The most sincere referee in the NFL... or the dumbest

Ed Hochuli, the NFL ref who botched a call at the end of the San Diego-Denver game that allowed the Broncos to keep possession and go on to score the winning points, has been receiving hundreds of e-mails from irate fans.

Even crazier? He's responding to them.

"I'm getting hundreds of emails — hate mail — but I'm responding to it all," Hochuli said in a posting on the San Diego Union-Tribune Web site. "People deserve a response.

"You can rest assured that nothing anyone can say can make me feel worse than I already feel about my mistake on the fumble play. You have no idea. ... Affecting the outcome of a game is a devastating feeling. Officials strive for perfection — I failed miserably. Although it does no good to say it, I am very, very sorry."

"No one feels worse about this than Ed, but like the coaches and players in our high-speed game, mistakes will occur," NFLRA executive director Tim Millis said in a statement.

"The NFLRA stands by Ed Hochuli as a 19-year veteran with multiple Super Bowl and countless playoff game experience who has the integrity and character to admit a mistake and accept the criticism that comes with it."

The crucial call occurred with the Broncos at the Chargers 1-yard-line in the final minute. Denver quarterback Jay Cutler dropped back to pass, the ball slipped out of his hands, bounced off the grass and into the arms of San Diego linebacker Tim Dobbins.

Hochuli, a former NFLRA president, ruled it an incomplete pass. Replay ruled it a fumble, but it was spotted at the 10, where the ball hit the ground, and given to Denver because the rules did not permit possession to be awarded to San Diego because the whistle had blown.

Denver went on to score a touchdown and a 2-point conversion to win 39-38.

Source: Fox Sports
Full Article: http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/8570534?MSNHPHCP&GT1=39002#


In related news, Ed Hochuli has resigned from the NFL and just been hired as next season's newest American Gladiator.

Shawn Johnson said WHAT?!

This vid is Chris Hansen approved for teh creepo factor...

The FA Barclays Premiership (Part 2)

Part 2 of the Nerd Corner, Premiership preview for the 2007/2008 season. This time, looking at the remaining 10 teams.

Manchester United

Reigning champions, won the title on the last day of the season. Relied heavily on an extraordinary season by Christiano Ronaldo, to get them to where they were. Going to need the same heroics this year from the lad. Big speculation throughout the summer over his future at the club, or whether he was going to Real Madrid. An inevitability in the long run. however, he's still there, just injured to start the year. Supporting cast is pretty much the same, should be strong defensively. Will be challenging all year, just, don't think they've got it this year.

Ladbrokes odds - 5/4 (fav)
My Prediction - 2nd

Middlesbrough

For the last two years, I've said the same thing about Middlesbrough, as I did about Bolton, questioning where the goals were going to come from. With last January's signing of Afonso Alves, this team now has a goal scorer. Thusly, they should be more comfortable. Goalkeeping situation could be interesting, with no proven Premiership keeper there, and the loss of Luke Young will hurt, but, other than this, team is pretty similar to where they were a year ago, with a striker that can score.

Ladbrokes odds - 1000/1
My Prediction - 10th

Newcastle United

Last season, it looked as though Newcastle were going to be battling against relegation until the bitter end. Then, they sacked Sam Allardyce and brought back Kevin Keegan. Took a while to get going, but eventually, they got their act together and finished reasonably safe. The summer has been pretty uneventful, but with a full year of Keegan, the team should not be in the same troubles as last season. Not going to be better than a mid-table team though.

Ladbrokes odds - 350/1
My Prediction - 11th

Portsmouth

My personal favourite Premiership team. The last few years, Harry Redknapp has made this team into a strong, top 10 outfit. A remarkable achievement, considering that not that long ago, they were in the yo-yo between the Premiership and Championship nearly every year. New signing Peter Crouch, is going to provide a good partner for quick, free-scoring Jermaine Defoe. No other big moves over the course of the summer, should look to be in a similar position as last year.

Ladbrokes odds - 350/1
My Prediction - 7th

Sjoke City Stoke City

Full disclosure; I have a personal hatred of Stoke City that is unmatched by any other team, short of perhaps Port Vale. This is the local rival of my own team, and it pains me greatly to see them in the Premiership this year. Just like Hull, I have no idea how they did it, and it's a testament to just how poor the promoted teams from last year are. They've made three moves over the summer, bringing in a goalkeeper, midfielder and striker. Somehow, Tony Pulis believes that the above average championship side he had last year, plus a couple of extra pieces are going to make the difference. He, and clayheads everywhere are going to be in for a big shock this coming year, and I am personally going to enjoy watching every second of their attrocious season.

