Ed Hochuli Isn't to Blame for Chargers Loss

Nik Sanborn — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 08:05:04 -0400

No one is taking the blown call harder than the man who made it: Ed Hochuli.

You all saw the play, or at least heard about it. Jay Cutler, Denver's rising-star quarterback, fumbled the ball without being touched while his team was down by a touchdown to Norv Turner's San Diego Chargers. Hochuli called it an incomplete pass, and Cutler and the Broncos went on to score a touchdown and make the two-point conversion to win the game.

Hochuli apologized immediately after the blown call, and is responding to every single letter of hate mail he has received from angry Chargers fans for his miscue, but Turner refused to accept the apology.

"Ed came over, the official, and said he blew it. And that's not acceptable to me. This is a high-level performance game, and that's not acceptable."

This is exactly the reason why Turner will not be an NFL head coach for much longer. That one call didn't determine the outcome of the game. What determined the game was the San Diego defense allowing Cutler to throw the touchdown strike to rookie Eddie Royal, and then letting Royal get open again for the two-point conversion.

Turner should have rallied his defense, getting them pumped up to stop Denver again. It isn't as though they had forced the fumble and then had it ruled incomplete, and there was no tremendous effort on their behalf; Cutler simply dropped the ball. But the defense laid down and essentially let Denver win the game.

I'm not saying that Hochuli was in no way responsible. But missed calls are a part of football. If Turner was a good coach, he would be able to motivate his defense to prevent a touchdown when the game is on the line.

Maybe Chargers fans have been directing their hate mail at the wrong man.

Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers: Blunder or Genius?

Nik Sanborn — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 10:40:20 -0400

I'm going to say one thing first: I am a lifelong Red Sox fan. I am not one of those "fans" who jumped on our boat in 2004 or 2007. I know agony and defeat and I know historically bad trades. I almost cried in July of 2004 when Nomah got traded to the Cubbies for a couple of spare parts.

Orlando Cabrera started his Sox career going 1-fer-20-something at shortstop and Doug Mientkiewicz was just a defensive replacement at first base, the easiest position to play. We were already saying "next ye-ah" when the Yankees went up three games to none in the AL Championship.

We all know how that season ended.

So now, four years later, I'm sitting here wondering if, once again, GM Theo Epstein knows something we don't.

From what has been reported, Manny Ramirez, fan favorite in Boston for his fun loving attitude, has been traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three way trade. Here's the breakdown:

Red Sox send Manny Ramirez to LA and Brandon Moss and Craig Hanson to Pittsburgh.

Pirates send Jason Bay to Boston

LA sends Andy LaRoche and Bryan Morris to Pittsburgh.

Looking at this deal, I don't know who got the bigger steal: Pittsburgh getting future stars in Moss and LaRoche, along with two pitchers who will prove serviceable after some development, or LA, who is getting Ramirez, one of the best hitters in baseball, for just a couple of prospects.

Ramirez is clearly the best player in the deal, but the Red Sox still managed to add prospects to the deal without getting anything else in return. Manny may be getting a little long in the tooth, but his ability at the plate has yet to show it. His experience playing The Monster is invaluable to the team and fans are often delighted by seeing his strong, accurate arm throw out a runner trying to stretch a wall shot into a double.

If the Red Sox managed to gain a relief pitcher such as Jason Grabow from Pittsburgh, fans would not be so upset about this deal. Said Eric Burgess of Nashua, NH, "If we got a reliever, I would be satisfied (with the trade)." Our point of weakness all season, another arm in the bullpen would have been enough to satisfy the average fan and bolster another run for the playoffs in a tight race.

Now, with the talented but unfamiliar Jason Bay out in left field, and the loss of one of four players remaining from the 2004 series, true Sox fans are starting to get the feeling that maybe it's time to start saying "next ye-ah" again, two words we're all very familiar with.

But then again, maybe by November Epstein will have proved us wrong, again.

Bleacher Report - Articles by Nik Sanborn

Ed Hochuli Isn't to Blame for Chargers Loss

Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers: Blunder or Genius?