Conference hbahba::cam_sports

    
    - and as a public service, the Miami Herald is notifying fans 
    of butcher shops where buffalo meat is available.  In case you 
    were planning a menu to show solidarity with the Dolphins, the 
    Herald chefs suggest:
    
    	Buffalo Meatballs
    	-----------------
    	ground buffalo meat
    	diced onions
    	garlic powder
    	any other spices
    	raw egg, if you like
    
    Don't fry the meatballs.  Instead, put them on a sheet* in the 
    oven and bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes.
    
     *[that's a metal _baking_ sheet, in case you're not too    
       familiar with the kitchen. Don't try to substitute ones
       from the bedroom.  hth]
    
    Prepare a sauce for the meatballs by mixing currant jelly with a 
    little horseradish and dry mustard.  Heat the sauce to a liquid 
    state in a microwave oven for a minute or so.  Enjoy.

    
    The Crazy Met
    

    
    	Wouldn't it be cool of Dave Barry worked for DEC and noted 
    	in ::SPORTS?  And wouldn't it be great if he brought beer?
    
    Claybroon

      Wheres the gals in the bikinis?
    
      Miami and Dallas in the bowl,  please.
    
      or an AFC victor in the bowel will work!
    
      Tim

    
    >> or an AFC victor in the bowel will work!
    
       I don't *even* want to know what this means. 

    
    Tommy,
    
    It's a lot like rugby!
    
    hth
    
    Kev_for_Hawk

      Typo, maybe!

  South Florida's mood is definitely a deeper shade of aqua this morning...
  but as I pulled into the office garage, one of the radio DJs (female) said:

	"Gee, look at this article in the Ft Lauderdale Sun_Sentinel.  It
	says `at the end, Dan Marino was easing a pair of comfortable 
	bluejeans over a rear end covered with raspberries.'

	"OOoh!! Kinky!  I didn't even know they were in season!"

  :^)
  Kath

    
    	Yabbut it looks like Worn Moon isn't gonna be a moon over miami.
    I unnerstand that they signed ex-patriot Tommy Hobson to fill da
    roster slot created by Marino's year-ending injury.
    
    I remain,
    wondering what a splinter collecter is worth these days,
    Kev
    

�    	Yabbut it looks like Worn Moon isn't gonna be a moon over miami.
�    I unnerstand that they signed ex-patriot Tommy Hobson to fill da
�    roster slot created by Marino's year-ending injury.
    
    What I heard today is that the Moon to Miami rumors still persist and
    have even been seen/heard in the Miami media.  Hodson was just signed
    as a back-up.

    Rumor has it that they're interested in Chris Chandler of Phoenix as
    well.

And I heard that the Dolphins have approached Berney Kosar's father,
who acts as his agent, about Berney playing for them.

Who knows?

Jerry

    Miami offered a 5th round draft pick for Chandler.  Cards said no
    thanks, especially since Buerlein has an injured foot.  A couple teams
    have contacted Timmmmmy  about un-retiring.  They'd have better luck
    with June Allison, his mom.
    
    boC

'ya mean they haven't contacted Tony Eason or Ken OBrien yet??

The Crazy Met

K-K-Kenny is in Philly with the Eagles...

    Ex Class of 83 QB Tony Eason leads the Dolphins to the Bowl
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    The Toilet Bowl...

       ________________                           ______________    
      /                \                         / /            \---_ 
     / /          \ \   \                       |     -    -         \
     |                  |                       | /         -   \  _  |
    /                  /                        \    /  /   //    __   \
   |      ___\ \| | / /                          \/ // // / ///  /      \
   |      /          \                           |             //\ __   | 
   |      |           \                          \              ///     \ 
  /       |      _    |         Hey Beavis,       \               //  \ | 
  |       |       \   |       If Scott Mitchell    \   /--          //  |
  |       |       _\ /|      got into a fight with  / (o-            / \| 
  |      __\     <_o)\o-     Jim Kelly and Frank   /            __   /\ |
  |     |             \     Reich, who would win? /              .)  /  |
   \    ||             \                    \    /   __          &/ / \ | 
    |   |__          _  \   That's easy dude \ (____ *)         -  |   | 
    |   |           (*___) Scott Mitchell     \    /               |  |
    |   |       _     |   Would kick both their \  (____            |  |
    |   |    //_______/  Butts at the same time.    ####\           |  |
    |  /       | UUUUU__   yeah,huh-huh             ____/ )         |_/  
     \|        \_nnnnnn_\-\                        (___             / 
      |       ____________/                         \____          | 
      |      /                                          \          |
      |_____/                                            \__________\
                                       
