Welcome Back Mr. Woods

Whether the PGA Tour wants to admit it or not, Tiger Woods is bigger than the game of golf. Woods has single-handedly reinvented the game of golf, not just the PGA Tour, but the entire sport. Perhaps the greatest performance EVER in the history of sports was turned in by Woods last year at the U.S. Open, where playing on a torn ACL and fractured tibia, he not only played the 72 holes, but went an extra 19 to beat the field for his 14th Major tournament title. Now, if you've never golfed, it is impossible to fathom how much the left leg (where his injury was) is key in a golfer's swing, especially Tiger. Locking that left leg on the downswing and firing through almost makes it like a spring that can launch the club through the ball, giving a golfer that much needed club speed for the distance and accuracy they desire. Well after that tournament, Tiger underwent knee surgery to fix all of the problems and was out for the final six months of the 2008 season and the first two months of the 2009 season. That was until Tiger announced his return at this week's WGC-Accenture Match Play Championships, a message that sent both the golf community and sport community into a frenzy.

Woods, returning to competitive action for the first time in eight months, began his first round with birdie-eagle and ended up beating his opponent 3 and 2. Today, however, Tiger lost his second round match against a tough Tim Clark, who didn't make a bogey his entire round. This is definitely a blow to the rest of the tournament when considering television ratings, which were the highest the Golf Channel has ever had just yesterday. This leads one to realize, just how much does the game rely on Tiger Woods?

In the eight months that Tiger was gone, attendance at tournaments by the general public was severely down, television ratings were mediocre and the general buzz surrounding golf just lost some of its luster. This UK sport's blog talks about Tiger's return and how golf can not survive without his presence. While it is hard to debate that golf as a whole can not survive without Woods, it is easy to see that golf in the United States will surely lose interest without Woods in the game. Golf as a whole, around the world, ran smoothly without Tiger, but that was the European Tour and Asian Tour. As for the PGA Tour, ask any leading official and they are wiping the sweat off of their brows with the return of golf's idol. No one can deny that Tiger has transformed the game of golf and has created a new generation of kids interested in the sport. No other athlete can claim that in this day and age. With the return of Tiger, television networks will see increased revenue via advertising because of people wanting to watch Tiger. PGA Tour events will see increased revenue with ticket sales increasing because people want to watch Tiger. What is the common denominator in these equation? People want to watch Tiger. This is exactly why the game of golf, not just the PGA Tour, is selling the hell out of his return and is building up this season as the return of the Tiger.

Tiger's return just made advertising for the PGA Tour the easiest job in all of America. Even Nike has climbed on the return bandwagon, releasing a new commercial for the return of Woods to the locker room. It is one of the funniest commercials I have seen because while poking fun at it, the whole commercial is true. Basically, the fun all of the lower golfers were having in Tiger's absence is now over with because he's back and they know they don't stand a chance.



Welcome back Mr. Woods. Golf just hasn't been the same without you.

Don't Take Walking For Granted

Well, this post doesn't have a link or even a cool story, but a reminder that you shouldn't take your legs or ability to walk for granted. Tuesday night at the Tri City Storm game, I was supposed to work the third camera, which is the camera in the tunnel and behind the goalie to give the fans that ice level look on the big screen. Well prior to the start of the game, I was carrying the cable down the stairs when I came to the little squeeze between the goal light operator's box and the railing, all while attempting not to tangle the cables on the railing. So, I lifted up the hoard of cables around my arm to go up and over the railing and make the final step down onto the tunnel...except I wasn't on the final step like I thought I was.

Next thing I knew, my foot caught the edge of the bottom step, rolled underneath my weight and I felt a pop, followed by excruciating pain throughout my left ankle. I dropped the cables where I stood and screamed in pain, hobbling towards a stone bench inside the tunnel. As I lay there in immense pain, everyone who just witnessed it...continued to stand there while I lay yelling in pain and holding my ankle. Within a couple minutes, it was swollen to about twice the size of my right ankle and I knew it was bad. So after waiting a while, I hopped my way to the Tri City Storm training room to get it taped. Needless to say, I could put almost no weight on it, but I stayed there and did my job, even standing on it all of the second period with a camera on my shoulder, dealing with the pain later.

