Which Sport Has The Best Refs?

[capnsandwich]

Out of all the major American sports, which sport has the best refs, in your opinion?

I say hockey.

[iamlowsound]

Originally Posted by capnsandwich

Out of all the major American sports, which sport has the best refs, in your opinion?

I say hockey.

I would say that hockey has the worst, they are blind and inconsistent. I would say that out of the major ones, it would be the NFL, out off all the professional leagues, the NLL (national lacrosse league).

lowsound

[Swin]

NFL or basketball they have to be pretty athletic to keep up

[Jared Lash]

I'd probably say the NFL. They have the benefit of replay, and bad calls in football can generally affect the outcome more than other sports, but I still think they consistently get more calls right than other sports.

Side note - My old boss is a head ref for the NFL. Very weird when I turn on a game and don't realize he's reffing and then hear his voice coming out of my TV on a Sunday.

I suppose you could say baseball since there aren't that many calls other than the HP umpire calling balls and strikes, but the idea that the strike zone changes with every ump is still an odd quirk to me.

The NBA is probably the worst based on the "star treatment" calls and the fact that calls are different at the end of a game or in the playoffs.

But apparently not as bad as refs in Uruguay, based on this guy's reaction. Sheesh.

[ulrich]

Black and White always right! Get in the box!

I voted hockey. On skates, in the action, with no escape, contact sport.

[kesslari]

WWF.

Refs for a sport that has no rules, and isn't really a sport.

How much better than that could it get, unless they included carrots and bacon?

[sonic assassin]

professional wrestling. they are the only ones who can have personalities

[stratovani]

Hockey. No contest. Skating up and down the ice all game long without a break. Less padding than the average player. You even get to step in between a couple of 6'5" guys hell-bent on ripping each other's heads off (well the linesmen, anyways).

[elgecko]

Not sure, but it's definitely not Tim Donaghy :P

[Bad Brains]

Most consistent - MLB
Least Consistent - NHL

Most blatantly wrong - NFL
Most easily influenced - NBA

[crimson_basser]

Originally Posted by stratovani

Hockey. No contest. Skating up and down the ice all game long without a break. Less padding than the average player. You even get to step in between a couple of 6'5" guys hell-bent on ripping each other's heads off (well the linesmen, anyways).

All refs run up and down whatever playing field theyre on. And all refs have less to no padding then whatever players theyre reffing.

Were talking about QUALITY refs. Consistent, correct calling across the entire league, every game. Obviously no one is perfect, but hockey DEFINITELY does NOT have the best refs of pro sports. They turn the most blind eyes, "miss" the most calls for the sake of "letting the game happen".

It may not be so much the referees themselves as much as the association having to do with it, but thats not the discussion at hand.

All refs are given a hard time, in any sport, no matter what, so you cant base a good ref on who has to deal with the most crap from fans, players or whoever. Who most of the time, will boo anything against their home team, right or wrong. That does not define a GOOD ref. On the same token, all leagues have stupid players as well, and refs have to deal with them as well.

Believe me, im not pulling this out of thin air, ive ref'd my local basketball league for 8 years and have dealt with fights with players, coachs, fans, threats, DEATH THREATS and random people with machetes, knives and other weapons who didnt like a call against their buddy. (no word of a lie)

That being said: my vote goes the same way as lowsound; lacrosse. Out of the major ones, NFL.

[StanFan]

I'd say football officiating has benifited from use of instant replay. Hockey officiating is way too inconsistent. Basketball is okay. Baseball is inconsistent in some aspects. Soccer I'll watch maybe once a year so I can't say there.

Blaming officiating is the best way to cope with the struggles of your favorite teams though, that and injuries.

[Ground Pounder]

Originally Posted by StanFan

Blaming officiating is the best way to cope with the struggles of your favorite teams though, that and injuries.

And Matt Millan!

[doctorjazz]

Without a doubt, football/soccer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF1E6-9Ee8s

[MakiSupaStar]

Boxing

[hbarcat]

Hockey.

I played hockey for many years and I also reffed, so I'm biased.

But still, I say hockey.



If you disagree with me, I will hit you with a hockey stick.

[sensible68]

You play rugby union in the states don't you? The Eagles did respectably in the world cup.

You'll find it's rugby union.

[i_got_a_mohawk]

I'd say Rugby, in the UK at least.

It's no longer in the hands of one man, they have guys on the sides who can hit up a video replay from a couple different angles before a call is made.

[burk48237]

Basketball has by far the worse officials in pro sports. Perhaps because of the prima donnas on the court, the officials themselves have become prima donnas. Steve Jave is the worst official in pro sports period, but Basketball actually has a different set of rules for different teams, coaches and players. No sport is officiated more consistently inconsistent then the NBA.

Hockey gets some bad calls too, but it's not as consistently bad as basketball. Football is hard to judge for me because I live in Detroit and we don't have a pro team.

[Phalex]

For my money there is no competition. Australian Rules Football has the best Ref's hands down! They look like their doing the macarena, or the YMCA or something.