Ladbrokes odds - 7500/1
My Prediction - 20th (Relegated)

Sunderland

A solid first season in the premiership, with a reasonably poor squad. Roy Keane has managed to work wonders at the wearside club. The summer has seen a couple of modest signings, with the addition of Steve Malbranque from Tottenham the most significant. Should be relatively safe again this season, if only down to the poorer standard of competition from the lower half of the league.

Ladbrokes odds - 1500/1
My Prediction - 14th

Tottenham Hotspur

Spurs massively underachieved last season, but the teams fortunes did turn around somewhat when new manager Juande Ramos came to the helm. The summer has seen the additions of midfielder David Bentley from Blackburn and Luka Modric from Dinamo Zagreb, which should strengthen an already free scoring unit, however, the loss of Robbie Keane to Liverpool is going to hurt. Dimitar Berbatov is still at the club, but, for how long remains to be seen. Scored the fifth most goals last term, but conceded the fifth most too, if they can tighten up the defence, Tottenham could be flying quite high this year.

Ladbrokes odds - 50/1
My Prediction - 5th

West Bromwich Albion

The last of the newly promoted teams, West Brom won the Championship last season, although no by much. The team was far and away the best squad in the second tier, but, still didn't run away with the league. They are the best set of the three new teams to survive, and with the additions of Scott Carson and Marek Cech, they've strengthened the defence to cope. Luke Young should also add some fire-power to the front-line. Going to be a scrap to stay up, but, with the keys in place, they can certainly do it.

Ladbrokes odds - 3000/1
My Prediction - 17th

West Ham United

Another team that has a reasonably quiet offseason. The team has lost Bobby Zamora to Fulham, though, he didn't play all that much last year. Valon Behrami could add some more quality to the midfield, but, overall it appears that they shouldn't be far off from where they were last year. What is likely to drop the team down in the league, is the improvement of various teams around the Hammers. Likely, mid table obscurity for much of the season.

Ladbrokes odds - 750/1
My Prediction - 13th

Wigan Athletic

Last season it appeared that Wigan were going to be in the relegation battle until the final day, but when they brought in Manager Steve Bruce from Birmingham, the fortunes turned around and they finished relatively safe. This term, the team has Bruce for the full year, and pretty much the same squad as a year previous. Lee Cattermole and Oliver Kapo are the only noteworthy additions to the team. Should finish well clear of the drop, though, probably won't be pushing for much more.

Ladbrokes odds - 3000/1
My Prediction - 15th


Thusly, concludes the Premiership team by team preview for 2008/2009. The season starts tomorrow, Saturday August 16th at 12:45pm BST, 7:45am ET with Arsenal vs. West Brom at the Emirates Stadium, most other teams will be kicking off at 3pm BST, 10am ET.

The FA Barclays Premiership (Part 1)

My original draft of this post was far too long, so, we're going to have a part 1 and part 2 situation.

Not really fitting along the lines of the nerd corner as such, but this is my bread and butter subject. This coming weekend marks the start of the 2008/2009 season, of the Barclays Premier League. The spirit of competition will be on show every week, as the (supposed) best 20 teams in England battle it out to see who will win the prize for this year. The following is a brief, completely biased run down of each of the 20 teams the first 10 teams, alphabetically, in the competition this year, and my own predictions of where they will finish.


Arsenal

Perennial member of 'the big 4', and should be there or there abouts once again this year. A young team, with many current stars, and stars of the future. Looked like they were going to race away with the title last year, until Eduardo got injured at Birmingham, ran out of steam after that incident. Could end up one step lower this term, with Liverpool improving, still an outside shot at the title.

Ladbrokes odds - 6/1
My Prediction - 4th

Aston Villa

The additions of Luke Young, Nicky Shorey and American Bard Friedel should improve an average defensive unit. Last year, Villa scored the 3rd most goals in the league, this year, they have the same midfield and forward units, so, should look to score the same again. The Gareth Barry saga does continue, with the aspect of whether he's going to Liverpool or not hanging in the balance as the transfer window doesn't close until the end of the month. However, even if he does go, the signing of Steve Sidwell should go some way to cover for this.

