• As the NFL season gets set to kick off the third week of its regular season with the Carolina Panthers hosting the New York Giants on Thursday night, arguably the biggest league wide story has not directly included any player, coach or league administrator, but the referees employed by the NFL.
• The normal NFL refs are on strike as they argue for more pay, and the NFL, an organization that made close to $9 billion last year, does not look ready to relent. Instead, the league has hired replacement officials who were officiating the lower tiers of D-1 college football last year.
• Refs always get a bad rap, but it has become increasingly easy to pick on these refs as they are “stand ins” and “replacements.” Some calls have been blown by these men (and women) but none have yet effected a game, and theres no way to say definitively that the “normal” refs would have gotten the call right. The NFL has a staffing model in place through week 5, and does not look ready to cave to the referees demands.
• NFL refs last year made, on average, $184,000 for what amounts to a part time job, or hobby. It is arguable that they need a pay increase as most have full-time jobs on the side including one particularly fit ref who is a lawyer when not on the gridiron.
Escobar banned 3 games for slur
• In what has already become a forgettable season for the Toronto Blue Jays, another bad chapter was added as shortstop Yunel Escobar embarrassed the team by writing a homophobic slur (in spanish) in his eye black for a game. While I won't include the exact wording, it's easy enough to find online if you google "Yunel Escobar eyeblack."
• To his credit, Escobar was apologetic afterwards, saying that he has gay friends and he now realizes that it was offensive and that it was an inside joke between him and his teammates.
• The team suspended Escobar without pay for 3 games, which will cost him about $92'000 and that may not be as costly as the hit his reputation has taken in the community.
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