Astrojanitor

without the D seriously stepping up right now this mess is over

Exactly. Fitz is always the bad guy even when it's the D that losing the game.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gilmore has seriously been on fire today.

woah! hot dammit I'm feeling pretty good. Keep it up fellas!

This entire post is lunacy. Somehow the officials are too rich for making $180,000 a year, but the $9,000,000,000+ a year business is going to go bankrupt by spending less than .01% of their revenue on quality officiating. You're right, billionaires have it tough. Nice to know someone has their back. How dare an employee feel "entitled" to a comfortable retirement after loyally serving a company.

Valid point. They should. If the money is there the league should take care of its own. And yes, I do consider the regular refs quality. Have you not been watching the last couple weeks? They have control over the game and keep things running smoothly. There may be the odd error here and there, but things like that are going to happen every time you hire humans to do something. If we wanted perfection we'd all just pay to watch Madden simulations.

Woah, that's amazing news!

I don't understand this logic. Most people get a raw deal when it comes to their retirement money so everyone should get a raw deal? NFL has more than enough to take care of their employees and is choosing not to. To what end? So they save what amounts to pocket change for them? And you may consider the officials are just indulging in a hobby, but I call them skilled labor. We have seen the difference in quality over and over again. The officials are being asked to turn full time with a salary increase that does not equal the amount they earn from their second job. They are expected to lose their guaranteed pension. All so the owners can literally save pennies. $10 for a beer and suddenly there is no money to compensate their employees? NFL expects us to pay big money to experience an elite product, but they won't pay to put that quality on the field? And no one should accept that.

Should also mention the NFL wants the officials to become full time employees while cutting their benefits and not compensating them for their wages from their other job. So they will work more, make less money and have their benefits cut all while their skillset has contributed to the NFL turning record profits. A skillset that is clearly not easily replaced, as we have all seen.

So what? The issue is the NFL cutting benefits when they are more profitable than ever. The money is nothing to the NFL and everything to their employees. The refs should be standing up to this kind of behavior. Loyalty used to be rewarded in this country and now we are expected to cave to the whims of the company. The NFL is completely out of line here and, as a result, the comsumer is getting an inferior product. As much as I enjoy the chaos these scab refs are causing, no thinking person (and/or non millionaire) should be supporting the actions of the NFL.

This had to be edited? Did you type something that made sense first?

hot damn that's funny. I agree with everything you say here. There are a shocking amount of people who immediately side with the multi-billion dollar corporation over the employee. Always blows my mind. Chinese Football League--good stuff.

This piece just went up on SI, think a quote can put it all in perspective: "...my colleague Peter King reported that the difference between the NFL and the refs' union is $3.3 million a year. Well, there are 256 regular season games. The NFL could have the real refs if it forked over an extra $12,891 per game. That is less than 20 cents for every paying customer." Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/michael_rosenberg/09/25/refs-controversy/index.html#ixzz27VcQhf4K

It also has a lot to do with the league changing the pension system to a 401(k). The refs are losing 3 million in guaranteed pension money. They aren't cool with having their retirement funds up to the whim of the market. Hard to blame them.

woah, Chan is not screwing around. wonder if he has something up his sleeve for the NE game. Some kind of big trade or free agent signing? This may be an interesting week after all.

he's a hack who steals material. I don't think there is a person who really follows comedy who has any patience for him or Carlos Mencia for those reasons. They are like comedy cover bands...comedy for people who don't like comedy.

It depends on what you mean by "great singer." I find him to be a brilliant singer by finding a voice that serves the song. He interprets the material beautifully, which I find more important than technical virtuosity. Grizzled troubadour with an operatic voice doesn't really make sense. He, like Johnny Cash, is aging into a voice by creating material that makes sense of his limitations. Personally, of his recent albums (I'd say Time Out Of Mind on features this "new" voice) at least 2--including the new one--are classics. I partially get why people are turned off by the new sound, it is a bit of an acquired taste, but I totally stand by my statement of "bringing it."

This is a truly stupid comment.

If the D shows up and Fitz is able to manage the game/protect the ball like the last two weeks I say we absolutely have the tools to win.

Won that big Green Bay playoff game 10 years ago and some people still won't shut up about him. Has more felonies than good seasons.

totally agree. Actually kind of surprised by the lack of enthusiasm around here. Usually after a win people are losing their minds on the board. Maybe because there was no one dominant player? Everyone gutted because of Spiller? I don't know, but I thought it was a good win and definitely feel better about the team than I did last week.

yup, this right here. Even though you are terrible you always think you are in the games and are on the verge of turning the corner. But you're not and you never do.

could happen, but I'd be more impressed with 10 wins

I see him like once a year....very much alive and still bringing it. Great new album came out last week. Cover is ugly as sin, but the music is near perfect