Friday, October 26, 2007

Embarrassment in Edmonton

I decided to write this after getting home from watching the Roughrider "win" tonight. In the future when I need an example of why I think the CFL is an inferior game - I will have to look no further than the holding call on Mike Maurer on the game winning field goal tonight.

It was one of the worst penalty calls in CFL history - and that's saying something. And quite honestly the CFL and all its fans should be embarrassed. The fact that Andre Proulx might have an important role to play in a meaningful game - like, say a playoff game - is just terrifying.

You can hate me and threaten me all you want but no self-respecting member of the "Rider Nation" can take pride in that "win". It was a garbage call made by someone who is clearly so inept at his job he should be collecting unemployment. But I don't fault the Roughriders in all of this, they were simply the beneficiaries of total ineptitude.

Did Proulx feel like he owed the Roughriders a call after botching the B.C and Hamilton games so badly? Did he have money on the game? There doesn't seem to be any other explanation.

Sean Fleming kicked a game-winning field goal tonight and you will never convince be otherwise (nevermind that it was his last game in Edmonton after 16 years). The fact that Mike Maurer is strong enough to block Tad Kornegay with one hand is not a penalty. I would suggest to Mr. Proulx that he get out of Edmonton immediately and never go back.

The fact that Glen Suitor said after the game that Mike Maurer would be wearing 'goat-horns' is just a spineless cop-out. I think Jock Climie was upset about the call but I couldn't hear what he was saying.

As a fan of football I'm not going to even try and express tonight how upset it makes me to see a referee decide a game like Proulx did tonight. So I'm just going to bed.

6 comments:

Jeff K said...

Disgusted...absolutely disgusted. As an Edmonton fan who has always appreciated having the best kicker in the league in Fleming, that call actually made me sick to my stomach. I knew there was a slim chance that Edmonton was going to make the playoffs, but I still had that “you never know, it could happen” attitude. Then comes one of the worst calls I have ever seen.

The thing is, it isn’t even really about Edmonton making the playoffs. In all honesty, I just found out before the game that they were still mathematically in the run. I thought they were out of it a long time ago. When Ray got hurt, my last shred of hope went out the window. The thing that really kills me was the complete destruction of a great CFL moment. An all-star kicker playing his last game in front of his home crowd after a long and great career kicks a game winning field goal to win the game. It is just like Big Dumb Walby said, that could have been his favorite game. As a kicker, I can’t really imagine a better way to exist…or at least not with the record Edmonton has. But this moment was stolen from Fleming, and if it makes me this sick, I can only imagine how he feels.

As Luke pointed out, Refs shouldn’t decide games like this. Just look at the NHL (which is no great example of good refing, I must admit), when the game is on the line, they generally put the whistles away. The only time there should be a penalty called on a game winning kick is if somebody lays down a Chuck Norris round house kick to an opponent…and even then. I would also like to think that the ref should have been aware of the increased magnitude of this play in that it was Fleming’s last game…but I guess that is too much to ask.

The sad thing is, there is nothing that can be done about this. Proulx put a sour taste on Fleming’s last game and the CFL on the whole, and there is no punishment or discipline that can reverse that.

Disgusted…plain and simple.

Anonymous said...

Worst call I have ever seen. But can you really expect any better out of Andre Proulx. Week after week he provides us with proof of how inept he is at calling a game. Please god don't let him do a Rider playoff game

Anonymous said...

I was disppointed after the way the whole end of that game played out. I thought and was hoping that flemming was going to miss the feild goal, or that edmonton was just going to try and punt the ball through the endzone.

I would have been overjoyed if the game was won on a rouge. One of my favorite rules of the CFL, right behind the 15 yard penatly for now yards. 5 yds I can understand but 15 come on..

as far as other calls, I may view the world with non-green glasses, but that roughing the passer in OT. Yes he hit him and that probably gets called by any ref. I just don't like the babying of the qb.

Talking to some of the fans after the game, I heard a bunch of the same stuff that can be summarized into. The riders deserved to win that game, they fought back so hard and they were playing with their second stringers. So what if it was a bad call the riders have been on the other end before. Plus they haven't won in edmonton in like 9 years so they deserved it. I just kind of shake my head.

So what does Danny do..or maybe has he already commented on it.. Will players be fined for saying that wasnt a hold and questioning the integrity of the refs.

Or another good question will the msyterious hold be mentioned at all in the LP???

Big T. said...

I've watched the replay at least 2 dozen times and I really wish they could provide a reverse angle of that hold....Upon intial contact Maurer gets his hands up in Kornegay's facemask and if he grabbed on its a penalty....Regardless how many times have the esks been the benefactor of bad calls in this league...I don't really feel all that bad

Big T. said...

Further to my previous comments here is the definition of holding from the CFL rulebook...

Holding is defined as the use of the hands and/or arms to grasp or encircle an opponent. It is illegal at all times, except when a player tackles the ball carrier. Holding hands and locking arms during a scrimmage is prohibited.

Plain and simple it was the right call

Luke said...

Posted on Trebor's behalf:

There are some rules that have no give; time count violation, too many men. most other rules are referee judgements, Did the O-line flinch or was it the D-line that caused the flinch... even that can be sorted out well enough with good sight. How about no yards... was the defender 4.5 yrds away or was he 5 ???
Holding I bleieve if you went by the rulebook, had a robot out there making the calls, It could be called on every play. Of course it's not, there are I guess different severities of hold
also tempo of game could be considered.
By the rules sure it was a hold but for the good of the game, and league a non call would have been the right call.