Score one for the kid, not the official
In Oklahoma, Sooners fans are still in mid-conniption over the blown instant-replay call that cost their team victory in Oregon.
In Brazil, people hear about this stuff and scoff, “Silly Americans, that was nothing. You want an officiating farce -- we can show you an officiating farce.”
In the 89th minute of a soccer tournament match played Sept. 10, Santacruzense was credited with the tying goal against Atletico Sorocaba -- a goal that was scored by a ball boy.
Playing at home and trailing, 1-0, Santacruzense pushed forward for a last-gasp chance at the equalizer, but a shot at goal went wide, bouncing off the side netting and rolling toward a ball boy behind the right goal post.
Rather than kick the ball back to the Sorocaba goalkeeper, the ball boy walked to the post and playfully poked the ball across the goal line into the net. No big deal. The Sorocaba keeper retrieved the ball, set it down and prepared to launch a goal kick.
But then, referee Silvia Regina de Oliveira, having seen the keeper pluck the ball out of the net, rushed in and awarded the goal to Santacruzense. Despite outraged protests from Sorocaba, Oliveira stuck to her decision and Santacruzense was gifted a 1-1 draw in the Paulista Football Federation Cup.
The video clip of the goal, titled “The Weirdest Goal of All-Time,” has been a popular feature on YouTube.com.
Oliveira, who has been suspended, said she based her decision on the linesman near the play. In a radio interview she said, “I should have trusted my own vision.”
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What about ‘Around the Horn’?
Can anything be more annoying than having certain victory ripped away by a bogus officiating call?
Maxim magazine throws out a few ideas in its October issue with the “20 Most Annoying Things in Sports.” The top three:
“3. Male cheerleaders -- These guys cheer because they have too much pep, and it’s high time for that ... to stop.
“2. Elbow armor for Major League Baseball batters -- What ... kind of world do we live in when a pitcher can’t use his own spit on the ball but batters are allowed to stride up to the plate wearing more armor than Russell Crowe strapped on for ‘Gladiator?’
“1. Face painters -- Applying lots of makeup is fine ... as long as when you look to your right, you see Gene Simmons spitting fake blood on the first row! If you never were nor ever will be a member of KISS, put down the compact mirror and spend your efforts on smuggling bourbon into the stadium.”
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Trivia time
The new Atlanta Falcons kicker is an old one -- 46-year-old Morten Andersen, who broke in with the New Orleans Saints. Who was the Saints’ starting quarterback during Andersen’s rookie season?
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Do you believe in reincarnation?
Al Michaels was recently asked by the Dallas Morning News if he believed in miracles.
“Yes, a thousand times over,” Michaels replied. “If the law of averages catches up to me in my next life, I’ll be brought back to work the graveyard shift at a sulfur mine in Mongolia.”
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Trivia answer
Andersen was drafted by the Saints in 1982. Ken Stabler was the starting quarterback for those Saints, who were coached by Bum Phillips to a 4-5 record during the NFL’s strike-shortened season. Michael Vick was 2 at the time.
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And finally
Former NHL goon Tie Domi to the Toronto Globe and Mail, after cursing three times during a news conference introducing him as a TSN analyst: “I might need a six-second delay.”
