Jobless rate tops 10 pct. for first time since '83

This story will get buried behind the Ft. Hood massacre. While the Ft. Hood story is important, tragic and should get top coverage, I'm afraid that the Obama Administration is dodging a bullet with this bit of news.

The Most Transparent Government Ever

Pelosi Breaks Pledge to Put Final Health Care Bill Online for 72 Hours Before Vote. Shocking, I know.

Sticking with Unnecessary Violence In Sports

An amateur adult American football player is facing assault charges after brutally strking a referee with his helmet.

The local football referees' association is considering not officiating those games in the future and rightfully so.

As a soccer referee, mainly on the youth levels, I generally don't worry about players getting physical with me. At 6'4" tall and carrying about 225 in weight, being in decent shape and having some self-defense training, I don't worry about players getting up in my face in an aggressive manner. Parents on the other hand can sometimes get bent out of shape, but I have never had a physical confrontation and hopefully never will.

But my soccer referees association has made it clear to our client leagues that abuse of referees will not be tolerated. I don't think that any league has ever been denied our services for referee abuse, but we could do that. Leagues that don't harshly crack down on such behavior risk not only not have sanctioned referees at their matches, they run the risk of the league losing it sanction from the state of Maryland and the U.S.S.F.

So why do we worry about aggressive behavior and abuse of referees. One thing to keep in mind is that many of the games that I referee are for boys and girls between the ages of 12 and 18. Many of them are competing not only for the current game, but for college scholarships and maybe even more. These players are coached by paid, professional coaches and for all intents and purposes, many of the leagues I officate are professional level leagues. No the players aren't paid, but the parents and clubs do spend a significant amount of money on the teams, coaches, players and so forth. So much that the referees have to treat the games as professional games, protecting the players and demanding a higher standard of care by the players, coaches, parents and fans.

Holy Catfight Batman

I have referred boys games and girls game in my refereeing career. In general, boys tend to be immediate retaliators if they have been wronged. Girls, in general, tend be less of an immediate retaliators, but sometimes they can. The game is physical, there is always a little bit of pushing and shoving going on. I usually let a little pushing to go on without a whistle, same with jersey pulling unless is it just so blatant as to need a call just to remind the players that there are rules.

Having said that, the refereeing crew just completely dropped the ball on this game and they were lucky that no serious injuries took place. Check out this video of Brigham Young University and University of New Mexico. Check out the New Mexico number 15. When the NCAA sees this video, this girl has to absolutely be suspended for multiple matches if not longer. It is shocking how much this girl just abused the other team and got just a yellow card. I counted three fouls that deserved a straight red card, particularly the hair pull and the karate chop to the neck.

The refereeing crew really dropped the ball on this matter.

MLS Goal of the Year Nominees

My top three

1. Donovan's Volley in week 21
2. Jacqua's volley in week 11
3. McBride's nifty control and finish in week 3.

Honorable Mentions

1. Quaranta's week 8 daisy cutter.
2. Montero's massive cross bar rattling long range blast in week 28.
3. Clint Mathis' big volley in week 6.

Great Goal Celebration

Massive points for creativity here. However, does this get a yellow card?

Fulham Add to Rafa Benitz's, Liverpool's Woes

Fulham hosted the Reds at Craven Cottage this afternoon and handed Liverpool a 3-1 loss as Liverpool were reduced to nine men. Liverpool lost two players in three minutes to sending off while Fulham led 2-1 at the time. In the 87th Minute, Clint Dempsey put the game out of reach.

Bobby Zamora and Erik Nevland netted the other two goals for the Whites.