FlaHawker 24 Posted August 7, 2010 Sorting through referee Bill Leavy's apologyAugust, 6, 2010 Aug 69:34PM ETEmail Print Comments11 By Mike SandoThe Seattle Seahawks and their fans weren't the only ones agonizing over officiating in the team's Super Bowl XL defeat to the Pittsburgh Steelers following the 2005 season. The referee, Bill Leavy, also felt horrible about it. Leavy, part of the officiating crew monitoring Seahawks practices at training camp this week, told reporters the game "left me with a lot of sleepless nights" and that "I'll go to my grave wishing that I'd been better." Where's Mike Holmgren when you need him? Leavy admitted blowing two calls in the fourth quarter. One call would have presumably been the disputed holding penalty against tackle Sean Locklear after Seattle advanced to the Pittsburgh 1-yard line. The other presumably would have been the call against Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck for an illegal block. There were other potentially dubious calls that hurt Seattle in that game, from a penalty against receiver Darrell Jackson for pass interference to the ruling that Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger scored a touchdown shortly before halftime. Leavy made his apology before briefing reporters on rules changes for the 2010 season. NFL officials provide such briefings every year in every NFL camp. Leavy deserves credit for owning up to his mistakes, but why wait more than four years? As tough as it must have been for Leavy to fess up, it would have been much tougher -- and far more meaningful to the Seahawks -- if Holmgren were still head coach, Tim Ruskell were team president and more than eight current players had ties to that 2005 team. Perhaps Leavy plans to reach out to them separately. Too many questions remain unanswered. I plan to follow up when dropping by Seahawks practice Sunday. * Gee but Mike Periera told us all how wonderfully officiated that game was http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcwest/post/_/id/20856/sorting-through-referee-bill-leavys-apology Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brian Bozworth Fan Club 0 Posted August 7, 2010 Why apologize now, what's the point? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stonewall 647 Posted August 7, 2010 Not a Seahawk fan.......in fact, don't even like 'em much. However, remember watching that game and it was a terribly officiated game...against Seattle. No doubt about it. Better late than never, I guess Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pittnthat 0 Posted August 7, 2010 And how do you know that he is not just as upset about calls that went against the Steelers? He can't sleep at night due to blowing dead a clear fumble recovery that would have blown the game open.... Seahawk catches ball and makes football move then gets stripped and he says no catch???????Thank god he is now owning up to this mistake! I feel so much better now. I am assuming this is what the article is talking about as the word presumably refers to an assumption. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jaxjag 43 Posted August 7, 2010 And how do you know that he is not just as upset about calls that went against the Steelers? He can't sleep at night due to blowing dead a clear fumble recovery that would have blown the game open.... Seahawk catches ball and makes football move then gets stripped and he says no catch???????Thank god he is now owning up to this mistake! I feel so much better now. I am assuming this is what the article is talking about as the word presumably refers to an assumption. duh. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Giants Fan 85 Posted August 7, 2010 Worst call ever Where's my apology? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joey Gladstone 33 Posted August 7, 2010 Does this mean it'll be another 4 years before somebody apologizes for the Pitt-AZ Superbowl? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FlaHawker 24 Posted August 7, 2010 And how do you know that he is not just as upset about calls that went against the Steelers? Yeah he apologized to the Seahawks for bad calls against the Steelers You have tremendous logical thinking skills Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FlaHawker 24 Posted August 7, 2010 There are those in Seattle, and around the country, who will go to their graves believing that the Pittsburgh Steelers' 21-10 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL had an odor to it from the start. From Ben Roethlisberger's(notes) one-yard rushing touchdown that was inconclusive even on review, to the phantom holding call that took a potential 98-yard touchdown drive away from Seattle, the calls made by the officiating crew in that February, 2006 game created a tapestry of suspicion that persists to this day. Some