So yesterday I went to the hospital to get it checked out, after not being able to walk on it at all in the morning, so I hobbled to my car with no help and drove to student health at 8:20 a.m to find out Wednesday is the only morning they open at 9 instead of 8. Long story short, I got x-rays and while there was no fracturem they do believe I slightly tore a tendon in there that won't require surgery, but now I am in a heavy walking boot until Monday. Walking around has been an absolute pain the past three days and it is making me appreciate two functioning legs and working ankles. Regardless, I'm in physical therapy every day to get it back to normal faster and advise everyone to watch your step, it could be your last haha.

Editorial 3: UNK/Local Issues

For class on Tuesday we were supposed to find three local/UNK issues and although they should come to us juniors pretty easily, it was amazingly difficult to think of actual "problems" in our community. I've been trying to read other blogs to see their ideas to get a general idea of what was wrong with the UNK or Kearney area, but there isn't that much out there.

One idea I saw on Callie's post that I have had a personal problem with is the issue of having Chartwells cater to every event, even if you're organization can't afford their food. Just like Callie, this portion of the UNK website talks about the policy that says Chartwells must cater every event on campus that requires food service. This has been a personal problem of mine, but I will go into further detail if I choose this for my editorial.

The second issue I discovered is the Trayless Tuesdays on this campus. I have seen such a mixed reaction this issue and I like Chelsea's article from the Omaha World Herald about the issue and how other school's have dealt with it.

I will try to find a third issue later.

Day In Sports for Nebraska

Well Saturday turned out to be an extensive sports coverage day for the state of Nebraska, with multiple hockey games, a State Wrestling Championship, BracketBuster college game and UNK basketball games. Let's go around the state for a Saturday review on Nebraska sports!

Starting on Saturday morning, the Nebraska State Wrestling Championships were held at the Qwest Center in Omaha. Millard South came into the final day the winners of the past four state titles in Class A and Omaha Skutt winners of the past 11 in Class B. Well unfortunately, my alma mater of Millard South couldn't capture a 5-peat as Grand Island ran away with the Class A title. Omaha Skutt pulled away for their 12th straight Class B title, Central City won the Class C title, and Howells took home the Class D title.

Next in the afternoon, the Nebraska Cornhuskers took on the No. 18 Kansas Jayhawks on the road and got clobbered by the Jayhawks 70-53. The loss by the Huskers is a serious blow to their NCAA At-Large considerations for the March Madness tournament. They were considered on the bubble going into their final games and a win against the ranked Jayhawks would have gone a long way in helping them getting in the tournament for the first time in over ten years.

As nighttime approached, the United States Hockey League in Nebraska took full effect when the Tri City Storm took on the Omaha Lancers in a heated rivalry game at the FirsTier Event Center right here in Kearney. The Storm came out in new jerseys designed for their annual "Pack It In Purple" event, where they auctioned off the game worn jerseys after the game. Tri City, coming into the game 7-35 on the year, took down the defending Clarke Cup Champion Lancers 4-3 in a hard-hitting, fast-paced game. The game saw great saves by Storm goalie T.J. Massie (48 on 51 shots) and the Storm come out and score three first period goals. There was also two fights for a rather docile Storm team that got the fans up on their feet. In all of the games I have worked in this season, this was by far the loudest I have heard the hometown crowd at the end of a game. In other USHL news, the Lincoln Stars were defeated by Waterloo 5-1 in Waterloo.

