It’s OK for referees to make the odd mistake
What do the 1985 World Series, the 1970 CFL Western final, the 1999 Stanley Cup and the 1996 Grey Cup have in common?
The outcome of those events was partly determined by an official’s mistake. With TV reviews now in effect in every professional league, those mistakes would have been rectified and the outcomes different. But that wasn’t the case then and the outcomes stood. That’s just part of sports, everyone said.
Last week we witnessed a new twist on an old theme.
Each CFL game telecast features the Safeway/Sobeys $1 million Touchdown to Win Contest. If your name is drawn, you are eligible to win the prize if two touchdowns are scored on kick returns. In the BomberArgo game, Winnipeg’s Ryan Lankford took the opening kickoff 105 yards to the house. Later, Toronto’s Martese Jackson returned a kickoff 109 yards for a touchdown. That one was wiped out when Llevi Noel was called for an illegal block on Mike Miller who was in the act of falling when Noel basically ran into him. Technically it was a penalty. Whether the contact was accidental means nothing. The would-have-been winner, Karen Kuldys, wanted her million.
There seem to be two schools of thought here. One, they should have given the million to the lady anyway because the block had no impact on the play or, two, the flag should never have been thrown in the first place.
At this litigious time in CFL history, a non-call would have been challenged anyway and would likely have been successful.
The league, led by days-old commissioner Randy Ambrosie, rushed to mollify the offended patron, bestowing gifts that total around $100,000. Why would they do that since no one has said there was no infraction on the play? The contest winner was to get the million if there were two returns for touchdowns in the same game. No matter how you slice it, and as the official record shows, there was only one. Call it poor judgement on behalf of the official but that is part of sport. Referees are human, too. She didn’t deserve the big prize and should be pleased with the CFL and sponsors’ compassion and generosity.
CFL officials are subjected to a rigorous evaluation after each game. If mistakes are made they don’t work as often and if there is no improvement shown, they are fired. The fellow who threw that flag was between a rock and a hard place. In any event, when he was racing down the field to cover the play, the last thing he would be thinking about is if his call or lack of same would affect a contest entrant in Winnipeg. At any rate, he’d better not be.
Calling infractions away from the play is vital to preventing injuries. Without it, the law of the jungle would prevail on special teams.
The coaching victim of the 1996 Grey Cup, the Eskimos’ late Ron Lancaster, upon hearing the refs admitted their mistake when they whistled dead a fumble recovery, said, “That’s OK. I really believe the referees make far fewer mistakes in a game than either team.” Stuff happens.
It’s sure been happening this season. As we pass the quarter pole of the 2017 campaign, Hamilton is terrible and winless, Ottawa is very good and winless while against the TiCats last Saturday, Wally Buono showed the wisdom of paying backup quarterback Travis Lulay starter’s money when he came in and racked up a career-high 436 yards in B.C.’s 41-26 win at Tim Hortons Field. Calgary still can’t win in Montreal, the Eskimos are opportunists. It is still too early to tell how good Winnipeg and Toronto are. Saskatchewan is improved. We’ll get an idea of how much Saturday night at McMahon when they play a Stampeder team with 19 on the injury list, including 13 starters. The Riders should win because the Cowboys run a high-precision offence which is difficult when you have a constantly changing offensive line. The Jones boys should come after Bo Levi Mitchell with everything including the kitchen sink.
Graham Kelly has covered the CFL for the Medicine Hat News for 45 years. Feedback for this column can be emailed to sports@medicinehatnews.com.