On the "24" Phenom and a Disappointing Superbowl XL

On the "24" Phenomenon: I just don't get it. Count me out.
I find it hokey, contrived, and uncompelling. At the same time
slot, I have more fun watching "Vegas" or even "Mad Money"
I've done my part for cable television in pledging allegiance
to some epic shows... down with X-Files, Law & Order, ST:TNG,
Seinfeld, Cosby Show, etc., I just don't see it with Jack
Bauer & Co. What gives, people?

On Superbowl XL: OK, absent Willie Parker's 75-yard mad
dash and the TD throw from Randel El, this was a fairly sloppy effort
from both sides and therefore not a great game.. though better than
the occasional 45-10 SB blowout. HOWEVER, my story line is that the
absolutely, positively, unabashedly TERRIBLE officiating really
diminished my appreciation of the event. OK, that's a polite way of
putting it. Pretty much ruined it.

I have only been a fan of the NFL in a big way for the past three
seasons, but now I'm fairly locked in, with only Pro-hoops captivating
more of my sports-enthusiast attention. I'm used to crappy
officiating in the NBA, and disdain it with equal passion, but at
least in that league it has some consistency in terms of bias: the
home team will get a slight edge in the calls, the big-market
favorite-son of the league (the Bulls in the 90's, the Lakers in the
early 00's) will get a moderate-to-infuriating edge in the calls.
What made the 2005/2006 NFL playoffs so deeply disappointing is
that the same damn team was given opposite treatments. In the
P-Burgh vs. Indy game, the calls went disproportionately against
the Steelers, and affected the outcome of the game. In the
Superbowl, the Steelers got all the calls, and this had a significant
outcome on the game. I read this to mean either, (1) the league
is so rotten, they will capriciously send a lousy ref crew to
call a game to the benefit of any given team on any given Sunday,
or (2) the refs are so inconsistent and incompetent, you, the fan,
are rolling the dice every weekend with whether you'll get a fair
shake. In the NBA/MLB/NHL 7-Game series, this isn't as much
of a problem. In the one-and-done NFL, its a huge problem.

Before we write off possibility (1), which tilts heavily in the
direction of the conspiracy-theory and corruption, I'd like to
write that I've thought a lot (way too much, obviously) about
this, and think its a viable explanation for the following
reason: To me, for the admittedly tough job of head-ref in a
football game, I see in the NFL head-ref ranks a clear
bell-curve distribution in terms of talent, skill, and ability
for the position. I.e., not a lot of parity, but rather guys
who are clearly capable in knowing the rulebook, making good
calls, and running the show, and those who are not. Two head-refs
I'll use as an example for high-percentile winners are Ed Hochlui
and Mike Carey. So... might make sense to assess the competency
of your head refs and assign them to the real marquis matchups,
including the SB. But rather, in the Colts vs. P-Burgh game and
SB we have a 45 year old white guy who looks like he played
high school lacrosse and was pulled out of Ponderosa an hour before
the game and handed a striped shirt and a whistle. They were
terrible. Awful. Inspired 0 confidence. Almost looked
disingenuous after trotting back onto the field from a review.

So... NFL... clean up your act. Get better head refs all-around,
or make sure you are sending the good apples to the big games.
Absent this, and the sport risks taking up the same level of
intrigue as the WWE. And a last word of warning for you Steelers
fans: serious Karma deficit ahead. I'll say it: Kemo Van
Ohfen doesn't take out Carson Palmer's knees on the second play
of that game, and you don't make it out of the first round.

Prediction... Superbowl XLI MVP: Ricky Williams