While the Storm game was going on, Omaha and the Qwest Center was prime location again for the ESPNU BracketBuster game between Creighton and George Mason. Both teams are on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament and Creighton came in winning seven straight games and is currently tied for 1st in the Missouri Valley Conference with Northern Iowa. Creighton came out strong in the second half and took down the visiting Patriots 76-63 for their ninth straight victory and at 23-6, are serious contenders to make the March Madness tournament. The Bluejays were led by Booker Woodfox with 22 points and left the 4th largest crowd in school history still tied for the lead in the MVC. I believe, as of right now, the Bluejays should be in the NCAA Tournament, with quality wins over Dayton at home and St. Joseph's on the road.

Then, at the same time on UNK's campus, both Men's and Women's Basketball Teams were taking on Regis University in the final home game of the season for the Lopers. The first matchup of the night saw the Lady Lopers, winners of nine straight, take down the Rangers 78-74 in order to stay a half-game behind CSM for first place in the RMAC. Seniors Jade Meads and Jonni Mildenberger, who combined for 46 points and 17 rebounds, played their last home game as Lopers and it is going to be hard to contribute for their production when they graduate. Also playing her last home game was Kassi Schuppe, who has played as the starting guard for the past two seasons, proving to be a key asset to the team's success.

The night matinee had the UNK men rolling past Regis 73-61 to keep their RMAC Tournament hopes alive at 10-14 overall. UNK was led by junior Drake Beranek with 22 points and his first collegiate dunk. I bring that up because Drake was a guest on my sports talk radio show on 91.3 KLPR this past Tuesday and we started talking about dunking and I asked him if he had ever dunked in college and he responded no. It was then we talked about what would have to happen for that first dunk to occur and most of it was a joke. But now just 5 days later, he throws down his first dunk and it was quite comical and ironic.

Anyways, a busy, busy day for sports in Nebraska. One that if you are a sports junkie like I am, allows you to lay your head down at night and thank God that you're a sports fan.

Affirmative Disaction

Last November, voters in Nebraska took a step in the right direction in creating equality. They did this by passing Initiative 424, which will disallow colleges and universities from using Affirmative Action programs to grant scholarships to minorities only and using special recruiting methods to pull in minorities only. This is by far a major leap forward in establishing equality in the school system, especially during these economic times.

In Nebraska and five other states, measures have been taken to eliminate Affirmative Action programs, which allow for certain privileges to minorities in the academic and work fields. Back in the November election, Nebraska put the initiative on the ballot after the petition gained the 100,000 signatures needed to put it to vote. Nebraskans voted in favor of the initiative, banning minority scholarships and the use of minority practices in admissions at colleges. Colorado also voted on the issue, but voted against it. California, Michigan and Washington all have passed Affirmative Action elimination measures. Other states that brought the issue to petition but didn’t garner enough signatures to bring it to ballot were Oklahoma, Arizona and Missouri.

Affirmative Action was established to create equality in jobs and schools over 15 years ago. Since that time, the society as a whole has transformed into a country that is no longer needing of these programs. If a minority student is smart enough to make it into any college, then they obviously aren’t that underprivileged. But why should a minority student get scholarships worth full tuition and maintain a lower g.p.a, but students not eligible for those scholarships work harder to maintain a higher g.p.a for aid that is worth less?

Eliminating minority scholarships and other traditional race- and gender-based affirmative action programs is a step in the right direction for a country looking to turn a page in equality. In this country, it should always be about who is more qualified for the position, rather then granting it to a lesser qualified minority in order to fill a quota. When it comes to minority scholarships offered by universities, it is easy to see where the problems exist and why it has come under intense scrutiny under the past few years.

Any educated minority will tell you that in order for this country to fully overcome racism, that Affirmative Action programs need to be changed or erased. In this state, even though the initiative has been voted through and will be passed into law sometime soon, the debate continues in other states in the region, as well as Nebraska. Many believe that this won't be the only time in Nebraska that we see Affirmative Action on the ballot during an election.

