Do you hear that? It's the sound of salty man-teardrops hitting floors, coffee tables, and newspapers across the world.

Now I know, some of you MEN out there are reading this and saying...

"I'm a MAN and I don't cry... Never!"

Wanna bet?

And to prove it I'm going to test some of you real quick...

The movie is Rocky 3, and Clubber Lang has just defeated Rocky for the title. Rocky goes back to his locker room where Mickey is resting after falling ill during the match. The doctor gives Rocky the news, and he makes his way to see Mick who is being comforted by Adrian. Rocky keeps the hood of his robe covering his face since he looks like Tina Turner on a good day during her "Ike Years" Mick struggles and asks Rocky what round. Rocky answers, but doesn't tell him that he lost. Mick says a few brief words and passes.

Nope... Still dry-eyed?

Okay... Rocky again... This time it's sequel 4 and Apollo Creed is taking on that big Russian steroid freak of nature Ivan Drago. Apollo makes the fight out to be a big showboat spectacle, but when he realizes it's for real it's too late and ends up getting killed in the ring. As Rocky holds a dying friend in his arms the Russian eyes the two of them and remarks.

"If he dies... Then he dies..."

What? Still dry? Okay, okay, okay. We are nearing football season and almost all men love football so let's pop the movie "Rudy" into our mental movie player...

Rudy has worked his ass off, and he's even invited that black guy who used to play Roc on that Fox sitcom. There's just minutes to go in the game, and the whole stadium is chanting Rudy's name over and over as the coach finally tells him to go in for a play.

Got ya... Now that I have your attention these past few months some of us have been dealing with our own share of man-tears.

In Pennsylvania and throughout the Steelers nation there were brief moments of man-tears after Ben Roethlisberger decided to take a ride on his Suzuki Hayabusa without his helmet and got into an accident. It was an emotional ride as those in Steelers nation had to man-tear at the fact they may have to see Charlie Batch for the entire season. The last time he played a full season was the turn of the millennium in Detroit.

How about here in Boston where the Celtic fans' man-tears are on hold until they can pull off a deal which would bring 76er's Allen Iverson to Beantown to play alongside Paul Pierce. If Danny Ainge pulls this off we can forgive him for letting Antoine Walker getaway a second time, and man-tears may flow on Causeway St. as the tandem of Piece and Iverson may just bring a championship back to the Garden.

In Foxboro this year on opening night there will be no man-tears, no unveiling of championship banners and no surprise visits form Ozzy Osborne to perform Crazy Train. But there is a chance Ty Law may be back here picking off passes once again.

Down the road from Foxboro in September Boston's bad boys Aerosmith are performing with Motley Crue... For some, this double bill will garner some heavy metal man-tears; as a matter of fact, I may just have to dig out my jeans with zebra print pockets for this show... I'd have to lose about 100 lbs to wear them though.

What about Britney Spears in Bizarre... I mean Bazaar magazine posing nude while 4 months pregnant? Man-tears from those men who wish their wives looked this good pregnant while cursing Kevin Federline... Is the title of "Wife's Fortune Spender" an acceptable job description on a application?

How about man-tears for that season finale of HBO's Sopranos? An eight-month wait to see Anthony Jr's hot, Latino girlfriend again, and to see if my prediction of Tony and Christopher's relationship will come to a violent end.

Last month there were some video game man-tears, as the Halo 3 clip was unveiled to the world, and just this month stores started taking pre-orders for EA's Madden 07, which is due in August. Hopefully EA can bounce back from their horrid performance last year with Madden 06. You would think that having an exclusive contract with the NFL last year they would have put their best foot forward, but they didn't.

In other Sinista thoughts what the hell was up with this new installment of Superman? I took my boys to see "Superman Returns" at the drive in, and was wondering what happened to "Truth, Justice, the American Way" and common sense?

SPOILER ALERT

Overall the movie was great, but I did have some issues with the movie.

Everyone at the Daily Planet call themselves ace reporters yet not one of them connect the fact that Clark Kent returns to his job the same day Superman returns with the exception of Lois Lane's son.

Clark/Superman has been gone from Earth for five years and unbeknownst to him Lois Lane had given birth to his son. A son who is like "Blade", a hybrid with no weakness to Kryptonite. When Lois sees Superman for the first time she faints. What woman is going to faint on a guy she hasn't seen in five years after giving birth to his child? The "American Way" would have been Lois faking to be in trouble, and when Superman came to save her she would have her lawyer serve his ass with papers to take him to court and collect five years of back child support.

3)       If the above did happen how would the court figure out Superman's income? He has no known job, so would he have to take on work? What would he do? He has to spend his time saving the world. I guess speaking at colleges or making personal appearances would be a way for him to make money.

4)       And what was up with Lex Luthor? He's supposed to be a criminal genius, and after getting out of jail he has the same plan from the first movie to conquer real estate at the expense of destroying the USA forcing other countries to buy prime land. Also, why would he destroy the USA when it's one of the richest countries in the world? I'm sure Donald Trump would have bought up some planet Krypton real fast.

Oh Well, I guess I have way too much time on my hands so I better bring this to a close to get ready for this upcoming NFL season, but until then...

Pass the tissues... "Brian's Song" is on

Original Date: March 14, 2004

On the eve of WWE's Wrestlemania 20 Patriots cornerback Ty Law turns "heel" in the eyes of certain media and fans across the country.

"What the hell is a heel?" you ask.

Ok, pay close attention because I'm only going to give this to you real quick.

In the world of professional wrestling you have two certain types of wrestlers, "heels" and "faces". Sometimes you do have your occasional middle of the road guys, but they have nothing to do with this piece at this time. "Heels" are your bad wrestlers, the ones who get the drinks dumped on their heads as they make their way to the ring, or have verbal barrages of profanity spit into their mugs by fans sitting ringside. "Faces" are those guys who live for the moment, and get the huge "pops" when they enter the arena like The Rock, Hogan or HBK. The "faces" are your heroes, the ones every kid wants to be in the playground.

Ty Law was once a "face", but as of today thanks to the Boston Globe and writer Michael Smith Ty Law has officially "turned heel".

"What the hell is turned heel?" you ask.

Ok here we go again and PAY ATTENTION!

Bruno Sammartino was a great "face" in his prime, and the crowds loved him. Larry Zybsco was Sammartino's protege, an admirer who was also a "face" the two were both great singles' competitors, and when together a great tag team. Eventually Larry wanted out of Sammartino's shadow so they decided on having a match. Since both wrestlers were considered "faces" the match was what they usually call a "scientific" match meaning that it was a clean match with clean holds. The match progressed, and Larry got upset with Bruno not giving his all, taking it easy, and not giving Larry a chance to show his skills. Larry's anger got to him, and he grabbed a steel chair. Zybsco destroyed Sammartino with that chair, and bloodied him up on Saturday morning television. On that day Zybsco "turned heel".

In the Globe article "Law says he doesn't want to play for Pats." Law is quoted several times about his feelings, and is now enduring the wrath of those who use to love this guy now rip him apart. Like writer Bob Anderson over at PatsFans.com who feels Ty Law is a "30 something, overrated, overpaid, ingrate". What about the fans? Like Mike Jardin of Taunton a friend of mine who says, "Let him leave. He's not worth the money."

You guys are missing the point, and don't realize the bottom line. The NFL is a business, with team owners making a boatload of money. And working for those owners you have players/employees who are paid on a scale based on their minimum which is set by the NFL Players Union Contract. Players are paid a base amount of what they are to receive for time vested, but also receive extra for accomplishments, following team polices, and going above and beyond during the season.

Ty Law has done that, but now these idiots want to remember every bad play he's had over his career and multiply that event by 10. This is a guy who barely saw any action in Super Bowl 37 because the Panthers kept the ball from his side of the field, and the one TD he did give up was at the fault of blown coverage by whom I believe was Asante Samuel. Some respect there when a team designs it's offense to send all of it's pass plays to the opposite side of the field.

If you still can't understand let's look at it from a personal perspective...

You work for a company, and at review time they tell you that if you perform at this level, and succeed with these goals we will pay you x amount of dollars, and here's the five year contract to finalize the deal with a little bonus upfront for staying with us. For four years you do what is expected of you and beyond, but on the fourth year the company comes to you and says...

"Sorry, we mismanaged our figures and we can't afford to pay what we were legally bound to pay you so we were wondering if you would take a pay cut, or sign on for more years at less pay."

I can't speak for anyone else, but as a union employee can tell you that it's not right. And the problem of this whole matter should fall on he team's owner's for reneging on these contracts. The only guaranteed money a NFL player gets is his signing bonus, workout, playoff, championship & Pro Bowl bonuses. Does anyone ever think QB Peyton Manning will see that 90 plus million? What about RB Clinton Portis? He's a good back, but he didn't deserve to be the highest paid.

People also keep mentioning Ty is being greedy because he is due to make 9.8 million this year, and was looking for a seven year deal at 63 million plus a 20 mil signing bonus. Which I felt the team should have paid him long before CB Shawn Springs got a 10 mil signing bonus and spent 13 games out due to injury for the last three years. CB Champ Bailey was all smiles on the NFL network after hitting the FA lotto with 63 mil over seven years, and an 18 mil signing bonus. CB Antoine Winfield left the Bills to go to the Vikings for six years getting 34.8 mil and a 10 mil signing bonus. Winfield has had 6 int's in five friggin years!

Ty Law's biggest mistake in this situation... He should have kept his mouth shut, as I said in the case of WR Terry Glenn, play your arse off, and let the media and fans decide. Which before this happened Law had the majority of those in his pocket, but now he has gone and wore a Bills shirt on the 212, and complained about the team in the press thus giving those in the media like Anderson or Smith fuel to add to the "Let's Bash Law" brigade.

The point I'm trying to make here is that the NFL owners and the Players Union have to get these contracts back on track. Nobody every makes what they sign for, and as I said the only money they do usually get are their bonuses, but teams are now giving out ridiculous bonuses to be spread out over the years in an action that could very well come back to haunt them.

So don't hate Ty Law for wanting what is owed to him. He should be paid higher than the rest of the cornerbacks in the league, he's paid his dues for the last three years.

2000 CB's

2001 CB's

2002 CB's

Ty's 2003 and beyond number's looked like this:

2003 - $4.9 million in salary, a $1 million reporting bonus, and a $100,000 workout bonus
2004 - $5.65 million base salary, with a $1 million reporting bonus and $100,000 workout bonus
2005 - $7.75 million salary with a $1 million reporting bonus and a $100,000 workout bonus

With the exceptions of 2003 and 2001 Ty was fed less even though he was a lot more productive than those who was above him in the pecking order... Such as Jason Sehorn, and Aaron Glenn while with the Texans. Ty Law should have been paid before the free agent period began, but now Ty has to come to work and hear about how NT Ted Washington is going to get 14 mil for 4 years, and he only comes in for two plays a down almost. OL Damien Woody went to Detroit for 31 mil over 7 yrs, and a 9 mil signing bonus. Damien is a lineman for Christ's sake!!!

I say pay the man, and don't complain because the money would be well spent, and if he doesn't perform to his worth with the new contract, then you release him and good riddance.

Saturday morning I awoke as if it was Christmas morning, and despite the fact that I had been up painting my boys room till almost 4 AM didn't bother me at all. Saturday was NFL draft day, and I was all set to watch with my notes and draft predictions that were etched into my mental sports file. Then at breakfast, a monkey wrench was thrown into my day as my girlfriend mentioned to me that the Texans picked Mario Williams as their number 1 pick. I looked up at the clock and saw it was only 11 am and the draft didn't start until noon. So I corrected her and told her that the draft didn't start until noon, she then informed me that it was on the internet. So I decided to take a gander and was surprised to see that what she had mentioned was true.

The Texans had stuck a deal with DE Mario Williams out of North Carolina worth 54 million over 6 years. A contract I hope is incentive laden since this kid has yet to prove himself in the NFL trenches. I now drooled in anticipation for the draft to begin as waves of excitement sent a shiver up my spine as said to my girlfriend.

"Do you know what this means? This changes the whole draft! This is going to mess up everyone's draft predictions!"

The Texans taking Williams to bolster their defense gives them another dimension, and that much more identity. QB David Carr took 68 sacks over 424 yards last year, and RB Domanick Davis fell shy of 1000 yards finishing the year with 976 so hopefully the signing of OT Eric Winston and Charles Spencer will work out. The Texans receiving game will get help from WR Eric Moulds who was picked up during the FA signing melee.

The second biggest surprise of the draft was 2-9 passing on QB Matt Leinhart out of USC who finally was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals.This made for great television, Matt was visibly upset as he and his agent were probably mentally counting the millions of dollars he was losing as his draft stock dropped.

What hurt Matt?

What was it that teams like the Jets (They're stacked at QB but none equal the buzz of Matt), Packers and Raiders decided to pass on him? For example, the Packers have Brett coming back for another season, but how much longer can they play this out with him every off season? I would have liked seeing Matt learning under Brett than Kurt Warner. During the press conference his ego was bruised and some of the comments he made showed flashes of the same "sore sport" mentality he showed after losing to the Texans in the 2006 Rose Bowl.  

QB Vince Young went to the Tennessee Titans who are treating QB Steve McNair like an unwanted stepchild after his years of service, and I have my own opinion on this matter. The NFL is not the NCAA, just ask Kordell Stewart, Donovan McNabb and Michael Vick. LBs and DEs are just too streamlined and much faster in the NFL. NFL defenses are not going to allow a QB to run like he did all year. Eventually Vince is going to have to learn how to make decisions and pass from the pocket or the roll. If he can do that then he will succeed in the NFL.

Speaking of visibly upset people it seemed RB Reggie Bush wasn't happy about where he was going after the New Orleans Saints drafted him at the number two spot. This is a good pick for them since they struggled at this spot with RBs Antowain Smith and Aaron Stecker.

Another pick sticking out to me this weekend was QB Jay Cutler who went to the Denver Broncos after Leinhart was drafted by Arizona. I like Cutler, he impressed me during the combine, and my feeling is he will be one of the most successful players drafted out of this class.

TE Vernon Davis out of Maryland was drafted by the 49'ers and when he was chosen he put forth a good amount of man tears, but with all of the talking he has done I hope he can produce for them or he maybe crying man tears yet again.

The most impressive draftee to me was SS Michael Huff out of Texas who went to the Raiders to help boost their secondary, and they're going to need it after signing Duane Starks. This kid is 6 feet tall and 203 lbs, he might as well be a LB at that size.

Since his departure from New England I have had curious thoughts about Eric Mangini and how he would perform with this draft. His selection of OT Ferguson D'Brickashaw and C Nick Mangold shows me they don't want to see the injury cart driving their QB's off the field again and drives down their MRI costs.

As for the Patriots, I had them selecting someone to replace the exit of OLB Willie McGinest and WR David Givens. The WR draft class was weak this year and I didn't expect them to draft a RB in the first round. This year the Pats proved me wrong again and selected one of the 10 offensive players drafted in the first round. RB Laurence Maroney out of Minnesota will shake up things come training camp. Another shake up will be the abundance of TEs after drafting two from the third (Dave Thomas/Texas) and fourth rounds (Garrett Mills/Tulsa). That will bring the total to 4 with Daniel Graham and Ben Watson.

The Pats also drafted K Stephen Gostkowsk/Memphis to compete with Martin Gramatica, if he works out Gramatica will probably still be retained for his NFL experience. They also drafted two guards Ryan O'Callaghan/California and Dan Stevenson/Notre Dame to replace their off season losses.

The last three teams I had interest in were the Colts, Steelers and Cowboys...

The Steelers had a textbook draft with few surprises, they drafted two WRs Santonio Holmes/Ohio State and Willie Reid/Florida State, FS Anthony Smith/Syracuse, G Willie Colon/Hofstra and DT Orien Harris/Miami. Some wondered about them drafting QB Omar Jacobs/Bowling Green, but it's warranted after struggling last year with aging veterans Charlie Batch and Tommy Maddox.

As for the Colts who lost RB Edgerrin James to Arizona surprised no one and drafted RB Joseph Addai out of Louisiana State and upped their numbers on defense drafting 4 players CB Tim Jennings/Georgia, ILB Freddie Keiaho/San Diego State, S Antoine Bethea/Howard.

In the NFC all eyes will be on the Dallas Cowboys who acquired WR Terrell Owens' services, made WR Terry Glenn their number two, and they have budding stars with RB Julius Jones and TE Jason Whitten. With their selections the Cowboys also added to their D with OLB Bobby Carpenter/Ohio State, and backed up Whitten with Anthony Fasano/Notre Dame.

Are we seeing a trend here? Both the Patriots and Cowboys selected players from Notre Dame... It must be nice to have that type of networking and imagine what it does for recruiting.

Overall this year was the most entertaining draft I have ever watched but for now, what do we do until June 1st?

So here I am again...

You're all probably been wondering why the Sinista1 hasn't dropped some verbal thoughts over the past few months? Well to be honest, for those who don't know me, I've been busy with several new ventures so get ready for the shameless plug.

For the last few months my involvement with a local radio show has taken off, so if you still haven't heard it by now the show is called "On the Mark" and if you live in the Brockton MA. area the show can be found on WBET 1460 AM Tuesdays and Thursdays 3pm to 5pm. For those Sinista1 fans out there that wish they could hear me spit some verbal barbs need not worry because the show is in the process of being available for download in mp3 format. The show has been great, we've had Punnn Entertainment featuring my cousin/rapper Kuzin Big Boi and D-Roc's ( of the Ying Yang Twins) solo project Da Muzicianz debuting their single "Camera Phone", Soprano thugs Patsy Parisi & Vito, my friend Toby who did a stint on Prison Break, and a visit from the FCC. I guess you can say is growing so I just want to thank Mark "Private Diddy" Chauppette for giving me the chance and Attorneys Elliot "Sleepy" Savitz and Ken "The Diesel" Diesenhof for keeping the fun coming. Also a big shout to our producers Patrick, Kevin and an extra special shout to Mike who created one hell of an intro for the show's opening last week.

Okay enough of the me time let's get on to some sports talk...

The NFL is in timeout right now as teams get ready for the upcoming draft, but just weeks ago the FA period was fast and furious as fantasy keepers were drowned in turmoil.

Let's start with my beloved Patriots who lost several key players, but IMO not key enough to cause major problems with the amount of picks they have.

WR David Givens left Foxboro for the Tennessee Titans where he locked down the number 1 spot. At the end of last year I knew David was long gone because there was no way he was going to jump over Deion Branch in the depth chart so to make up for the loss, the Pats picked up Reche Caldwell from the Chargers. I hope he can be the same clutch receiver on third down and in long situations. I'm still looking for the Pats to draft some WR's since they also lost Tim Dwight and Andre Davis.

LB Willie McGinest came off one of his best years, and proved once again that wine gets better with age. Unfortunately the salary cap didn't work in the teams' favor and they had to let him go to get a bigger payday from Romeo Crennell and the Browns where he will be getting paid more for his leadership in the locker room than the damage he will do on the field. God Bless the deal he got because you don't see many 12 year veterans getting a deal like that.

T Tom Ashworth who caught a TD pass last year jumped on the Seattle bandwagon to join the Seahawks. The line is still somewhat solid, with Matt Light and Brandon Gorin at the tackle spots, but the Pats will draft for more in the later rounds.

This year the Pats are loaded at secondary with the signings of S Gus Scott, CB's Hank Poteat, Chad Scott, Eric Warfield and DB Artrell Hawkins who made an impact late in the season last year.

At FB, the Pats brought Heath Evans back into the fold. This guy impressed me, and I hope he can continue his brash style of play.

Once this season begins the talk will be focused on the fact that K Adam Vinatieri decided to run for the indoor comforts. This was a move I think was very strategic on Adam's part, IMO if he truly wanted to return he would have allowed the Pats to counter offer the deal. I think Adam knew his career was winding down and by going to the Colts he extended his career. To bad he lost all the fringe benefits he and his family was set to receive if he stayed from endorsements, local networks and businesses. This is a guy who probably never pays for a meal no matter where he and his family went. From Maine to Rhode Island. Here's my prediction on Adam in Indy...

It's third down, 20 yards out, and head coach Tony Dungy signals for the field goal unit to go in. QB Peyton Manning waves the unit off and calls an audible. See what I'm getting at? You paid a kicker beaucoup money to make field goals, but at the same time you have a QB that is going to want to collect his TD bonus money... It's a recipe for disaster just ask Mike Vanderjagt.

Who else had some BIG moves?

What about those Cowboys? They will be my pick for most improved team next season as they added WR Terrell Owens to the mix and re-signed Terry Glenn making him the number two guy. If you don't know football let's just say that if Terrell Owens can play this season without any problems Dallas will be the team, to beat in the NFC East, and it could revitalize the careers of QB Drew Bledsoe and WR Terry Glenn as teams will have to respect Owens presence on the field. That means teams won't blitz Bledsoe from the secondary as much and while Terrell draws double coverage another man on the secondary will have to keep Glenn in check. I look for TE Jason Whitten to take a big jump in fantasy numbers next year.

As for other moves I wonder how JT the Brick feels since he's a big Raiders fan. They made some big signings with CB Duane Starks (AHEM!) and QB Aaron Brooks (BUST!).

Some commitment to excellence huh?

The NFL has has also made some changes by penalizing endzone celebrations next year. This rule is the equivelent to the rule the NBA put forth at the beginning of the year with the dress code for players. I'm surprised there aren't some Afro American NFL players screaming discrimination against the league. It's a shame to because I was hoping to see an ESPY for "Best End Zone Performance" this year. I think end zone performances are great if they can be done quickly, respectfully and with originality. Let's see how WR's Terrell Owens and Chad Johnson deal with the new rulings.

Shhhh. Do you hear that?

That's the crack of the bat to let us know that baseball season has officially arrived, and the race for the AL pennant opened up with a bang. The Red Sox and Yankees both won; the Sox on P Curt Schilling's performance while the Yankees put up 15 runs under the A-Rod grandslam. It's still to early to make bold predictions, but I think the World Baseball Classic got these guys warmed up and ready to play.

Spring is here!

On Sunday the Steelers beat the Seahawks 21-10 to no surprise to this writer, and the game played out just as I had said weeks ago.

"If the Seahawks want to win this game, their WR corps will have to step up and make the plays they didn't get to make all season. If the receivers can make the Steelers secondary feel threatened, then that will complicate their blitz packages, and open up yardage for Alexander. I don't foresee that happening though, and expect the Steelers to win by10."

This was the main reason for the Seahawks downfall in Sunday's game. The receiving corps dropped several key passes, passes that would have converted drives for first downs, and one that would have been a sure touchdown. Seattle's running game suffered after their RB Shaun Alexander injured his ankle leaving many to wonder if his stint in Seattle has come to an end since his contract is up. It also didn't help that their kicker Josh Brown missed two field goal from 50 & 54 yards, and their defense gave up so much to the ground attack.

Pittsburgh's win wasn't of dominance as it had been throughout the playoffs, they just made plays when needed. Not to mention they were also blessed with a 90/10 crowd ratio and some key controversial calls from the referees which I will get into later. QB Ben Roethlisberger only threw for 123 yards, and set a Super Bowl record for having the lowest rating for a winning QB (9 of 21 and 2 int's). The Pittsburgh defense gave up a lot of yards (259) to Seattle's WR's, but benefited when Seattle shot themselves in the foot. The Steelers running game gathered 181 yards, a big chunk of that yardage was RB Willie Parker's record setting 75 yard touchdown erasing RB Marcus Allen's 74 yd TD run from Super Bowl 18. RB Jerome Bettis also rumbled off a 12 yard rush and finished with 43 yards on 14 carries for the day.

I must give Jerome Bettis BIG props on this day... He could have played the wait game and sold his moment to the highest bidder with a press conference, but instead answered the question at the podium and put all the retirement questions to rest.

Another guy I have to give props to was Steelers WR Hines Ward who made HUGE plays when it mattered. Ward finished the game with five receptions over 123 yards and nailed down the MVP honors making it the second time WR's took home this honor back to back since WR's Lynn Swann (1976) and Fred Biletnikoff (1977).

The final guy to get props from me is WR Antwann Randle El who took a handoff from RB Willie Parker and threw a 43 yd TD pass to WR Hines Ward after taking a wicked hit in the second quarter just before the half.

Now before a get into my referee bashing I must remind you of my petition.

Make NFL Referee Association's Statistics Public

Since Sunday people everywhere have been spewing off about the officiating, and rightfully so. I've been critical of these guys all
season, and was very critical of them after the Patriots loss in Denver. So I've decided to review the controversial calls since those who were with me know exactly how vocal I was during the game.

1) Seattle's WR Darrell Jackson was flagged for offensive pass interference on Steelers' FS Chris Hope in the end zone.

Darrell Jackson clearly interfered with Chris Hope by pushing off, and the proof in the pudding when watching the replay is his right elbow. Jackson's hand is on Hope and then you see force applied as he pushes off to make the TD reception. This call is usually not made if WR's are battling for position, but I think the reason why this was called was because this pass was made in an area where Jackson didn't have to push off. A big reason why he was hit with this flag.

2) Steelers' QB Ben Roethlisberger rolled left on third down from 1 yard out and was clearly stuffed before the ball crossed the plane. The referee who was in position hesitated on the call, scrambled towards the play and then signaled the TD which drew the red flag from Seahawks HC Mike Holmgren the play was reviewed by lead referee Bill Leavy and stood after saying the replay was inconclusive.

Are you friggin kidding me? Inconclusive? The ball clearly didn't break the plane (cross the goal line), and what I really want to know what was so funny to Bill Leavy when he was reviewing the replay. The funny thing about this review was the statistic ABC had put up with the percentage of times Bill Leavy's crew had overturned calls, and the stat was on the money which brings me back to my petition again. With stats like these fans and media can use this as a tool to put pressure on these refs to call a consistent, fair game. It's pretty bad when a call is so bad HC Mike Holmgren met Bill Leavy midfield at the half to voice his opinion. To make the argument more clear, QB Ben Roethlisberger admitted on the David Lettterman Show that he felt he didn't get in either.

3) Hasselbeck connected with TE Jerramy Stevens to the Steelers 1 yard line, but the play was erased by an offensive holding call on T Sean Locklear.

The TD in question would have given the Seahawks the lead 17-14, but the holding call itself was questionable. On the replay I could see some gripping of the jersey, but the problem here is that the refs are not consistent with their holding calls week after week.

4) Hasselbeck was called for a low block penalty on a guy defending Steelers' CB Ike Taylor who was running up field after making a nice pick. The penalty tacked on 15 yards and set up the Steelers' trick play TD. The replay showed otherwise.

When watching QB Matt Hasselbeck you could clearly see he was attempting to make a tackle on CB Ike Taylor, and had no intention of the guy who was defending. A call that set up another seven points for the Steelers.

5) QB Matt Hasselbeck scrambled for 18 yards, went down and the ball came out. Steelers SS Troy Polamalu recovered the dead ball and was tackled because the ref nearest the play took forever to make a decision whether the play was down and then decided to signal it a turnover.

Another play that could have been part of the controversy, but was ruled otherwise when it was clearly seen he was down by contact, and his knee and arm were down long before the ball came loose. My problem on this play was that the ref was in the position to make the call and he didn't.

6) QB Matt Hasselbeck connected with whom I believe was WR Joe Jurevicius. Joe clearly came down with the reception turned on his second step, and took a third step before getting hit then losing the ball. The play was ruled an incomplete pass thus no fumble.

Granted the Steelers won, and this play didn't effect the outcome, but it's another blown no call by the refs.

So with that I ask those who have yet to sign my petition, please click the link above and let your voice be heard.