bomber fans we have to stop blaming the game on refs instead of taking out on forums go and write a complaint to gblack@cfl.ca
I did and i wish some of you will
BBfan, thanks for that....I am going to do that right now.
And...I'm not a Winnipeg fan, I'm an Als fan.
But I too thought the officiating was atrocious....and it hurt Winnipeg more than it hurt Montreal.
But even though I am an Als fan, I am offended by such shoddy refereeing, so I am going to write to complain.
I hope Mr. Black has the courage to answer forthrightly rather than trying to explain it all away.
Yeah, it's time to let it go, our 24 hours of ******** are up.
For those of you interested, here is what I have just sent to Mr. Black:
Dear Mr. Black:
I have been an avid CFL fan for over 40 years. I watch the games regularly, and have for that long.
While I regularly post on the CFL website forums (my handle is MadJack), and while I do have a weekly article on CFL Insider (http://cfl.scout.com/), I have never, ever, in those 40 plus years, ever been motivated to write a letter of complaint. Until now.
Officials are human; we all make mistakes. I believe in cutting people some slack (I still think that Mosca's hit on Willie Fleming in the 1963 Grey Cup was illegal and it was a mistake not to call it, but let's not go back that far). For that reason I shy away from being overly critical of the game officials, who have a tough and usually thankless task every game.
But I'm sorry, I have to for the first time write to complain. The officiating in the Winnipeg~Montreal match on Friday was easily the most brutal I have ever seen.
There are too many mistakes to name them all; allow me to point out just a few:
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Watkins had a touchdown in the endzone. Every replay angle shows clearly that he caught the ball, had possession, and the ball only came out after contact with the ground. The ground can't cause a fumble, right? So why was that call not reversed after the replay? Replay wasn't conclusive? Give me a break, everyone saw it, it is clearly a touchdown.
-
Etienne Boulay is trying desperately to cover Milt Stegall...he grabs the back of Stegall's jersey, pulling it out of his pants. This slows Stegall down so he can't get to the ball that had been thrown to him. Can you possibly explain to me how this is NOT pass interference?
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Clinton Wayne goes helmet first into a prone Stoddart on the ground after the play has been completed. The referees correctly call it unnecessary roughness, but no ejection. Excuse me, but isn't a bonehead shot like that clearly an intent to injure? Wayne deserved to be tossed; frankly, if the Als organization has enough integrity they should fine him themselves if the league hasn't the courage to do so.
-
Duane Butler charges into Mike Quinn, the Bombers backup QB, head first, leading with his helmet. I thought leading with your helmet into a QB who is vulnerable having just thrown the ball was almost always called roughing the passer.
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Strickland leads with his helmet squarely into Kevin Glenn's back after Glenn had thrown the ball and was vulnerable. See #4.
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Hebert's interception; What were your officials possibly looking at on the replay?? Hebert CAUGHT the ball; he had two hands on it at the time of the catch. Watkins did NOT catch the ball; sure he stuck his hand in there (one Watkins hand, two Hebert hands...add that up yourself), and sure he then tried, AFTER THE CATCH, to wrestle the ball away, but come on, there was NO simultaneous catch here, and anyone seeing the replay can see that; so why could the referee not see that?
Those are just the six that come to mind; if I had more time (or taped the game so I could watch it again) I'm sure I could come up with more.
I'd be very happy if you could address these issues. The fans and the teams (particularly the Bombers) deserve no less than a cogent explanation for what marred what otherwise should have been a great game, being the battle for first place in the East.
Now, lest you think I'm just a Bomber fan venting my frustration at having lost a game 44-16, think again. I am a lifelong Alouette fan. I'm glad my team won; but it leaves a very sour taste in my mouth to have won a game that was ruined by brutal officiating.
Yours sincerely
Jack Davis
very good letter jack! i think you summed everything up perfectly. i also sent black a similar e-mail. what is even more admirable and a testament to how brutal the officiating was, is that ur an alouette fan! as much as we all root for our teams passionately, we’re ALL cfl fans and no team deserves officiating like that!