Nebraska, on the other hand, is stepping outside the norm and is creating a lead for other states to follow. The reverse discrimination being caused by some Affirmative Action programs can be altered to make sure everyone gets an equal shot at earning that reward. If it is a scholarship, the winner should be chosen based on criteria, not by their gender or color of their skin. In today’s economic crisis, it is unacceptable to deny everyone an equal shot at a scholarship, just because the university wants to attract more minority students.

In a day and age where the United States just elected its first African-American President, the excitement for the end of racism and discrimination is very palpable in the air of change. It will be interesting to see what kind of leadership Nebraska will take in its role as an innovator in disallowing these programs.

This Is What Sports Is All About

In a time where sports news is constantly filled with scandal, betrayal and dishonesty, when a story comes along that melts your heart, it reminds us what sport is really all about. Earlier this month, a little known high school game in Wisconsin took place that showed that true character and leadership still exists within sports. The game occured between Milwaukee Madison and DeKalb, two schools separated by about a 2 hour drive, but now bonded by brotherhood.

I'll let you read the article for yourself and watch the video with it, but when I first read it, my heart went out to Johntrell and made me smile as I watched continuous coverage of A-Fraud. These types of stories revive my love of sports and make me a believer that perhaps there are still credible athletes out there who care more about the game and the people playing it, then padding their own stats. Not only can other young athletes learn from this, we as humans can take a page from this team's book when looking at the bigger picture in life.

The A-11...No More

So much for creativity in football. Last week, a State High School Association for football in the state, voted to make the new gimmick offense, the "All-11" or "A-11" offense, illegal from play in the upcoming season. The A-11 offense works like this:
According to the article, "The goal of the A-11 is maximum unpredictability, achieved by putting 11 players wearing eligible receiving numbers on the field at once -- only legal with one player at least seven yards behind the line of scrimmage and no one under center, as on a punt or field goal -- then shifting them on or off the line of scrimmage at the last second. The result is an essentially random offense with endless combinations of possible receivers, leaving the defense with no idea which five or six players are eligible to go downfield for a pass until a moment before the ball is snapped and no time to react."

Officials deemed it unsportsmanlike because the plays themselves were confusing referees and that it was too deceptive for defenses to figure out. What is wrong with deception? Wasn't the West Coast offense designed to deceived? What about the new spread option offense or the Wildcat offense run in college and the NFL? The inventor of the A-11 offense is pure genius for finding the loophole in the rule to allow for this offense to even be possible.

Enjoy the top ten A-11 plays of 2008 as it will probably never be seen again:

2nd Editorial Rough Draft: Affirmative Action

Johnny took a look at the scholarship requirements for his college and there was an alarming statistic that took him completely by surprise. The fact is this, to earn and maintain the school's Chancellors Scholarship, Johnny, a Caucasian male, would need to maintain a 3.25 GPA every semester in order to earn the $1,000 a semester scholarship. When he looked further down the list, he found a scholarship only for minorities which would grant them full tuition and other benefits. The astounding stat that Johnny found was that in order to maintain this full tuition scholarship, they would only need to maintain a 2.75 GPA, for almost $1,000-$2,000 more per semester. He sat there and wondered, why should I have to work harder for a scholarship worth less aid than a minority to earn a scholarship worth double the aid?
Well in Nebraska and three other states, measures have been taken to eliminate Affirmative Action programs, which allow for certain privileges to minorities in the academic and work fields. Back in the November election, Nebraska put the initiative on the ballot after the petition gained the 100,000 signatures needed to put it to vote. Nebraskans voted in favor of the initiative, banning minority scholarships and the use of minority practices in admissions at colleges. Colorado and California are two other states that put Affirmative Action to the test.
For one, eliminating minority scholarships and other traditional race- and gender-based affirmative action programs is a step in the right direction for a country looking to turn a page in equality. In this country, it should always be about who is more qualified for the position, rather then granting it to a lesser qualified minority in order to fill a quota. When it comes to minority scholarships offered by universities, it is easy to see where the problems exist and why it has come under intense scrutiny under the past few years.
Any educated minority will tell you that in order for this country to fully overcome racism, that Affirmative Action programs need to be changed or erased. In this state, even though the initiative has been voted through and will be passed into law sometime soon, the debate continues in other states in the region, as well as Nebraska. Many believe that this won't be the only time in Nebraska that we see Affirmative Action on the ballot during an election.
Nebraska, on the other hand, is stepping outside the norm and is creating a lead for other states to follow. The reverse discrimination being caused by some Affirmative Action programs can be altered to make sure everyone gets an equal shot at earning that reward. If it is a scholarship, the winner should be chosen based on criteria, not by their gender or color of their skin.
In a day and age where the United States just elected its first African-American President, the excitement for the end of racism and discrimination is very palpable in the air of change. It will be interesting to see what kind of leadership Nebraska will take in its role as an innovator in disallowing these programs.
Maybe Johnny will have a chance to earn that scholarship he deserves after all.