    

    someone's been taking graphics lessons from Heiser.

also known as plagiarizing :-)

The Crazy Met

    Hey, I have a good idea...lets trade Marino. Mitchell is the up and
    comer and Marino is done...
    
    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

    
    	Any opinion's on what Marino will do this year? He looks great so
    far for only playing 1 quarter in the 2nd and 3rd preseason games. 
    Has anyone seen or heard of Ervin Spikes yet? Great back with alot of 
    yards already! Although he's probably not as physically strong as
    Higgs...
    
    John

    what was the score ???
    D.

    shit
    

    Miami choked.  Shula should have had this Offense running NOT passing
    when they had their next-to-last possession before the 2 minute
    warning.  I don't care if the running game was non-existent...2 runs
    and then pass on 3rd if you have to, but the clock needed to be run
    down before giving the ball back to SD.
    
    That 3-and-out before the 2 minute warning only took a little over a
    minute off the clock. 
    
    Inexcusable.
    
    Mark.

 absolutely Mark and I for one loved it..........

 mike_who_thinks_maybe_shula_called_for_runs_but_egoman_dan_did_his_own_thing

    
    >BAD CALL #2 - Keith Jackson's illegal forward pass.  Okay, lets
    >assume it was an illegal forward pass.  They got the first down on
    >the play, so its a 5 yard penalty and loss of down... ITS 2ND AND
    >15 NOT 2ND AND 5!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    
    
    	Yup, I couldn't beleive nobody, the on-field officials, The NFL
    officials supervisor (Seamon?), the Chargers Head Coach, nor the 
    T.V. announcers caught this. In all the confusion about fumble vs.
    illegal forward pass, they maked the 5 yards off in the wrong
    direction!!!!!! Unbelievable!!!!
    
    	That game is a classic case of why there should be some form of
    instant replay rule in the NFL....
    
    JimH
    
    

>    BAD CALL #2 - Keith Jackson's illegal forward pass.  Okay, lets
>    assume it was an illegal forward pass.  They got the first down on
>    the play, so its a 5 yard penalty and loss of down... ITS 2ND AND
>    15 NOT 2ND AND 5!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    
    It's a 5-yard penalty from the spot of the illegal forward pass.
    It's one thing to criticize the officials when they indeed make a 
    bad call, but Dick Enberg elevated his game to another level 
    yesterday.  "I have no idea what the rule is, the coaches, players 
    and irate fans have no idea, so let's just bang the zebras anyway, 
    even if they are using the rulebook..."
    
    glenn
    

    
    o - According to the rule book the refs made the CORRECT call. I think
        you will see the rule changed next year. It should be ONLY the
        person/persons who had the ball BEHIND the line of scrimmage can
        be called for an illegal forward pass, all other instances is a
       fumble.
    
    o - For those of you who say it was 2nd down and 5. Did you look at
        the 1st down markers on the sideline. Or did you go by the display
        on the TV screen? I myself saw the 2nd down and 5 on the TV screen
        and couldn't believe it. It should have been 2nd and 15. So I
        look at the sideline markers. The sideline markes were correct, it
        was 2nd and 15. TV screwed up the caption.
    
    o - Justice was served when Stoyonivich missed the 48 yrd field goal at
        the end. Miami got all the breaks and still lost the game. I don't
        see the Means TD as a break for SD. It STILL would have been SD's
        ball at the 2 yrd line.
    
    Ron

This probably belongs in the NFL note, but since you're discussing
officials....


