of the game, get ready for about six technicals, two near-brawls and both coaches having to be restrained by their assistants at various times."

Dunh! Dunh! Dunh!

Referee assignments for tonight (Boston.com)

All pregame long we heard that Joey Crawford reffing this game shouldn't be an issue. Greg Popovich said it, Charles Barkley said it, Kenny Smith said it, and Marv and Doug both said it. Well guess what....it was.

We'll leave aside the Lakers unbelievable journey to get to this point (up 7 and on the line with :50 left), and just go to the controversial videotape....

Unbelievable. I don't see how you look and that and not make a call. It's one thing if Barry got away and got off a clean look, but with 2.1 seconds left you HAVE to call that. I warned everyone yesterday afternoon that San Antonio wasn't happy and you can bet they're going to be livid tomorrow. The Duncan incident, The Popovich poking incident in Game Five of the Hornets Series, and now this.

Wow. I just don't know what else to say.

The conspiracy theorists are going to love this one. Joey Crawford has been officially assigned to lead the crew calling Game Four in San Antonio tonight. Crawford, you may remember, was the ref who ejected Tim Duncan for laughing last year and earlier in these Playoffs poked Coach Greg Popovich with his finger during a disagreement. Via San Antonio Express-News....

It's the news every Spurs fan has dreaded — the team is fighting for its season tonight in Game 4, and blowing the whistle will be one Joey Crawford.

If the NBA wants to give the conspiracy theorists ammunition, this is certainly the way to do it. The pregame sports-talk chatter is sure to be full of comments such as, "See? The last thing the league wants is the Spurs back in the finals. They want Celtics-Lakers so bad, they can taste it. Otherwise, why would they assign Crawford to this game?"

Well, the silver lining is, if we're gonna get Joey, it's best to get him at home. Statistically, he's a Top 10 homer — eighth on the chart to be exact. And since some of the folks ahead of him don't appear to be working the playoffs (although the top homer, Joe DeRosa, did Game 3 Sunday), this would look like a good break, absent his history with the Spurs.

I can already hear Spurs fans moaning if they lose this game. However, with the Lakers on the verge of reaching the Finals for the first time since 2004....I wouldn't be surprised if you saw one or two questionable calls if the game is close. You would think that Stern would nip this in the bud, and have Crawford only call Eastern Conference games, but I remember him being asked following the "finger poking" game and he all but danced around the question. Very interesting.

At least the game isn't in Utah.

Here comes Joey! (San Antonio Express-News)
Study Says Race Skews Referee Calls in the NBA, Professor Goes to Vegas to Prove It (Fanhouse)

I hadn't seen this April 4 clip anywhere so I thought I would share. If you've seen it elsewhere please accept my apologies. You know the drill.....Wait for it.....Waaaaaait for it......

So awesome on so many levels. First, he jumped and hit him with a flying elbow. Awesome. Second, the bullpen catcher was the one trying to stop him. Awesome. Third, he was out. Awesomest (yes I know that's not a word)! Milton Bradley would be proud my Taiwan brother.

(Via LOT D)

See these are the things I actually want to hear. It's already 10pm on a Sunday and if your kids are up to hear and audible F-bomb by an umpire (after AJ Pierzynski let's a fastball get by) then I don't know why to tell you.

Umprire from Awful Announcing on Vimeo.

I'm not saying people getting hit in their head is/was awesome, but....that was awesome. It's like something you would say when you just got knocked out...fuuuuuuuuck. I would actually pay money to watch an AFV type show with athletes and umpires getting hit by pitches, just to hear what they'd say. Good stuff ESPN....leave the mics open! Screw the FCC!

I know I make fun of Duke every chance I get but this just blew my mind. The Blue Devils lost to Wake Forest tonight and in the process the referees didn't just give Wake the advantage in Free Throws (+13)....they fouled out every Duke starter by the end of the game.


Yep....that's all five starters. I don't think I've ever seen that in my lifetime. Amazing.

If you haven't been watching Pitt is handling West Virginia and should be killing them at this point. The problem is that on two occasions officials called phantom holding penalties and added a non-interference call immediately following one of the holdings. The first holding call came on a TD and here's the video on the former two calls....

Pitt somehow hung on and that's yet another #2 to go down. And with Missouri's impending loss to Oklahoma coming in the next 30 minutes we're going to be looking at an OSU-Georgia Championship game. One of the greatest season's ever is going to end with the shittiest finale of all time.

It's never happening, but here's another vote for Playoffs.

This has already been everywhere, but it deserves a sport here as well. This is Referee Walt Ron Cherry explaining a personal foul during the MD-NC State game on Saturday. Enjoy!

Found at Mister Irrelevant, but thanks for everyone who emailed this in.

Update: Here's the original giving him the business video that everyone is referring to. The downward punch is by far the best part. Thanks to C for sending it my way.