It’s been another wonderful week in the world of sports. A fake World Cup soccer game, a big story that wasn’t and a fine that sends a message — the wrong one.
1) Last weekend, just before the Cincinnati Bengals improved to 7-2, the National Football League fined the uproariously funny Chad Ochocinco (Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ochoNFLcinco85) $20,000 for waving a dollar at a referee.
Now, the incident that got Ochocinco fined was meaningless — and, of course, funny. During a review of an Ochocinco completion, the receiver waved the bill in the official’s direction, obviously attempting to buy the “right” call.
The NFL didn’t like it much and levied the fine, but it’s not what Ochocinco did as much as what the NFL did that’s scary. If waving a dollar bill near a referee gets a player a $20,000 fine, the the NFL is more worried about the integrity of the officials than putting its stamp on the handle, the No Fun League.
If that kind of thing gets a player a fine, I’d be worried that the NFL is so nervous about its officials that it fears the same thing I do — many of the games are pre-determined in the officials’ locker room.
2) We’ve all seen or heard of Thierry Henry’s hand ball by now. The great French striker grabbed a ball near the goal, dropped it to his feet and set up William Gallas with the goal that sent France to the World Cup and Ireland to the sidelines.
Henry, one of the classiest athletes in sport, admitted his foul and agreed the game should be replayed, but FIFA said, ‘No,” because it had to uphold the integrity of the games played and the officials’ decisions.
That’s a crock of course, but it’s typical. Sport organizations go to the wall for their officials even though nothing lets sports organizations down more than bad officiating.
The no-call call on the obvious hand ball was frighteningly bad (everyone in the stadium saw it except the officials) and it called for only one solution: replays.
To be fair, officials make mistakes. But when they make mistakes at absolutely crucial moments, they need help. And when they’re too stubborn to change their minds on the field, they’d better get all the help they can muster.
It’s time for replays in all sports. Period.
3) The Globe and Mail reported this week that the Phoenix Coyotes could lose $50 million this year. That was supposed to be a story that illustrated how bad things have become in the desert. Only one problem. A loss of $50 million would be a good year for the Coyotes.
As court documents showed last summer, the Coyotes have lost $389 million in the last five years. That’s an average of $77.8 million per season.
A loss of only $50 million would be a fabulous year for that franchise and a feather in the cap of Coyotes president Doug Moss.
4) And in closing, the Chicago Bears refused to talk to the media this week.
Naturally, the media had a collective cry-fest. It’s fun watching grown men act like children.
In the fractured media world of today, to demand that someone speak to you is ridiculous. To think one media outlet is more valuable or more important than any other, is simple arrogance.
For years, we’ve heard the misguided suggestion that without the media no one would care about these teams and back in the day that might have a small ring of truth to it. But the world is much, much different now. If teams aren’t going to allow bloggers and on-line news services into the inner sanctum, why should they give newspapers with circulations that are plummeting, special treatment?
It’s probably in the Bears best interest to just shut up for the rest of the season. The media, meanwhile, should have enough ability to fend for itself.