I'll still state that on the whole, the NFL officiating SUCKED this year, 
no matter how much Jerry Seeman tap dances and says otherwise.

It was not so much a case of missed calls (although some -- Herman Moore's
knee, Detroit vs. Giants -- were horrendous) but a lack of consistency
of judgement throughout.

The pass interference calls were inconsistently called all season -- I saw
minor brushes that were called interference, and I saw muggings that weren't.

The "hands to the QB's head" call was another that was inconsistently called.
I was brushed to the head on the way to the shoulder pads called, but
head slaps not.


Also, this "continuous action" thing is pretty bogus.  They should do away
with that rule.   When the ball is downed, it's dead, no continuous action
crap......


Just my opinion, but the zebras need to do a better job in 1995-96, or
else they should get rid of the Refs-Apologist Jerry Seeman.....


'Saw

>    o - For those of you who say it was 2nd down and 5. Did you look at
>        the 1st down markers on the sideline. Or did you go by the display
>        on the TV screen? I myself saw the 2nd down and 5 on the TV screen
>        and couldn't believe it. It should have been 2nd and 15. So I
>        look at the sideline markers. The sideline markes were correct, it
>        was 2nd and 15. TV screwed up the caption.

	It was a crappy call because it WAS a fumble, not a foward pass --
	he was hit as he was letting the ball go.

	BUT, it you rule the play as they did, then 2nd and 5 is correct.
	The play started as a 1st and 20 situation from the 15 (I believe).
	Miami passes, Jackson makes a catch and "passes" the ball exactly
	20 years past the line of scrimmage (the 35).  If he doesn't pass, 
	then he is right at the measurement sticks (check it out, it's true),
	either 1st-and-10 or 2nd-and-inches.  But, they call the penalty,
	so they move the ball back 5 yards.  Now it's second and five.

    
>    o - According to the rule book the refs made the CORRECT call. I think
>        you will see the rule changed next year. It should be ONLY the
>        person/persons who had the ball BEHIND the line of scrimmage can
>        be called for an illegal forward pass, all other instances is a
>       fumble.
    
    How far beyond the line of scrimmage do you allow such a player to make
    the forward pass without it being a fumble?  The pass could come at the
    end of a 50-yard run.  The rule change would then require some 
    subjective judgment based on "intent", which is something you really 
    don't want to do...
    
>    o - For those of you who say it was 2nd down and 5. Did you look at
>        the 1st down markers on the sideline. Or did you go by the display
>        on the TV screen? I myself saw the 2nd down and 5 on the TV screen
>        and couldn't believe it. It should have been 2nd and 15. So I
>        look at the sideline markers. The sideline markes were correct, it
>        was 2nd and 15. TV screwed up the caption.
    
    I'm almost 100% sure that the Dolphins were given the yardage (all 
    of Jackson's gain, minus the 5 yards).  That being the case, the
    down-and-distance should have been either 2nd-and-something short, or
    1st-and-15, if this is one of those penalties that is marked off after
    the end-of-play spot has been established (the former makes more 
    sense to me).  There are no such penalties where the team is awarded 
    the 1st down based on their gain, then a down is subtracted.  I didn't
    check the chains, but it is possible that NBC had both the down and 
    distance wrong...
    
    The rule is really not so illogical.  It was only controversial because
    the Chargers happened to fall on this illegal pass.  I've seen the 
    similar play where at the end of a big gain, a runner makes a forward 
    lateral to a teammate who goes into the endzone.  The entire play is 
    not nullified, nor should it be.  I still can't believe, though, that 
    after the director of officials specifically explained the rule to 
    NBC, Enberg chose to ignore it, described the call as a "bizarre
    interpretation" and the explanation as a cover-up.  No interpretation 
    was necessary; the pass was clearly forward.  Meanwhile, 50 million 
    viewers think that the zebras are completely making it up as they go 
    along, when that's only true half the time.
    
    glenn
    

  The explanation made sense to me. As they said, it was just as if the
quarterback had run across the line then attempted the pass. 

