http://tbogg.firedoglake.com/2012/09/24/good-enough-for-goodell/
I went to bed before the MNF game ended in farce or tragedy (depending on whether you live in Wisconsin or Washington State).
It was apparent from the pre-season that this was a bad idea, but Goodell and his Galtian pals have decided that getting rid of the refs pensions is worth destroying the credibility of their business.
Genius.
If you think about it, two things stick out.
First, the NFL can afford to pay their refs pensions. This isn't a struggling business trying to make ends meet. We are talking about a couple of hundred people. Pay the damn pensions. This is about "unions suck" and nothing more.
Second, NFL players are about as competitive a group of people as you are likely to find. They have said that they are working every play for the slightest advantage, because an interception vs a tipped pass in September might be the difference between a Super Bowl and missing the playoffs.
In other words, NFL players abide by the same ethos as Wall Street traders. Win now, pay later. You have to shoot your knee up with cortisone to play every Sunday? OK, you'll be crippled at 45, but win now baby. You have to leverage a company out the wazoo to realize a quarterly report that will vest your stock options? Go for it.
When competition is this fierce, you need refs.
John Abraham - an All Pro defensive end for my Falcons - was arrested for refusing to leave the scene of a potential suicide jumper. I don't know why he wouldn't leave the scene, but let's assume he has an emotional stake of some sort in the jumper.
For THAT he gets arrested, because the police in this country brook no shit at all. You can barely look sideways at a cop without getting the full alpha male treatment. And if you're black, expect a tasing.
But Wall Street and the NFL don't need someone to vigorously and professionally enforce the rules because.....
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