Nuts and Bolts…

…nuts and bolts, Ole Miss got screwed!

I say this with a documented history of believing Ole Miss should “go to hell.” Even though I bleed maroon, I feel for the Rebels (not the fans who showered the field with their empty liquor bottles).

In case you missed it, Alabama beat Ole Miss 27-24 in Oxford, Saturday. On 4th down, with time running out, Rebel quarterback Seth Adams found Shay Hodge for a 40-yard pass down to the 4-yard-line. The pass initially found the hands of Alabama defender Lionel Mitchell. However, the game-ending interception was not to be. Before Mitchell hit the ground, Hodge wrestled the ball away from him, giving Ole Miss the 1st and Goal.

As with any play (controversial or not) at the end of a college football game, the officials had to review it. Hodge went out of bounds before making the catch. That’s a no-no. But was he forced out of bounds? Difficult to tell. Did Mitchell touch the ball first? If he did, it doesn’t matter if Hodge was out of bounds.

Here’s what I saw, with a staunch record of hating both Ole Miss and Alabama. Hodge went out of bounds; Mitchell touched the ball first. Therefore, Ole Miss ball, 1st and Goal, :07 left in regulation.

The original call on the field was a completed pass. That means the replay official had to see indisputable evidence to reverse the call. That goes for Hodge going out of bounds on his own accord, AND that Hodge was the first to touch the ball. From the replays I saw, I have no idea how indisputable evidence was found on both factors.

But it was. The call was reversed. Turnover on downs. With debris littering the field, the Crimson Tide took a knee and ran for their lives out of Oxford.

You hate to cry foul, but just look at the statement released by the SEC after the game:

“In the judgement of the replay official, Doyle Jackson, the receiver stepped out of bounds on his own. Also, the replay official ruled the receiver touched the football first, thereby making it an illegal touch. The result of the play is that the ball goes back to the original line of scrimmage with a loss of down. Rules do allow for a receiver to come back in bounds if he was forced out.”

Two interesting things about this statement. First, they name the review official. “Look, it’s this guy’s fault!” Secondly, they felt the need to point out that a receiver forced out of bounds is still eligible. That sentence is tacked on; just read the statement again without the final sentence. Why was it tacked on? I believe it is a passive way of the SEC saying Hodge was forced out and the decision to overturn was wrong.

This is yet another reason why referees should be forced to participate in postgame press conferences. When a coach or player screws up, he has to answer to the media. Why not the officials? Okay, okay, I know the refs would be burned at the stake every time they got up to the podium. I just think that’s what an official deserves for making a bad call. “Good game Johnson, Smith, Jackson… Hamilton, you blew that pass interference call in the 4th, it’s to the press conference for you.”

If football players hate it when a kicker decides the outcome of a game, then when an official decides a hard fought game, there’s no other phrase to describe: it sucks.

Ole Miss fans, take solace. You have a beast of a player in Greg Hardy. And at least LSU lost. Geaux Wildcats!

Duck Tape

I was talking to a friend of mine (who is involved with the MSGOP) last week about Governor Haley Barbour. The conversation went something like this:

> You know, Haley Barbour has this election in the bag. For the most part, Republicans and Democrats alike think he has done a good job.
>> Exactly.
> The only way he can lose is if he does something incredibly stupid.
>> Right.
> Y’all should probably duck tape his mouth shut.

If there was ever a time to shut up and sit in a corner somewhere, it is now. A few signs here and there, a few positive commericials, you know, just to let people know you’re still alive. Other than that, sit this fight out, Governor.

John Arthur Eaves has nothing to run on but promises he cannot fulfill. “I’ll bring back prayer and Bible classes in schools,” he says. However, he is not running for Supreme Court Justice, he’s running for Governor. He’s counting on the ill-informed on how government works to cast their votes for him. And, of course, the ones who want to vote for anyone but Barbour.

That population is pretty thin. But it’s growing. All because of Barbour’s unnecessary bullying. It all started back at the Neshoba County Fair, when Barbour took the pot-shot heard ’round the Magnolia State at Eaves’ wife, Angel. The letters still haven’t stopped flooding in to the Clarion Ledger about that one. What exactly could that comment have accomplished? Here’s what it did do: it made John Eaves a contender.

Now Eaves is pecking at Barbour with some attack ads. “Don’t leave the mountaintop to go play in the mud, Governor.” Someone should have said that. Now Barbour is firing back at Eaves. I first saw the ad just moments ago. It seemed so suspicious, I already wrote to this point before checking facts. The ad lacked concrete fact. It was a vague overview of many topics that were never truly explained, nor was anything cited. Red flags all over the place. I could have spent a while researching this, luckily the folks over at CottonMouth did it already:

http://cottonmouthblog.blogspot.com/2007/10/dissecting-barbours-first-attack-ad-of.html

Eaves must be dancing with delight. He has lured the Governor into a mud-slinging race.

So, Barbour for Governor campaign team, I offer you a free piece of advice: Call off the troops. You’re still going to win. Let Eaves fire everything he’s got at you. Nobody is really listening to him anyway. Meanwhile, y’all sit back, keep running the positive ads, hang up some more signs, and let the Governor go shake hands. No baby kissing though, because his mouth should be duck taped shut before more dumb comes out and he blows this election.