  I doubt that anything will be changed. If you changed the rule to limit the
illegal forward pass to someone who carried the ball across the line of
scrimmage (the typical quarterback situation), then that would also have to
include running backs and receivers on screen passes or throws into the flat
behind the line of scrimmage. That would be a can of worms. 
 
  Also, isn't there a rule against 2 forward passes on one play? For example on
a screen, if the runner is still behind the line of scrimmage after catching the
pass can he throw forward again? 

  George 

Best scenario for nexted week is SF and SD winning. Worst scenario is Dallas
and SD winning - at least Pitt might have a chance against Dallas.

Officiating was awful in the Miami-SD game. Can't remember another playoff
game that the officials blew so many big calls!

The Crazy Met

One thing not to forget about the refs, this was a group that the league
considered one of the better based on their selection to officiate this
game.

However, in the long run, looking at the big picture, I'll remember most
Pete Stoyanovich's missed FG at the end. Shula and Marino might reflect
on this play as well. 

TTom

>> However, in the long run, looking at the big picture, I'll remember most
>> Pete Stoyanovich's missed FG at the end. Shula and Marino might reflect
>> on this play as well. 

	And what I will remember is the two incompletions prior to the
	missed field goal .. five or ten more yards and Stoyanovich has 
	a much better chance at making that field goal ..

	Why was Marino throwing for the end zone on Miami's last play 
	from scrimmage instead of getting closer for the field goal?
	Did they really think that a 47/48 yarder was 'automatic'?

	Vinny

>	Why was Marino throwing for the end zone on Miami's last play 
>	from scrimmage instead of getting closer for the field goal?
>	Did they really think that a 47/48 yarder was 'automatic'?


	the word egomaniac comes to mind.......

 mike

    
    
    
    	Re: 2nd and 5....
    
    		I miss understood what had happened on the play (not
    surprising, since I relied on the TV announcers...)
    
    		I thought the completed pass was a first down, at the spot
    the illegal forward pass was attempted, which would have mad it 1st and
    ten. Then with the 5 yard penalty and loss of down, it should have been
    2nd and 15. Mea culpa....
    
    
    		The rule itself is kind of stupid. It should be re-written
    so that such an attempt is only an illegal forward pass only if it is
    caught by a member of the opposing team, otherwise it is a live ball.
    In other words, only if the offensive team benefits from pass attempt
    should it be ruled a pass....
    
    JimH
    
    

    	The only close game of the weekend and the officials ruin it
    with absolutely horrible calls.  I've been a staunch replay opponent
    because, as one who attends the games the delays when reviewing calls
    were a major annoyance.  But now whenever there is a controversial
    call the refs have a 5 minute or longer conference anyway, so you
    might as well take advantage of the technology and make the right
    call.
    
    				   /Don

  This is one thing that bothers me about football. When you look at the two
blown calls involving touchdowns it's clear that in football scoring is based
on the opinion of a judge, not on what the players do on the field. 

  Makes you wonder if football is really a ...

  George

    
    
    
>  This is one thing that bothers me about football. When you look at the two
>blown calls involving touchdowns it's clear that in football scoring is based
>on the opinion of a judge, not on what the players do on the field. 
>
>  Makes you wonder if football is really a ...
    
    
    	George, it was only last week that I advocated for the use of
    instant replay in Pro Football just for this reason. You can even
    go and look it up.
    
    	"Ladies & Gentleman, after conferring with the other officials, we
    have ruled that Natrone Means 24-yard touchdown run will only be scored
    for 5.7 points. The reduced scoring is due to mandatory deductions due
    to a lack of artistic presentation during the TD run, and afterwards in
    the post-scoring endzone celebration. The reduced score is justified
    due to the Subjective Standards set forth by the NFL Rules committee.
    Thank You, you may now throw bouquets of flowers on the field!"
    
    JimH :-)
    
    

    

   Yup. The judges gave the games to San Fran, Dallas and 
  Pittsburg,too.

   Give it a rest, folks. Or at least confine it to one
  easily avoidable note. It's old and tired.
  
