Fines, Fines, Everywhere There's Fines

Let me tell you about my new biggest pet peeve running wild through sports. Phil Mickelson can't run so that's not it. Tom Brady isn't it either, it's his receivers and system running for him. Drew Bledsoe is crying. It's not Ohio State either, though it's close.

I am absolutely sick of fines being placed on players and coaches for questioning the officiating in ball games. College football coaches are getting fined. College basketball coaches are getting fined. Managers in baseball get fined. The problem is, those making a case in press conferences traditionally have a case.

Lets take last night's football game in to consideration. The Titans really should have been in a position to win last night. For all of you Vince Young haters out there, you're simply idiots. What, he throws two picks in the fourth tyring to force throws to receivers who can't catch? We know they can't catch because that Williams guy had a touchdown go through his hands and Bo Scaife had a ball hit him in the face mask that would have been a big gain.

There are a couple of puzzling topics around Scaife. That drop yes. But he also made an outstanding effort on a one handed attempt between the hash-marks down towards the Denver endzone. The pass was ruled incomplete and with less than two minutes left in the first half, the Titans couldn't challenge by rule. After three replays, it appeared that Scaife in fact made the acrobatic catch, or it was at least close enough for the officials to take a look at it.

You know I am not an advocate for instant replay. But if it's going to be in the game, it needs to be used by the officials correctly. That play was close enough to look at, and it could have been overturned. A touchdown right before the half could have changed the game for the Titans. No dice.

In his press conference after the game, Vince Young made reference to the poor officiating saying something along the lines of the refs played a factor in the game's outcome. Vince isn't what we would call a cunning linguist. His remarks were pretty straight forward and I wouldn't be surprised if he gets fined for his remarks.

Why should he get fined? Most of the time when players and coaches question the officials, they're either right or have a very good case. Aside from Lou Pinella. So when players and coaches get fined by leagues or conferences, the fining institution is sticking for the officials who are making mistakes.

Does this make sense to you? Let's defend the guys making the mistakes from criticism. I mean, the Democrats don't even believe in that one.

I wrote earlier about how officiating has been made lazy by instant replay. I hate instant replay. But if we have to deal with it, we have to make sure we use it correctly. Yesterday it was not used correctly by the officials. Rule states that all reviews must be administered by the booth with two minutes left in the half. Well, I guarantee you that Jeff Fisher would have reviewed that play given the opportunity. Either way, the system failed yesterday and don't be surprised when Young and probably Fisher get smacked with $10,000 for expressing their frustration. The officiating could have cost them a shot at the game. Football is an emotional game, and it's going to cost Young for opening his mouth.