hosed

Those of us who were still paying attention to the Pittsburgh Steelers and the San Diego Chargers at about seven-thirty last night were treated to an exhilarating end to an otherwise lackluster game.

To the untrained eye, it appears that the best safety in the NFL - Troy Polamalu - disrupted the second of a pair of desperate laterals to cause a fumble and score a touchdown to seal the victory for Pittsburgh.  It appears that way to the untrained eye because that's exactly what happened.  It's not surprising that the play was subjected to review from the replay booth.  It's a little surprising that there was a determination by the official that there was a penalty (forward lateral) on the Chargers which the Steelers declined.  It's most surprising that the call on the field was overturned and the touchdown was negated.  It's surprising because the call was dead wrong.

The sports-blogging corner of the internets is buzzing today with stories of how this affects those who gamble on professional football games, and I see their point.  But I suspect forces far more sinister and nefarious than the gaming industry and its ties to organized crime.  You see, the outcome of the Steelers/Chargers game affected more than just my NFL rooting interests.  My Steelers had the victory no matter the outcome of this disputed call.  But I've got the Steeler defense going for my fantasy football team as well, and this travesty cost me eight points (two points for the recovered fumble and six points for the touchdown).  And it's no secret that I incurred the wrath of my sleazeball fantasy football commissioner last week with my exposé of his underhanded behavior.  That Dabysan would attempt to orchestrate a conspiracy of this magnitude in order to thwart my rise in the Just Us League standings, I have no doubt.  With a win this week, I am back in playoff contention.  I am currently up by eleven points with Braylon Edwards going tonight for my opponent.  I'd feel a lot more comfortable if I were up by nineteen.  Daby is not to be trusted; if I lose tonight, rest assured there will be hell to pay.

And because he's awesome, here's a bonus awesome video of the most awesome safety in the NFL.  This is another play from yesterday's game that was reviewed but (miraculously, in hindsight) not overturned.  I'm a bit surprised the zebras actually got this one right with all the money Dabysan was sending their way under the table.