believe that the refs were told to call the game tight on the Seahawks and loose on the Steelers, a concept which exacerbated the mistakes Seattle made in the game. More than four years after the fact, another voice has been added to the choir calling that game a mess of bad decisions. Head official Bill Leavy, in Seattle to go through the annual rules changes production on behalf of the NFL, started his presentation by addressing what he called "the elephant in the living room." It was a tough thing for me. I kicked two calls in the fourth quarter and I impacted the game and as an official you never want to do that. It left me with a lot of sleepless nights and I think about it constantly. I'll go to my grave wishing that I'd been better. I know that I did my best at that time, but it wasn't good enough. When we make mistakes, you've got to step up and own them. It's something that all officials have to deal with, but unfortunately when you have to deal with it in the Super Bowl, it's difficult. The only problem with the idea of "stepping up and owning" the mistakes is that until Leavy's admission, the league had tacitly refused to do so. Then-VP of Officiating Mike Pereira went on the NFL Network's Total Access show two weeks after the game (as opposed to the usual one-week lag) and glossed over what was then a national outrage over the officiating in that game. Steelers fans aside, everyone wanted to know -- what the heck happened? Pereira explained one of the two calls Leavy was talking about -- the fourth-quarter holding call on right tackle Sean Locklear(notes) that pushed the ball from the Pittsburgh 1-yard line to the Pittsburgh 29 -- as follows: Looking at the position of [Locklear's] feet, and saying that you've got to keep hands inside the frame from this position, with the right end around the shoulder, pulling on the arm, and eventually the defender going down to a knee...you've got the ingredients of a hold there. That's an example of a type of play that you'll get from time to time. It's got the ingredients of a hold -- not the strongest, but in fact, it's got what it takes to be considered a hold. And Bill Leavy, from his position, got that look that you just saw. It's also important to note that the NFL refined the holding rules at the Owner's Meetings soon after. "One of the things we emphasized in there was seeing the entire foul," committee co-chair Rich McKay said. "If you do not see the entire foul, you cannot call holding. That's specifically applied when players go to the ground. Because what often happens is you see a player, a defensive player on the ground, the offensive player is on the ground and you see a flag, foul it. If you don't see the entire action, you cannot assume that it was holding that caused that player to go to the ground." The other call Leavy's talking about, a low block call on Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck(notes), is one that Pereira almost admitted to being wrong at the time. Of course, two things stand out about Leavy's admission -- first, why did it take so long for him to admit that his calls were wrong? The NFL drilled it into everyone's heads that all the "important" calls in that game were close, but correct . With so many of the main characters off to other things, what's the good in admitting it now? Replay technology hasn't changed; the league has the same angles on that game now that it did then. Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren is now running the Cleveland Browns, and team president Tim Ruskell is now working for the Chicago Bears. Pereira has retired from his league position to become the media personification of officiating expertise for several media outlets. Leavy is still an official. Hasselbeck and Locklear are two of a handful of Seahawks players who are still with the team. Second, just because Leavy admitted to blowing two calls doesn't mean that those were the only errors in the game. Leavy wasn't the one who called the Roethlisberger touchdown; that was head linesman Mark Hittner. Nor was Leavy in charge of the first-quarter offensive pass interference call on Seahawks receiver Darrell Jackson(notes). Do the Seahawks have to wait another five years for the admissions on those calls? Put simply, the Seahawks didn't play well enough to win Super Bowl XL. They made several crucial mistakes, but it's also correct to say that the Steelers didn't play well enough to win. Officiated correctly, XL probably would have been an ugly war of attrition; a barely-remembered close game that could have gone either way. But because of the calls made, the league's subsequent denial that anything was wrong with those calls, and Leavy's admission of guilt so much later, this game will never go away. This stinks bad http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Super-Bowl-XL-head-official-admits-to-blown-call?urn=nfl-260901 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pittnthat 0 Posted August 7, 2010 This stinks bad http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Super-Bowl-XL-head-official-admits-to-blown-call?urn=nfl-260901 If you go back to our bickering years ago you will see that I 100% agree that the Hass block after the int was the wrong call. The ref blew that call and anyone that knows football would agree. 