So Favre Brett

For over 17 years, the jersey number 4 was synonymous with one man, one legend. That one man brought more passion, more emotion and more fun to the game of football than any one single player in the history of professional football. When he walked through that tunnel at Lambeau Field, the crowd began to fill with electricity and excitement that even the strongest of thunderstorms couldn't compare with. That man is Brett Favre and a couple of days ago, Favre decided to call it quits after an illustrious NFL career.

Favre will always be remembered for his tough, but yet, child-like approach to the game. He started 269 consecutive games in the regular season and played with multiple injuries including a broken thumb on his throwing hand. There are so many things one can say about Favre, he is the reason I fell in love with the Packers. I had the privilege of going to see Favre play three years ago on New Years Day and it will always live in my memory. Favre will go down as one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, despite only winning one Super Bowl title, which is truly a testament to his character and passion for the game he played. His style of play will ultimately be missed, as well as his emotion, his smile and his love for the game. Brett is a legend and one whom words can only say so much.

Where is the money coming from?

Times are tough in the current economy and the so called recession that this country is facing. We have felt the strains of the struggling economy here at UNK, with many programs losing funds and departments losing grants, as well as professors getting laid off because UNK simply couldn't afford to keep them on the staff. Well with this university struggling to make ends meet in the certain departments, UNK is somehow finding the funds to add a Women's Soccer program to its list of athletic teams. Don't get me wrong, I am all for adding new athletic teams and broadening our sports horizon here at UNK. The only question I have is where is the money coming from to fund another sport? I have thought about possible boosters and fund from the government for Title IX reasons, but it just doesn't make sense.

Let's look at what all costs money with a new sports team.
1) Equipment
2) Travel
3) Coach
4) League Fees
5) Possible scholarships

The list could go on and on, but the bottom line is, university's don't add a new team every year because of the cost of the move. Perhaps the university has been "saving" up for a move like this, I don't know, all I know is no one has questioned the university and the university hasn't come out and said anything regarding the issue. I'm sure the professors who got laid off at the beginning of the year would love to know where this extra money came from. It's also possible the money that is made during sporting events doesn't need to be shared with the university itself, which just sounds weird.

Maybe this isn't a big deal at all and I'm blowing it out of proportion, but it seems as though the athletic department should be questioned as to how this is possible.

Where is all the great Nebraska talent?

