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The Kentucky Derby has been around for 145 years. It's steeped in tradition. Mint juleps, fancy hats, tons of celebrity appearances and so on. This past weekend, the officials made a change of outcome for the first time in that 145 year history. They rewarded Country House, the second place finisher and 65-1 long shot, as the winner instead of Maximum Security. Maximum Security was the actual winner of the race, but was disqualified after a twenty-two minute investigation into claims filed by two jockey's whose claims of interference were looked into.Now, neither horse is running in The Preakness.
The Saints were poised to make another Super Bowl appearance. They had the Rams dead to rights. It was a third and long inside field goal range of a tied game with about less than two minutes left. Getting a first down would allow them to run out the clock and kick the potential game winning field goal with no time left on the clock. However, Bill Vinovich had other plans. TommyLee Lewis was open on a wheel route when Nickell Robey-Coleman decided to destroy him before the ball got there. Vinovich swallowed his whistle and the rest is history.
The Rockets dropped game one to the Warriors by a score of 104-100. A four point loss on the road in game one of the Western Conference semis is not a death sentence, but it could have swung momentum in the Rockets' favor to start the series. There were about four to five times in which a defensive foul could have been called when James Harden was shooting a three pointer giving the Rockets a chance another twelve to fifteen free throws could've made enough of a difference change the outcome of the game.
Oklahoma State lost to Central Michigan in 2016 on a Hail Mary on an untimed down. This was the result of a pass interference call that was improperly enforced. In 1990, Colorado beat Missouri in the infamous "Fifth Down Game" which is so infamous, it has its own page on Wikipedia.
Officials have been piss poor for a long time. Unfortunately, they're getting worse. We live in an age in which technology has made some improvements in our lives. When it comes to sports, instant replay has allowed for bad or missed calls to be reversed. The ability of teams to be able to challenge a bad call has been huge. Imagine if Armando Gallaraga could've challenged Jim Joyce's call of safe allowing him to preserve his perfect game bid?
Officials rarely have to face the music like players and coaches do. They often times make themselves apart of the outcome and garner the spotlight, but don't have to face any media scrutiny. The issue of bad officiating isn't new. It's been going on for far too long and it's time to stop. Sports leagues need to do a better job of training officials. They also need to start weeding out older officials who can no longer keep up with the speed of the game, as well as discipline the ones who grade out poorly. This is something fans across the board have been calling for over a number of years. Leagues can no longer hide behind the human error excuse when the technology is readily available. There will be mistakes because we're human, but there shouldn't be outcomes so terribly effected when a solution is at hand. Human error is one thing, but sticking your head in the sand and refusing to embrace a solution to an apparent problem is idiotic.
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C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans are looking for answers after their passing game couldn’t get going in a loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Houston’s passing attack had been a strength all season, and the Texans ranked fifth in yards passing per game through their first six games. But on Sunday at Lambeau Field, Stroud was limited to a career-low 86 yards in the 24-22 loss, which snapped a three-game winning streak.
Stroud was 10 of 21 and didn’t have a touchdown pass for the first time this season. The second-year player was under duress for much of the day and was sacked four times and hit seven other times.
“We have to go back to the drawing board and see what those issues were,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “As we watch the film, we’ll see what happened, starting for me the communication and just guys being on the details of the job.”
'Everything is on the table. We have to get it fixed' #Texans coach DeMeco Ryans on offensive line and if personnel changes are being contemplated @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/AwK0rqeU2z
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) October 21, 2024
The Texans scored a season-high 41 points in a win over New England a week earlier in which Stroud threw a season-best three touchdown passes despite being without star receiver Nico Collins.
They were unable to replicate that success Sunday with Collins out for the second of at least four games after a hamstring injury landed him on injured reserve.
Stefon Diggs led the team with five receptions against the Packers, but they only amounted to 23 yards. Tank Dell, who the Texans expected to step up with Collins out, was targeted four times but didn’t have a catch.
Stroud discussed the importance of getting Dell more involved in the offense.
“We have to find a way to try and get him the rock early and often and then go from there,” he said. “It has to be a focus for us, not only just him, but the whole offense clicking early. That is really my job to get the ball out on time and to where it is supposed to go. So yeah, that definitely has to be fixed.”
Ryans spoke about his confidence is getting Dell going.
'I have all the faith in Tank' #Texans coach DeMeco Ryans expressed confidence in Tank Dell ability to get back to making explosive plays again as he did as a rookie @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/bojBEx3lYo
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) October 21, 2024
What's working
The Texans have forced seven turnovers combined in their last two games after they hadn’t caused any in their previous three games.
Houston scored 16 points off three turnovers Sunday. The Texans had two interceptions and recovered a fumble on a punt. In their win over the Patriots, they scored 17 points off a season-high four turnovers.
What needs help
The Texans won’t get to where they want to be this season if Stroud doesn’t get back on track. Before Sunday, last year’s AP Offensive Rookie of the Year was averaging more than 262 yards passing a game, giving the team confidence that the problems in the passing game are fixable.
Ryans knows the line must give Stroud more time to throw and said the coaching staff will focus on improving in that area this week.
Stock up
RB Joe Mixon continued to shine Sunday in his second game back after missing three games with an ankle injury. Mixon, who is in his first season in Houston after a trade from Cincinnati, had 25 carries for 115 yards and two touchdowns against Green Bay.
Mixon is confident the Texans will rebound this week if they quit making mistakes.
“Does it look I’m worried? I’m not worried at all,” he said. “Like I said, we got a ... good football team. At the end of the day, we are our own worst enemy.”
Stock down
Dell was unable to help Stroud get the passing game going. The second-year player had a solid rookie season with 709 yards receiving and seven touchdowns in 11 games before breaking his leg. But he hasn’t been able to build on that success this year and has just 194 yards receiving with one score in six games.
Injuries
LB Azeez Al-Shaair (knee), LB Henry To’oTo’o (concussion), CB Kamari Lassiter (shoulder) and S Jimmie Ward (groin) all missed Sunday’s game and it’s unclear if any of these starters can return this week.
Key number
3 — Safety Calen Bullock had his third interception Sunday to tie Dunta Robinson and Jumal Rolle for most interceptions by a rookie in franchise history through the first seven games. He leads NFL rookies in interceptions this season and is tied for third-most among all players.
Next steps
The AFC South-leading Texans (5-2) return to division play Sunday when they host the second-place Colts (4-3), who have won two in a row and four of five.