15 yards were awarded to the Steelers that shouldn't have. Sorry that your team could not overcome this. As for the hold, I believe it was your hometown announcers that stated you can't do that or they will get you every time. Pull it up and I think they say something to this effect. If you hometown announcers state this then at the very least you have 2 admit that it was very close. Neither of these calls were as bad as Troy P's int that was taken away vs Indy in the divisional game. That was the Head ref not knowing the rule vs a close play. Neither was as bad as SBxxx where Dallas ran a pick play to scored their 1st td......it happens and you gotta overcome, much like Leavy taking away the Steelers stripping the ball from a Seahawk wr/te and getting jobbed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WhiteWonder 2,738 Posted August 7, 2010 you should make a little super bowl trophy out of paper mache Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pimptastic69 0 Posted August 7, 2010 10-15 years ago I worked with a guy that was a diehard Vikings fan. I grew up in MN and was also a Vikings fan so I thought it was pretty cool that a fellow Ohioan liked Der Vikes. It turns out, this guy was a fan in the literal sense of the word (FANatic). The dude would repeatedly watch replays of all the Vikings' Super Bowls. Like every night. "Man, if Jim Marshall would have made it through that double team, we would have made the sack and Bradshaw wouldn't have been able to.......blah blah blah" He described sh1t like it just happened the day before. Guy was clearly delusional. I fear you are entering this similar realm of delusion. You need to let it go. It's borderline insanity. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joey Gladstone 33 Posted August 7, 2010 Another little known fact about that Superbowl: It was held in Detroit. Did anybody know that Jerome "The Bus" Bettis is also from Detroit? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joey Gladstone 33 Posted August 7, 2010 10-15 years ago I worked with a guy that was a diehard Vikings fan. I grew up in MN and was also a Vikings fan so I thought it was pretty cool that a fellow Ohioan liked Der Vikes. It turns out, this guy was a fan in the literal sense of the word (FANatic). The dude would repeatedly watch replays of all the Vikings' Super Bowls. Like every night. "Man, if Jim Marshall would have made it through that double team, we would have made the sack and Bradshaw wouldn't have been able to.......blah blah blah" He described sh1t like it just happened the day before. Guy was clearly delusional. I fear you are entering this similar realm of delusion. You need to let it go. It's borderline insanity. I'm sorry, did an offical from that Super Bowl apologize for poor officiating in that game? I really dont give a sh!t either way, what's done is done. I've wasted enough of my life being pissed off about that game. Im far more interested in how Rusell Okung, Earl Thomas, and Golden Tate look in practice. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
phillybear 366 Posted August 7, 2010 If they can strip USC of all it's glory for the Reggie Bush stuff, it's clearly time the NFL did the right thing and strip Pittsburgh of their Super Bowl win* over Seattle. It's a disgrace and disgusting and so very clearly undeserved. It rightfully is one of the biggest scandals and cover-ups in NFL history. But I suppose that knowing the truth is all we Seahawk fans are ever going to get. Maybe the game was fixed, maybe not, but it clearly was a screw job by the refs. And nobody living outside of Pittsburgh believes otherwise. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MDC 7,426 Posted August 7, 2010 Pittsburgh would've won anyway. The Suckbags lucked into the Super Bowl and weren't in Pittsburgh's class. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joey Gladstone 33 Posted August 7, 2010 Pittsburgh would've won anyway. The Suckbags lucked into the Super Bowl and weren't in Pittsburgh's class. Hey, at least Hassellbeck didn't blow chunks because he couldnt handle the pressure. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MDC 7,426 Posted August 7, 2010 Hey, at least Hassellbeck didn't blow chunks because he couldnt handle the pressure. I agree, the Redskins quarterback is a choke artist. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joey Gladstone 33 Posted August 7, 2010 I agree, the Redskins quarterback is a choke artist. Donovan will always be an Eagle at heart. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FlaHawker 24 Posted August 7, 2010 If you go back to our bickering years ago you will see that I 100% agree that the Hass block after the int was the wrong call. The ref blew that call and anyone that knows football would agree. 15 yards were awarded to the Steelers that shouldn't have. Sorry that your team could not overcome this. As for the hold, I believe it was your hometown announcers that stated you can't do that or they will get you every time. Pull it up and I think they say something to this effect. If you hometown announcers state this then at the very least you have 2 admit that it was very close. Neither of these calls were as bad as Troy P's int that was taken away vs Indy in the divisional game. That was the Head ref not knowing the rule vs a close play. Neither was as bad as SBxxx where Dallas ran a pick play to scored their 1st td......it happens and you gotta overcome, much like Leavy taking away the Steelers stripping the ball from a Seahawk wr/te and getting jobbed. Hey Genius, the ref of SB XL just admitted he focked the game up. Save your analysis. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cuse9 129 Posted August 7, 2010 Hey Genius, the ref of SB XL just admitted he focked the game up. Save your analysis. I understand you pain FlaHawker, I really do. Whether he screwed up or didn't, whether he admitted it or not...it's not going to change the final results. The Steelers raised the trophy and now, that's all that matters. Jim Joyce admitted he blew the call for Armando Gallaraga, but you know what, Gallaraga still doesn't have a perfect game. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pittnthat 0 Posted August 8, 2010 Hey Genius, the ref of SB XL just admitted he focked the game up. Save your analysis. Agree. Blew the call of the stripped ball that hosed the Steelers. Hope he learns what a football move is and becomes a better ref for it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joey Gladstone 33 Posted August 8, 2010 The good thing about this is that it spiced the board up a bit. Things have been pretty boring around here since the NFL draft. Also, as an added bonus to Steeler fans, it serves as a nifty little distraction from (alleged) rape charges and police cover-ups. We're all winners here! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cuse9 129 Posted August 8, 2010 The good thing about this is that it spiced the board up a bit. Things have been pretty boring around here since the NFL draft. Also, as an added bonus to Steeler fans, it serves as a nifty little distraction from (alleged) rape charges and police cover-ups. We're all winners here! Joey, that is a fifteen yard penalty for a low blow! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MDC 7,426 Posted August 8, 2010 Donovan will always be an Eagle at heart. Maybe, but he'll be throwing 100 mph worm-burners for the Redskins from now on. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FlaHawker 24 Posted August 8, 2010 I understand you pain FlaHawker, I really do. Whether he screwed up or didn't, whether he admitted it or not...it's not going to change the final results. The Steelers raised the trophy and now, that's all that matters. Jim Joyce admitted he blew the call for Armando Gallaraga, but you know what, Gallaraga still doesn't have a perfect game. You missed the point. WE, football fans, were told by the NFL that the game was properly officiated. Leavy admitted it wasn't. There is a a problem here. That's the point. Steeler fans left and right swore that game was properly called. Well, it wasn't. The Head Ref said so. End of story. * Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Franknbeans 46 Posted August 8, 2010 if only the Seahawks didn't cheat Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FlaHawker 24 Posted August 8, 2010 The good thing about this is that it spiced the board up a bit. Things have been pretty boring around here since the NFL draft. Also, as an added bonus to Steeler fans, it serves as a nifty little distraction from (alleged) rape charges and police cover-ups. We're all winners here! Joey, this is a disaster for Steeler fans. They so desperately wanted SB XL to be legit and now, well... * Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Me_2006 14 Posted August 8, 2010 Another little known fact about that Superbowl: It was held in Detroit. Did anybody know that Jerome "The Bus" Bettis is also from Detroit? Why didn't they mention this?! It would have been such a great story! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dan 66 Posted August 8, 2010 Wow. Seriously? 