The Dolphins Make Me Cry.com - Forums

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000066725/article/nfl-referees-union-agree-to-end-lockout
They will deny Monday's game made the difference, so we will never know how much it did.

Yes, it's pure coincidence that only 3 days after the worst blown call in league history screwed one of the league's prized teams, magically the sides came to an agreement after months of bickering.

Pure coincidence...

::)

Indeed

It's not what you know. It's what you can prove.  We all know OJ Simpson killed his ex wife.   ;)

The NFL owners caved, shocking!

Couldn't you also say it's four days after brutal hits to Schaub and Bey, and they caved for player safety concerns? -EK

I can't remember what player it was ... I think it was Jennings in an interview said that replacement refs didn't have an effect on the safety of the players. He said the fines they levy on Tuesday and Wednesday from the NFL offices are what keeps people in check. I think he's right.

Safety was never an issue with this lockout.

Safety was the biggest issue from the refs POV, wasn't it? Didn't I hear numerous refs saying they should be paid more because they are responsible for the safety of the highly paid investments on the field? They used that perspective to subtantiate why they needed a raise. How is that not an issue? -EK

I may have mispoken a bit. It may have been the officials stance, but it was never an issue as far as the fans or the NFL were concerned I think. The media played it up a bit but they play up everything.

I heard one of the bigger sticking points was that the NFL wanted to have the authority to "demote or get rid of" under-preforming refs. I would start with Lockett (the guy who screwed up the coin toss and many other plays)However, I don't even see it mentioned in the article.

???????

I was wondering if that's what this was.....

» The NFL will have the option to retain additional officials for training and development purposes and can assign those additional officials to work NFL games. The number of additional officials will be determined by the NFL.

exactly! It was money and the NFL getting cheap once again and in the end they lost big and it bit them in the a$$. Now they gotta pay the refs, pay the bench they wanted, and pay in full any ref that gets benched! They STILL get paid to sit home and do nothing.

Lockout really worked well for the league!  ha ha ha

And you're happy that shitty refs can't be fired but instead will sit home on their worthless ass and get paid just like the worthless teachers, and then after a time their worthless ass will be back on the field making worthless calls?

Agree. I heard someone use the analogy of having the replacement refs out there was like having a substitute teacher for a 6th grade class. They kids /players have no respect for the new guy.

The hits were brutal and while the refs have an obligation to manage the game. However, I think it needs to start at the top. The 15 yard penalty and a fine is not enough to deter the hit.

IMO, if the ref determines that a hit to the head was blatant (such as launching), then the player should be immediately removed from the game and suspended for a minimum of 1 game.  

If the fines keep players "in check", then why are we seeing more hits to the head than ever before? A 25K fine to a guy making millions means nothing. 

Maybe they think it means nothing at the time but it really doesn't. These guys don't make that money forever and many end up broke at the end of it all.

These replacements can now go get telemarketing jobs so they can continue to make bad calls.

I'm happy the GREEDY NFL lost! They got bit in the butt for being greedy over a few cents. That is what I am happy about.

That someone stood up to a greedy organization (the NFL in this case) and won!

So the product isn't any better, your lot in life is unchanged, but boy, they sure stuck it to those mean rich guys. LOL

Championing mediocrity. Awesome.

It's the little things that count. What do you celebrate that is so life changing?

Who says the product isn't any better? Look, if you want to root for Big Business sticking it to the little guy, go for it! Sorry, I don't root for the parts of corporate america who ship american jobs overseas to make a few extra bucks out of greed. I don't root for the rich Wall St bankers breaking all the rules then asking for tax payers money for a bailout. Rooting for the NFL to win this is rooting for GREED and big business to screw over the little guy (yes the Refs are the little guy in this example.) Billionares screwing over refs who weren't asking for anything different or outrageous!  The multi-billion dollar corporation called the NFL got GREEDY, tried a power play for no good reason against people who did nothing wrong, and LOST! Yes, I am happy about that.

Refs are the little guy?! LOL Yes, everything is relative but please. As of 2010 at $100,000 a person is in the top 6.61% of income in the country. Sorry, I couldn't find a chart that went up to what they are currently making which is 150K. At 150K I'd imagine they're probably a couple % pts higher.

So be careful Mike, next time you're snickering at the Porsche owner on the side of the road with the flat just remember there's a good chance it's an NFL ref LOL.

How sanctimonious and ridiculous! I you really want to show your distaste for the billion dollar greed corporation the NFL is, stop consuming their product. Or do your convictions not run that deep? No one that gets paid $75,000+ for less than a month's worth of work is a "little man," in any scenario. -EK

When a company is making RECORD profits for them to go out of their way to try and go after the refs is insane. Yes, billionaire owners with millionaire players the Refs are the little guy.

Sound jealous someone else has a better job than you. Begin the process of becoming an NFL ref if its so good! In about 15+ years you should maybe reach that level and even that is a long shot.

How much they get paid isn't the issue, not shocking you missed the entire point. The point is when a BILLION dollar company making record profits try's to scale back one group of their employee's wages by a few cents it is just nothing more than GREED at its worst! This was a billion dollar company trying to do a money grab and being nothing more than greedy! This new deal cost each team a whopping $62,000 a year or so over the course of 8 years....ohhhh. Big savings! The bad PR was worth it cause they saved so much ::)

Was thinking the same thing last night.....this never would have happened if not for the huge fubar on Monday Night Football!!!!!!

Either way I am glad that it is over!!!!!!

The minimum salary in the NFL is from $370,000 for a rookie to $910,000 for a 10 year veteran. So the refs are this lowest paid people on the field by a large margin.
It made nine billion last year and is projected to make 18 billion by the time the next CBA rolls around. Also one of the biggest sticking points was a pension, and there are jobs out there where you can earn a pension for working part time.

As did you- if you hate the NFL so much, why do you continue to support its product? Again, your convictions must not run very deep. "Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it." Twain got it right- complain all you want, but you still tune it.

Bsmooth- you aren't seriously equating the talent of the athletes on the field to guys who can't get a coin toss correct or figure out that Calvin Johnson caught a TD are you? IMO, the refs are fortunate to get what they were being paid already. I have no sympathy for EITHER side- it was a pissing contest. -EK

...wait, what?

The "product on the field" with the regular refs is most certainly better than the product on the field with the replacements.

What makes it better? Because the replacements blew the GB call and cost a team a win? It took them 3 weeks to do so. Last year's regular refs only needed week 1 to screw Detroit out of a win with the Calvin Johnson catch.

I'm not saying tht there's no difference at all. There may be. I think that a large portion of the issue with the replacements was simply because people were looking for something to fault, not because they were necessarily that bad. Just about every game I've ever seen, the TV guys comment on a missed hold or downfield illegal contact that wasn't called. I didn't see that great a difference with the replacements. -EK

^^ its more than that one call.  The number of pass interference calls has skyrocketed with the replacement refs.  They were throwing laundry on the field on almost every deep ball.  These are game-changers, and have had more impact than you realize.

Had they not called bogus PI on Shields at the end of the Packers game, they wouldn't have even been within hail mary range.

That's cool. Maybe I didn't see as many as were there. I just know the regular refs screw things up pretty bad too, so I didn't see the clear cut difference. I'll take your word on it. Either way its over now. -EK

Exactly.