    

    You look at all these supposed blown calls, though, and the only one of
    any real significance was the San Diego TD catch, and even that was a
    very difficult call where it wasn't 100% clear even from replay that
    the ball was in possession when that first foot came up (that foot was 
    down before the ball was even touched and was up immediately after
    intitial contact).  Granted, it was a huge play, but it might or might 
    not have been overturned by replay and either way there'd have been a 
    major controversy with the decision.  A telling thing to me was that
    the receiver, who knew that his "1st" foot was well in bounds (the
    timing being the key), and that his "3rd" foot down was way out, did
    not contest the call even a bit (but who knows, maybe he's just a good
    sport).
    
    The other stuff?  Yeah, Means was out-of-bounds before the TD.  It's a
    ball-spotting call.  Touchdown, or 1st-and-goal from just outside the
    one.  Big deal.  The Means fumble in the corner was so close to the end 
    line that I don't see how anyone can say definitively that it was in or 
    out (and what was posted earlier about the 4th-down fumble rule sounds 
    right).  The forward lateral call has been established as a case of 
    announcer ignorance.  I think in a large number of cases what spectators 
    object to is the perception of "confusion", which is used _against_ game
    officials even when they take their time and get the call 100% right.
    
    glenn
    
    

    
    
    
    	I forget which game it was, but another example of ref incompetence
    was the play in which the receiver was pushed out-of-bounds by the
    corner back (more than 5 yards down field) and a flag was thrown on the
    play. Later the officials explained that there was no pass-interference
    because, "the pass was incomplete, therefore there could be no pass
    interference"
    
    	As the TV announcer said, "huh????" To me it looked like the
    receiver had no shot at catching the ball because he had been knocked
    of the play so much by the corner back....
    
    	And there was another play in the Chargers/Dolphins game, an
    incomplete pass that was ruled a trap. Replays showed that the receiver
    had both arms under the ball as he hit the ground. That was late in the
    first half as I remember....
    
    JimH
    

RE         <<< Note 71.44 by MSBCS::BRYDIE "I need somebody to shove!" >>>

>   Give it a rest, folks. Or at least confine it to one
>  easily avoidable note. It's old and tired.
  
  Funny Tommy but I seem to remember you as the guy who started this fight
back last winter.

  Say what you want, the score of this game had nothing to do with what
happened on the field, it was a completely arbitrary score arrived at by the
opinions of judges.

  Turns out the result would have been the same but that was only by luck.

  George

    
  
 >> Funny Tommy but I seem to remember you as the guy who 
 >> started this fight back last winter.

    "Last winter" being the operative phrase. It started last
     winter and it hasn't progressed one iota. You believe figure
     skating is a sport, no one else does. Fine, you're entitled
     to your beliefs. Enough already.
    

RE         <<< Note 71.48 by MSBCS::BRYDIE "I need somebody to shove!" >>>
  
>    "Last winter" being the operative phrase. It started last
>     winter and it hasn't progressed one iota. You believe figure
>     skating is a sport, no one else does. Fine, you're entitled
>     to your beliefs. Enough already.
    
  I don't recall mentioning the words Figure Skating once in this note. All I'm
pointing out is that there is a feeling about that if a score depends on the
whims of judges rather than what an athlete does on the field then the activity
is not a sport. Can't remember now where I heard that now.

  At any rate, since the score of this game clearly had little to do with what
the players did on the field and was a fabrication of the judges then I
question whether or not what we saw was a sport. 

  According to that definition of the word sport anyway.

  George 

re: forward pass and 4th down.

Hmm, I seem to recall that this was in effect during the last 2 minutes of
a half. Anyone have a rule book handy?

The Crazy Met

	Quick question: When one of the TV stations announced that
	Jimmy Johnson was the new coach of the Miami Dolphins, they
	stated that he was the third coach in team history. We all
	know who he replaced, but who was the first Miami coach?

	Vinny

Whoops - wrong Miami... :-)

    Marino just re-signed for 3 years @$5.9M/year.
    
    UMDan