Hear hear shank. I'm an Als fan yes, but first and foremost I am a CFL fan, and we do not deserve officiating like that in our league.
deffinatly agree with those points. There was also one more that stuck out to me after a few brutal pass interference calls on winnipeg youd think the refs might give us ONE call. There was a deep throw by Kevin Glenn to i forget what reviever with the defender running beside him the ball was thron slightly inside so the reciever is desperatly trying to run to the ball but the defender isnt moving OR LOOKING just running beside the rciever who cant get around the defender and the ball drops to the feild about 5 feet away for the reciever. It was ruled incomplete on a VERY obvious interference just to add the the discredit.
Madjack,you're a voice of reason in a sea of insanity.
Please show me where it says in the rules that the ground can not cause a fumble??!!! It does not say that anywhere!!!
There are lots of situations where the ground can cause a fumble.
As an example, a punt receivers catches the ball, starts running and trips with out being touched by an opposing player, as he hits the ground the ball pops out. This is a fumble! Same thing with a receiver or a running back. If they hit the ground without being forced to the ground they are still live and if the ball pops out the ball is live!!!
Now I do not know what happened in the particular case you sited, but your overall complaint would hold more water if you were not quoting mythical rules!
Sorry mikey I don't agree
The only time the defender has to look back is when he raises his arms. He certainly does not have to get out of the way and allow the receiver access to the ball. He is entitled to his ground!
SECTION 1: GENERAL DEFINITION
Interference takes place when a player obstructs, blocks, screens or charges towards an opponent, with or without direct contact, in such a manner that prevents the opponent's approach to the ball carrier, potential ball carrier or the ball.
I dont know about that ro, the definition seems pretty clear on that one...
...no matter how all of our take on the perceived penalties ended up....i agree with Madjack 100 %.......that the CFL and fans were cheated out of a potentially great game by the horrendous refereeing.......there were definitely calls ...screwed up for BOTH teams...and i really have a tough time accepting that this 'crew' who did this game were doing so at a proffessional level...i, like madjack,...have followed the CFL since the late 50's...and can't remember a more abysmal performance by an officiating crew than at this game....i can accept a blown call ...everyone makes mistakes...but to have so many 'obvious' bad calls ( and some with the aid of -re-play)..and some not made at all is not acceptable...We have an excellent league....we should expect a higher level of officiating than what occurred here...Thanx for the back-up on this one Madjack...you certainly have my respect....unlike that bunch who reffed and screwed up which should have been a great game.. .. 
I hope Mr. Black addresses this performance by one his 'crews' :?
So according to George Black the call on the joint catch was correct because of possession of the ball was shared when the player touched the ground.
This is what I had speculated in another thread.
Remember that when a receiver catches a ball in mid jump, it is not a reception until the player touches the ground! This is indicated by the rule that states if after jumping up the recieve hits the ground and the ball pops out it is an incomplete pass, not a fumble.
So the initial catch is meaningless, its whether joint possession happened as they touched the ground.
I was just reading this thread and as a Ble Bomber Fan and more importantly a CFL fan I have sent the CFL head office and invoice for my three Season Tickets to that particular game. I encourage the rest of you who attended the game to do the same.
Why? Because your team got blown out???
…the guys who open the mail at the CFL head office must roll with laughter at some of the stuff they get sent…
..leeing.. don't you read....or is your eyesight as bad as the refs. that officiated that debacle.. 8)
our team didnt get blown out, if you checked the stats, we were beating the als in every category for the most part. Its the refs calls that put us in some deep holes, and calls that should have been called werent.
Huh? What are you talking about and whom are you talking to? Time to check your glasses since you can not even get my handle right! :lol:
So in what dream world is a loss by four TD not a blow out???!!!
Take a look at the Sask vs Cal game. You will find that the stats were not that much different and Sask actually had more passing yards, but I tell you it was a blow out!