The Huskers announced their 2009 recruitment class and while not a blockbuster class for Bo Pelini’s first class, they do address certain needs with the departure of some key players. Perhaps the top recruit was athlete Cody Green out of Texas. At 6’4, 220 pounds, Green has the physical prowess to be one of a multitude of positions, with a cannon arm and long strides when running. Green could compete for the starting quarterback position or could attempt to play wide receiver, linebacker or safety.
The total class for the Huskers was 21, but the most alarming aspect of the class is that only two of those 21 came from the state of Nebraska, the lowest number in the history of recruitment with the Huskers. That begs the question, where is all of the great football talent in this state? It is difficult to say that maybe the Huskers focus their recruitment efforts squarely too much in states such as Calif. and Texas, which make up 14 of the 21 recruits in the 2009 class.
For UNK, we just had one of the best kickers in the history of the school, Geoff Carnahan, graduate scoring over 250 points in his career. A kicker from Kearney Catholic, Carnahan showed his ability to knock through field goals with ease, even kicks from over 50 yards. If anyone who remembers the Huskers bowl game against Auburn, about three years ago, we had the ball on their 35-yard line with a chance to tie with a field goal, but due to a lack of kicking power, they went for it on fourth down and came up short. Now, how did the Huskers not even give Carnahan a look? Of course hindsight is 20/20, but it seems as though the Huskers are relying more on Nebraska talent to attempt to walk-on the program and are focusing their attention elsewhere.
While that may be the reason, it might also be that there is truly a lack of talent at the high school level here in Nebraska. One thing this state is known for is producing lineman, but nothing else. Take a look at Danny Woodhead, one of the most prolific rushers in Nebraska high school history. Maybe Nebraska gave him one look, but because of his size, it never materialized and he took his game to Chadron State, where he became the all-time leading rusher in NCAA history until this last year.
Nebraska has never been a hot bed for high school football talent, in fact, the state just had its first “five-star” recruit last year in OL/DL Baker Steinkuhler from Lincoln Southwest, which of course Nebraska signed. Steinkuhler didn’t play much for the Huskers last season, but should fill in well for an offensive or defensive line looking to rebuild. The fact of the matter is, is that Nebraska has some of the most intense players you will find in this country, but the lack of extensive coverage and great teams has this state scrambling to market its premier players.
The last great recruiting class this state had, that I can remember, would be in 2006. That year, Millard North saw its State Championship rushing trio get scholarship offers from iowa, Nebraska and Washington. But for as great of high school players as they were, one no longer plays football and the other two play minimal amounts of time, if any at all.
The question remains to be answered, but it doesn’t seem as though the talent in this state is going to change any time soon. For those that follow high school football in the state, it seems that we have the talent, we just need to market it better to schools across the nation. It is necessary to get the word out about our talent or recruits in this state will never get a chance to showcase their abilities at bigger schools. Take for example Silas Fluellan, the current quarterback for the Wayne State Wildcats. In 2005, his senior season for Bellevue West, he threw for an average of 250 yards per game and 37 touchdowns, both state records. As far as I remember, he did not garner any Division I attention and for the life of me I could not tell you why. Fluellan had a cannon arm and had scrambling ability. Maybe at 6’0 his size hurt his stock, but look at Chase Daniel who on a good day is barely above 6’0.
Nebraska has the talent to get nationally recognized but with the lack of marketing of our players, our talent will continue to go unnoticed. But with that dark storm cloud comes the silver lining. With Division I schools missing out on this state’s talent, they fall right into the laps of schools such as UNK, Chadron State, Wayne State and so on, for our viewing pleasure.
If we want our state to begin producing top of the line college football talent, it all begins of the advertising side.

Let's See How America Reacts to A-Rod..

Well, well, well...looks like Alex Rodriguez got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Rodriguez, according to an SI.com report, found that back in 2003, when MLB held random testing to see if they needed stronger drug abuse policies, that Rodriguez was one of the 104 players who tested positive for anabolic steroids. It was the first thing I saw when I woke up this morning and my mind automatically began working to find out more about the subject.

According to the report, back in 2003 there were no penalties for testing positive for steroids..unlike the 50 game suspension for a first-time positive test now. All throughout my blog, you can see me defending the players against this steroid witch hunt, unless there were clean and concrete evidence against them and here you have it. In 2003, when Rodriguez tested positive for anabolic steroids, according to the report, he won the AL Home Run title and the AL MVP while playing for the Texas Rangers. As I am typing this, it is constantly on ESPN and the announcers discussing it said, "while we don't know who is taking and who is not, Rodriguez got caught. As a Yankee fan you have to be saying 'say it ain't so Alex'. It is definitely disappointing."