Ladbrokes odds - 150/1
My Prediction - 6th

Blackburn Rovers

Their biggest loss of the off-season, is manager Mark Hughes who has gone to Manchester City. The new boss, is ex-lots of teams and England midfielder, Paul Ince, whose current managing experience is only in League 2, a full 3 leagues below the premiership. They've lost their best player in David Bentley, they've lost Brad Friedel and replaced him with Paul Robinson, a downgrade in my opinion. This team is set for a big fall this coming season.

Ladbrokes odds - 1000/1
My Prediction - 12th

Bolton Wanderers

Squeaked away from the drop zone at the very end of last season, heavily relying on their early season form in order to survive. This year, they don't have the benefit of Nicolas Anelka scoring their goals. The big drop in form happened when they sold Anelka to Chelsea last January. Simply put, they just don't have anyone to score goals. Their only saving grace might be the poor standard of the promoted teams. Could be a long season for the Trotters.

Ladbrokes Odds - 3000/1
My Prediction - 18th (Relegated)

Chelsea

My tip for the top every year. It's hard to argue against a team with such insane talent, and quite frankly any time they don't win the title, they're underachieving. This summer has seen many players who don't play depart, and the addition of Deco from Barcelona and Bosingwa from Porto. Question marks...probably how new manager Luiz Felipe Scolari handles the team, should be very different from the old, more defensive style. Could be a fun team to watch.

Ladbrokes odds - 13/8 (2ndF)
My Prediction - 1st (Champions)

Everton

For much of last year, it looked as though Everton could break into the top 4, shaking up the general status quo. However, over the summer, the team has been pretty much stagnant. Granted, they had, and have a decent team, but they've lost striker Andy Johnson, and now face a tough challenge. The teams around them have improved, and Evertonians could be in for a shock.

Ladbrokes odds - 150/1
My Prediction - 9th

Fulham

Roy Hodgson performed the miracle or miracles at the end of last season, just when it looked like Fulham were destined for the Championship, they managed to save their season with some big results in the last few games. This summer has seen a large amount of players coming and going, as Hodgson looks to stamp his authority on the team, and save them from the predicaments of last season. Biggest signing has to be Andy Johnson from Everton, who should improve the strikeforce, as well as Bobby Zamora. Team looks better set for the league this year.

Ladbrokes odds - 2500/1
My Prediction - 16th

Hull City

Newly promoted Hull came through the Championship play-offs. If anyone will show the poor standard of promoted teams, it'll be Hull. Since they went up, they've signed some pretty average Premiership plays such as George Boateng and Giovanni. How this team managed to get promoted, I don't know. Pretty much nailed on to go down, with their only saving grace being the fact that they should be competing with Stoke for bottom place and least points in history.

Ladbrokes odds - 7500/1
My Prediction - 19th (Relegated)

Liverpool

They've lost an awful lot of dead weight from the squad, and have added Robbie Keane to the front line. For a while, they were rumoured to be close to signing David Villa, which would have made the team instant title contenders, as it is, they're slightly improved over where they were a year ago. If they manage to sign Gareth Barry, they may get closer, but, they'll be battling it out for 3rd place with Arsenal all year.

Ladbrokes odds - 6/1
My Prediction - 3rd

Manchester City

Last year, City looked like they were going to fly away with 5th place, the team looked pretty much unbeatable, especially at home, before the new year. And then, the wheels fell off. However, what City achieved last year was still impressive, and they got to somewhere where they hadn't been in many years. So, what does crazy nutso owner, Thaksin Shinawatra do? Sacks Sven Goran Erikson, who had done a bloody good job. Stupid. Anyway, that's done, Mark Hughes, who himself is a good manager, is now at the helm. Rumours of them signing Ronaldinho didn't materialise, so they're pretty much where they were.

Ladbrokes odds - 200/1
My Prediction - 8th


And that concludes part 1 of this years Premiership preview, part 2 will be coming before Saturday.

'Sunday Night Football' Web Streaming

NBC and NFL has announced that they will be streaming the complete season of Sunday Night Football online beginning opening night.

Sunday Night Football Extra will be the first complete NFL game to be available online in the US. Al Michaels and the favorite John Madden will be providing the audio stream during the game and the webcast will also be featuring multiple video streams and the ability to watch several in-game highlights. "We're trying to do things that are not available by watching broadcast television," said by NFL VP of Media Brian Rolapp.

Kickoff is on September 4th, Thursday night.

Reuters: "Sunday Night Football" to be streamed on Web