This Was TV at Its Very Best

Pity the poor referees. With the kind of work both CBS and NBC did covering Sunday’s conference championship games, they got away with nothing.

It was sports television at its best.

After an outstanding reception by the Rams’ Michael Young was nullified because an official ruled he had stepped out of bounds, the CBS replays clearly showed he had been shouldered out of bounds by Bear cornerback Mike Richardson.

The replay forced the league to come up with an excuse. The “official explanation” was that the contact between Young and Richardson was “incidental.” But commentator John Madden, who had another marvelous game, didn’t let them off the hook.

“I don’t think John Robinson would consider it incidental contact,” he said.

CBS provided good coverage of the Jim McMahon Show.

There was McMahon’s headband with “Rozelle” written on it, the quarterback’s answer to the league’s request that he not wear it and threatening him with a fine.

There was McMahon sticking out his tongue at a camera.

And there was McMahon, after throwing a short pass from the shotgun formation on a third-and-15, showing his obvious displeasure with the play selection.

The coverage of the Rams mistakenly letting the clock run out at the end of the first half was excellent. Viewers were shown Dickerson hitting the ground, while at the same time clock ticking off the last two seconds.

In the New England-Miami game, the NBC cameras caught Dolphin placekicker Fuad Reveiz, after missing a field-goal attempt in the first half, slapping Patriot linebacker Don Blackmon on the face mask. It was a gutty move by Reveiz, but one that should have drawn a penalty, no matter what Blackmon had said.

Commentator Merlin Olsen made a good point when he said, “It’s a little early for Blackmon to be taunting the Dolphins.”

Then there was Mark Duper’s temper tantrum near the end of the game. He threw his helmet to the turf, and was called for unsportsmanlike conduct.

But the replays showed Duper had a reason to be upset. Patriot cornerback Raymond Clayborn had grabbed his arm just before the ball arrived, preventing him from possibly making a touchdown reception.

CBS and NBC didn’t miss much.