I am anxious and curious to see how the American public and the media takes this news. If you need other opinions about this topic, read my previous blogs. When Roger Clemens was claimed to have been injected with steroids, it was in 2000, 2001 and 2003...all years that had no penalty for taking steroids, the same as Rodriguez here. Clemens has been thrown under the bus and a majority of the public has claimed he will never make the Hall of Fame because of his ACCUSATIONS. Rodriguez is arguably the greatest offensive power in the game today and the likely successor of Barry Bonds for all-time home runs. Now, with this positive test, no longer an accusation, but PROOF that he cheated, why should his case be any different?

All I can say is this, if the media and public let Rodriguez slide with this and continue to crucify Clemens despite no positive tests, I am going to lose all faith in baseball and will more than likely stop watching the sport. If Clemens is never going to make the Hall of Fame and must be subject to this hell, Rodriguez should never make the Hall of Fame and should also be thrown into the fire, now with a positive test. Sure. He can come out and admit, much like Andy Pettite did and the nation will forgive him, but these supposed "tainted numbers" should now automatically exclude him from the Hall of Fame, much like Bonds and Clemens.

Please, America, if you are going to subject some players to scrutiny, it needs to be one uniform backlash. Like I said, I am anxious to see what becomes of all of this and how Rodriguez is treated for testing positive for steroids. All I know is that with a positive test result bolstering his numbers, I will never think the same of him and that he should NEVER make the Hall of Fame.

Instant Replay...To Use or Not to Use?

Back a few years ago, the NFL voted on and implemented instant replay into all games, where teams could challenge up to two calls a game, with no challenges coming after the two minute warning of each half. These challenges would be used to challenge the ruling on the field, to hopefully overturn the official's call in their team's favor. When the game reaches the two minute warnings of each half, challenges will come from up in the official replay booth, totally up to the discretion of the replay officials. Each game seems to have a play that gives a reason for certain fans to be upset with the outcome of the game...their key to complaining for the following weeks. Well enter the Super Bowl, the "game of games" when it comes to football. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals had battled throughout the game, with the officials making some favorable calls for the Steelers in the first three quarters. Arizona scored a long touchdown with 2:30 remaining in the 4th quarter, giving them the lead 23-20. The Steelers then stormed back down the field, where Santonio Holmes made perhaps the greatest catch in Super Bowl history, giving the Steelers the lead back with just 30 seconds left. It was then that the General Kurt Warner got the ball back with one final chance to lead this Cinderella team to the final part of the ball. This picture below is a play that transpired with just about ten seconds left on Pittsburgh's side of the field.


The result of the play had Kurt Warner fumbling the ball and Pittsburgh recovering with five seconds remaining, enough time to kneel on the ball and capture their sixth Championship. The problem I have is this, the play changed the game completely. If the play had been reviewed and overturned, Arizona would have had the ball on the Pittsburgh 29-yard-line with just about ten seconds remaining. The call in dispute is that his arm may have been moving forward in a legal forward motion and the pass could have been incomplete, but replays show that probably would not have been the case. Regardless of all that, the fact of the matter is is that the replay officials didn't review perhaps one of the biggest plays of the entire game.

What exactly did the NFL want to accomplish by installing this instant replay system if they didn't intend to use it the way it was meant to be utilized. Arizona fans deserve every reason to be upset that the play in question wasn't at least reviewed, to take away any and all controversy. The fact is, the officials dictated the entire Super Bowl, making it lopsided in Pittsburgh's favor. I'm not saying for an overhaul in the instant replay system, but when a play happens that could possibly end a game of this magnitude, maybe it's time to review how things are run.