Football Zebras.com

Sometimes a story comes along that completely alters one’s perspective. Referee Tony Corrente has such a story.

We mentioned Saturday that Corrente, officiating the Lions-Saints game, something we knew and did not disclose for several weeks, in deference to his privacy: he was being treated for throat cancer. Only after it became public knowledge, save for a few get-well wishes in various discussion forums, did we make mention of this.

We contacted Corrente, and he was very interested in telling us his story, but by league policy, we needed to get approval from the league office. They did not respond to our repeated requests.

That said, Sports Illustrated columnist Peter King was able to give us the story far more eloquently than we could have tried to. It is a very moving story and a must-read.

Tony’s story is part of King’s Monday Morning Quarterback article. Scroll down to find it.

Week 13: Lions at Saints

Clete Blakeman’s crew officiated a game that could have easily become uncontrollable at any moment. It didn’t help that they were shorthanded.

Umpire Garth DeFelice left the game midway through the first quarter with a foot injury. That required the crew to readjust their mechanics to officiate most of the game shorthanded. Side judge Greg Meyer moved into the umpire position, leaving only two deep officials.

The game (highlight video) had six personal foul penalties, including the following:

• Lions receiver Titus Young was involved in a post-play push near the goal line (video)
• Lions tight end Brandon Pettigrew contacted line judge Jeff Seeman (video)

Seeman, under the circumstances, could have called for Pettigrew’s ejection. Impermissible contact with an official is not, despite widespread opinion, an automatic ejection, and it took tremendous restraint not to disqualify Pettigrew. In the analysis, Pettigrew was still reacting to the play when Seeman was hit. While it was still a penalty, the officials realized that the contact was not directed at Seeman. It also appears that Pettigrew apologized right away, to help save his place in the game.

While there was a lot of dead-ball action that had to be controlled, the crew made certain that they maintained their composure throughout.

The NFL is honoring two of its former officials today: the late back judge Bob Lawing and retired back judge Bill Schmitz.

Lawing, who passed away in May 2010, was honored this season with a commemorative patch worn on official’s uniforms.

Lawing was posthumously recognized with the Art McNally award; Schmitz was the 2009 honoree. The formal presentation of the award will be made at the Pro Bowl to Schmitz and to Lawing’s family.

Lawing served as back judge for 12 seasons in the NFL, joining the league in 1997. After a cancer diagnosis, he was sidelined in 2007 and returned to the field in 2008. He was listed on the roster of officials for 2009, but he was too sick to continue. He officiated six playoff games and the Pro Bowl. His last game was a 2008 AFC Divisional Playoff game between the Ravens and the Titans.

Schmitz worked as back judge from 1989 and retired at the conclusion of last season. He officiated in Super Bowl XXXV after the 2000 season, as well as several other postseason

The award is named for long-time referee and supervisor of officiating whose career spanned from 1959 through 1990, although he still works with the league in a reduced capacity today.

The past honorees of the Art McNally award are:

• 2002    Bob McElwee (referee)
• 2003    Ben Montgomery (line judge)
• 2004    Tom Fincken (side judge)
• 2005    Gerald Austin (referee)
• 2006    Larry Nemmers (referee)
• 2007    Bill Lovett (field judge)
• 2008    Bill Carollo (referee)
• 2009    Bill Schmitz (back judge)
• 2010    Bob Lawing (back judge)

Photo credits: T.R. Lawing Realty, Life

A post over at NBC Philadelphia’s Birds Nest blog adds up the statistics of penalty flags per game through the first 13 weeks. The most over-officious (thanks for the term, Marv Levy) of the crews are:

• Ed Hochuli
• Jeff Triplette
• Tony Corrente

Least likely to penalize are, starting at the least are:

• Scott Green
• Pete Morelli
• Alberto Riverón

The numbers indicate accepted and declined calls.

It didn’t take long, but I had to make a slight modification to the site organization, based on a miscalculation on my part. We have a category that we place stories that profile a particular official or his off-the-field accomplishments titled, “Men in Black & White.” I thought it was a slightly clever way to name the category, with a little, if not slightly outdated, pop-culture reference. Nothing sexist implied.

So, now, we correct this to reflect an emerging, and welcome, change.

No fewer than five women have worked their way up in the ranks to NCAA Division I ball. The first female official to work a collegiate game was Sebrina Brunson last year in Div. II Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. One of the five women starting in Div. I this weekend is profiled in The New York Times, Sarah Thomas of Conference USA. Thomas was scouted by former NFL referee and current C-USA coordinator, Gerry Austin.

“She made one tough call after another and nailed every one of them,” Austin said. “There was no reason not to hire her.”

As for the prospect of seeing women in the NFL stripes, current guidelines require 10 seasons of collegiate experience to be considered. That means 2017, at the earliest.

Walt Coleman is now a Hall of Famer.

Don’t expect to find a bust of him in Canton — there are currently no referees enshrined, despite many qualified candidates. Instead, the NFL head referee got a brief moment, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, to accept induction into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame. His father, Buddy Coleman, an NCAA official in the former Southwest Conference, was inducted in 1995.

When he is off the field, Walt Coleman is the fifth generation operator of the family business: Coleman Dairy in Little Rock. There must be something in the milk, as the dairy is, in addition to the two Colemans, home to a third Hall of Famer, Cliff Shaw, also a former zebra from the SWC.

It was the family business, in fact, that drove Walt Coleman to the NFL. The Southwest Conference allowed native Arkansans to officiate University of Arkansas games. Coleman, not wanting to affect the business, applied for work in the NFL. He was hired as a line judge in the big league in 1989 and promoted to referee in 1995. He served as an alternate for Super Bowl XLII to Mike Carey.

Coleman hinted about a possible retirement in 2013 in a very fascinating Arkansas Democrat-Gazette profile back in January:

“I’d be 61 if I’m in the league 25 years,” Coleman said. “Not many people can say that they’ve been in the league 25 years, so that would be nice.”

Fortunately, the Coleman family business is more than milk. Coleman’s retirement could make room for his son, Walter Coleman IV, who is working as a line judge in the Big 12 Conference.

The Ada Evening News of Ada, Okla., has a story on resident headlinesman Derick Bowers, who officiated Super Bowl XLIII. He provides an interesting read on the off-the-field work of an NFL official and about his officiating career.

As for the Big Game, Bowers offered this assessment:

“We were pleased with how it went,” Bowers recalled. “We’re only human. There are times when we’ll miss some (calls).

“There were some penalties we probably shouldn’t have called that we did and some that could have called that we didn’t,” he added, “but overall I think it went pretty well.”

Bowers worked with referee John Parry’s crew. He was the only member of that crew selected to this year’s Super Bowl.