Refs wrong not to allow Locker room to celebrate

College Football

I hate when the officials get involved in a game and help determine the outcome, particularly in a game that’s coming down to the wire. Missouri fans still remember the “fifth down” that helped the Colorado Buffalos beat the Tigers in 1990. Oakland Raiders fans still get angry when watching Charles Woodson come off the corner to sack and force a fumble from New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in the 2002 AFC Playoffs. The fumble was then reviewed and called an incomplete pass because of the “tuck rule.” The Patriots won the game and proceeded to win the Super Bowl that year. Miami Hurricane fans remember the phantom pass-interference call that went against the Hurricanes in the 2002 Fiesta Bowl and helped the Ohio State Buckeyes win the national championship. An official’s call this past Saturday helped determine the outcome of a BYU-Washington game. Washington quarterback Jake Locker scored a touchdown with two seconds left in the game to make the score 28-27, BYU. After Locker scored the touchdown, he threw the ball over his shoulder into the air and went to celebrate with his teammates. He was flagged for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for excessive celebrating. Instead of kicking a 20-yard PAT, Washington, had to kick a 35-yard PAT. The PAT was blocked by BYU. Final score BYU 28, Washington 27. Locker apologized after the game for the celebration, but he didn’t have to. The celebration was not excessive. He simply was excited after scoring a touchdown he thought would send the game into overtime. The officials stated after the game that they had to call the penalty, because the excessive-celebration rule is a “point of emphasis” by the Pac-10 this year. The fact is the officials cost Washington the chance to win the game. Locker wasn’t taunting BYU. The refs did not need to throw the flag, and they should not have thrown it.

NBA

It amazes me why some professional athletes can’t follow the rules. Last week, Mario Chalmers and Darrell Arthur were thrown out of the NBA rookie-transition program after the smell of marijuana and two women were discovered in their room. Even though the room smelled like marijuana, no drugs were found in the room. The two women in the room violated the no-visitors rule. Both players apologized to their teams and denied using marijuana. The fact is this incident should never have happened. All they had to do was abide by the rules, and they would have been fine. These guys are NBA players. The women would have been there after the program was over. If they had waited until after the program, they could have spent as much time with them as they wanted. So now, instead of celebrating that they have made it to the highest basketball league in the world, Chalmers and Arthur are trying to convince people they are good guys who don’t use marijuana. What a start to their NBA careers.