I am actually referring to the NFL officiating and NFL offices that levy fines on players for offenses that just did not occur.  It seems to me that it is almost commonplace now that you are going to get bad officiating.  And I don't mean 1 or 2 bad calls or penalties during the whole slate of games for the week, I mean during each and every game.  There seem to be WAAAAY too many calls that are helping decide the outcome of games and it is a trend that I hate and IMHO is going the wrong way. 

I'm not only singling out the over-protection of the QB although that is becoming such a farce that it is starting to ruin the game.  I'm talking about plays where the ref thinks he saw something but never ACTUALLY saw it and makes a bad call.  I.E.  The Alex Brown play where he took down Kevin Smith for a loss and made a great play but then when of their O-linemen turns to the ref and motions for a facemask the ref throws a late flag.  Although the game ended up well out of hand, that penalty helped the Lions score a TD on the opening drive and helped establish some momentum for them in the 1st half. 

There are numerous bad plays/calls that are occurring each week where the refs are influencing the outcome of the game and they are in error.  Some calls are made and fit within the rules & that is fine the refs need to make those calls bc they are part of the rules.  However, it just seems there are lots of calls that are made where the refs are flat-out wrong.  I can count several -at least one in every Bears game and several more across the league.

Also the fact that the NFL is fining Alex Brown for his sack of Stafford is incomprehensible.  They are calling it a horse collar and IIRC he brought Stafford down by his jersey & by definition that is not a horse collar.  I do not understand this and it pisses me off bc it was a clean play. 

I know this is more of a rant but I wanted to see if others felt the same way and also saw the trend of bad officiating in the same light that I have.  I just feel that it has become glaringly awful and it takes away from my enjoyment of the game.

Mark Buehrle just tossed a perfect game against the Tamp Bay Rays.  I know that it is the White Sox and all but WOW, he has really been pitching well for them and a perfect game is quite an accomplishment.  There has not been a perfect game tossed sine the 2004 season. 

Kudos and congrats to Buerhle and the White Sox fans.  I think that he has been a class act for them and a hell of a pitcher.  Coming into this season, I really thought his best days were behind him but I guess not.

It has become apparent that we cannot possibly do this without him.  Ever since he went off to get married and on his honeymoon the Cubs have managed to win one game.  He pointed this out a few days ago but he continues to remain conspicuously absent & the Cubs continue to dissapoint.

Coincidence !??!??   I think not.  So here I am putting out an APB for DaBard to make his presence known at the BCB, stat !!!   This dream season has been derailed by his selfish marriage and subsequent travails to far away lands.  it is time for him to right the ship.  DaBard, come fix this !!

sarcasm -(just in case)

I was just taking a look at the schedule the rest of the way, in particular, the remaining road games.  I think the Cubs are on their way to taking their winning ways with them away from Wrigley. 

They are currently at 26-30 on the road so in order to get over .500 by the end of the season they have to play .600 ball and go 15-10 the rest of the way.  I think this is certainly achievable for this team, especially if they play up to their potential.  I also think that they may have to play that good to win the division considering their schedule vs the easier schedule that the Brewers have the rest of the way.

I was just thinking about this b/c the road record seems to be the only "weakness" that has bothered me about this team until the Massacre at Miller Park & I was hoping that momentum would carry them the rest of the way.  What are your thoughts out there?

I hate to bring this up but I was deeply offended by her comments as a US born Palestinian who loves everything about this country and never takes it for granted.  Here is a transcript of the comments she made the morning of 6/25/08 on the Mike & Mike show on ESPN radio.

It's sort of like, you know, and this isn't -- I'm prefacing this by saying this is in no way an analogy to sports because I know we live in a hypersensitive society -- but I remember a while ago I was reading an article in the New York Times about Palestinian suicide bombers and I just remember being struck by the notion that from the point of birth, people in Palestine are taught to think that dying in the name of God is a good thing.

They grow up wanting to be suicide bombers. So bringing it back to sports -- and again, I'm not making the comparison or the analogy -- if a young talented basketball player is being told at an early age that they are destined, it is a good thing to focus on basketball and not worry about what's going on in the classroom, why are any kids going to be worried about what's going on in the classroom?

I have written emails to ESPN and others to express how disappointed I am in these comments and would like to ask if you would take the time to do the same.  I want to make it clear that I, in no way condone such violence and I am not defending suicide bombers.  However, at the same time, at no point in my upbringing or that of my siblings or that of my cousins or anyone else that I know that is Palestinian either here or back in the Middle East have we been taught to become suicide bombers.

She has issued an apology but it just apologizes for bringing it into the discussion and not at all for disparaging a whole nationality of people.  The trascript of the apology is here as well:

"Hi, this is Bonnie Bernstein, and I'd just like to take a minute to apologize for making a connection this morning on Mike and Mike between Palestinians and the adults who influence the thinking of many young NBA prospects. I was a student athlete who was lucky enough to have part of my college expenses paid for by a scholarship, and so I've always embraced the importance of higher education.

That said, it upsets me greatly -- as I think you can tell, if you heard the interview -- when I hear about adults telling impressionable kids, 'Don't worry about school, your future is in the NBA.' These stories just lend credence to the notion one is often a product of his environment, and while I emphasized that twice during our discussion, in hindsight I realize it was simply a mistake to bring Palestine into the discussion at all, and for that, I apologize again."

Lesson learned: Religion and politics have no place on public airwaves at a sports network. That's definitely a credo I will live by from this point forward. Thanks and have a great day."

I know this is really off topic but I felt so horrible hearing such a blanket statement made that I wanted to vent some here and I hoped that some of you can help me make a statement. 

I am Palestinian-American and I am a part of this American society.  There are mmillions like me that are solid citizens in our country.  I have friends of all faiths and religions, have lived with them in college and afterward, & can get along with eceryone.  There are problems in the Middle East that may never be resolved but it doesn't mean that it is right to cast such statements against a whole group of people.

Thanks for allowing me to speak about this & if Al feels this is not an appropriate discussion, I guess I can understand.  I don't really know any of you but I do know from being a member for a couple years that most of you are kind and respectful and there may be some of you that just don't care. However, if you would like to send an email to ESPN, I have included some emails as well.

mikeandmike@espnradio.com, Scott.A.Shapiro@espn.com, john.walsh@espn.com,  jim.roberts@espnradio.disney.com, keith.goralski@espn.com,   radio@espn.com,

Thanks

Now, that we know Zambrano's injury is minor, we can all exhale a sigh of relief.  Yeah, he is going on the DL for a short stint but it could have been much worse.

In light of that, I was thinking about how big Soto's leadership has been.  If it were not for him spotting that there was something wrong with Big Z and having the guts to motion to the bench, we might be talking about a season ending injury.  That took some guts (I know it was pointed out before but I'll say it again) and he may have saved the season for our ace.  Anyone else think that his leadership and presence behind the plate has exceeded ALL expectations ....??

Just wanted to share something with everyone & see what you thought about it.  I created a custom T-shirt that I think is pretty cool.  I am not making anything off of it so I am not asking anyone to buy anything ... I just want opinions.  So, if you get a chance take a look at it & let me know how ya like it.  Thanks. I hope the link works... if not just search for "Believe Cubbie Blue" in the community gallery.

http://www.customizedgirl.com/cgi-bin/main.cgi?sid=fc46169918c44f7f7dde739f0b9b7849&cm=f5576eac5 a504e2ef7cbba24859cb671_300627