I bet Slappy was that kid in school that everybody hated because he cried for attention over the slightest provocation during rough play at recess. Y'know, the kid that made the teachers tell you to stop sledding down the hill made of ice and start making snow angels instead?
Something Wolverines and Spartans should keep an eye on in coming weeks....
A Bigger Flop Than Evan Almighty
By Matthew Zemek
When certain evils persist in the world, one has to continue to bang the drum until important people take notice.
With that said, then, let's say a little more about Hollywood punters seducing referees and conning the zebras... not just into throwing flags, but into making roughing the kicker interpretations instead of the more benign running-into-the kicker rulings.
In the South Carolina-Georgia and Notre Dame-Penn State games, Georgia's and Notre Dame's punters engaged in shameful embellishment of non-hits that were supposedly delivered by punt rushers. Both punters kept their kicking legs extended well after booting the ball, and when the opposing players barely touched them, they abruptly "fell" to the ground.
A roughing penalty should be obvious enough that you don't have to wonder about the punter's acting skills. Punters are vulnerable athletes, but it only makes it that much more outrageous when a punter takes advantage of his physical frailty to trick a referee into throwing a 15-yard flag. If referees wanted to get serious on this issue, they would not only refrain from throwing these flags against punt rushers, but they would throw 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct flags against punters who take dives and embellish minimal to nonexistent contact. It's long past time to crack down on this issue. Thankfully, Georgia and Notre Dame lost in spite of the trickery that was
(shamefully and successfully) displayed by their respective punters.
Cosmic justice, once in a while, actually does prevail.
No comments:
Post a Comment