2010? Are you kidding me? Get some help. Bitterness shortens life spans. And tell me . . . when did the Steelers fans here duck the garbage with Ben? Cheap shot or not . . . it was borne from bitterness and loathing. But we're supposed to see you as objective . . . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FlaHawker 24 Posted August 8, 2010 Wow. Seriously? 2010? Are you kidding me? Get some help. Bitterness shortens life spans. And tell me . . . when did the Steelers fans here duck the garbage with Ben? Cheap shot or not . . . it was borne from bitterness and loathing. But we're supposed to see you as objective . . . The truth stings, but truth will set you free... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FlaHawker 24 Posted August 8, 2010 Max Starks is really dumb: Early in the fourth quarter with the Steelers leading 14-10, Locklear was called for holding Clark Haggans on a pass completion to Jerramy Stevens that would have put the Seahawks at the Steelers' 1-yard line. "Well, that was a holding," Starks said. "And that's coming from an offensive lineman. It pains me to admit those kinds of things." Hasselbeck threw an interception three plays later and then was called for an illegal block to move the Steelers near midfield. Four plays later, Antwaan Randle El's reverse pass touchdown to Hines Ward sealed the game for the Steelers. "You know what, even if you give them that touchdown, we still win the game," Starks said. "It would've been 14-10. We still win. I know we have no regrets. We have won another one since. You look back on it, and you're a human being and that was a judgment call and you have to live with it. If you thought it was iffy, then don't make the call." http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_693996.html No Maxie, if you GIVE them that TD the Hawks are up 17-14 after a 98 yard drive with less than 12 minutes remaining and having fully taken control of the game. You don't win. Geez talk about sensitive. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FlaHawker 24 Posted August 8, 2010 This cat gets it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkSPINuBrO4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pittnthat 0 Posted August 8, 2010 Max Starks is really dumb: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_693996.html No Maxie, if you GIVE them that TD the Hawks are up 17-14 after a 98 yard drive with less than 12 minutes remaining and having fully taken control of the game. You don't win. Geez talk about sensitive. Then James Farrior picks up the Jerammy Steveans fumble and runs it 50 yards for a td. Steelers win . Oops it just easy to forget that a terrible call went against the Steelers as well. Carry on as listening to you is like watching Fox news as your only gonna get one side of the story. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
phillybear 366 Posted August 8, 2010 Then James Farrior picks up the Jerammy Steveans fumble and runs it 50 yards for a td. Steelers win . Oops it just easy to forget that a terrible call went against the Steelers as well. Carry on as listening to you is like watching Fox news as your only gonna get one side of the story. Are you out of your mind? You make an analogy with a single news organization, and not call out every single news organization for being biased? Fox, MSNBC, The Daily Show, ABC, especially CNN, it's all garbage, garbage, garbage. One sided, over produced, fake emotion, ratings conscious garbage. Wow. Just wow. But you pick out one channel. Your blinders are huge. No open mind there. Your infant like logic is just incredible. I spit on this whole thread because of just mind numbing comments like this. The Steelers were given a Super Bowl. They did nothing to earn it other than not be the Seahawks. So go and cry about your silver spoon life. We really feel for you. The elephant in the room is that the Superbowl was not officiated fairly for one team, everybody knows it, and nobody wants to admit it. Well, the head ref just did, but let's all just cover that up too. It's time we should just burn Pittsburgh to the ground, salt the earth, and be done with it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WhiteWonder 2,738 Posted August 8, 2010 did you guys make that paper mache trophy yet? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kopy 568 Posted August 8, 2010 Why were yellow n black towels given out at the park. But blue n green ones being charged for? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WhiteWonder 2,738 Posted August 8, 2010 Why were yellow n black towels given out at the park. But blue n green ones being charged for? Seattle is cheap? Thats just a joke, kind of, but if this is a serious question I would wonder who is in charge of merchandise / handout decisions at a super bowl? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites