1
Speaking of the Seahawks’ charity softball game Sunday (see Page B1), the umpire was actually a former NFL official. You might know Lance Easley from what is now called the “Fail Mary” game. It was Easley who ruled the Seahawks scored a touchdown on the final play of the game against the Packers.
We know there were a lot of questionable calls in that game. We also know that Golden Tate should have been called for offensive pass interference on the game-winning play.
But please do not say Tate did not catch the ball. It was simultaneous possession, and that calls goes to the offense. One could make a case that Tate’s hand is on the ball first. We know Tate’s two feet came down before the Packer defender was on the ground. And Tate never let go of the ball.
The Seahawks got away with a lot that day, but the actual call of catch or interception was correct.
2
NFL fans can take things a little too seriously sometimes. San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick was spotted wearing a Miami Dolphins hat the other day, and 49ers fans were less than thrilled.
At first, Kaepernick said he had nothing to apologize for, and fans should not worry about a hat. It was all about fashion.
Later, Kaepernick did post some pics of himself wearing San Francisco gear. Clearly, he was worried he offended his team’s fan base.
We also heard things like, if he played for the Raiders, those fans would destroy a guy for wearing an opposing hat. That’s not true.
If the Raiders find a quarterback who can win a playoff game or two in their lifetime, the fans would forgive just about any wardrobe choice.
3
A Cleveland Browns fan and an Ohio State fan get our tips of the hat today.
A lifelong Browns fan who recently died, asked, in his obituary, for Browns players to be pallbearers at his funeral. That way the team could let him down one last time.
Then there’s the story of a 12-year-old Ohio State fan who had cancer. He named his cancer “Michigan” so he could easily beat it — and he did.
Well played.
