It is a simple procedure. The game can’t begin without it. Before any football game starts the referee has to decide who gets the ball first. That question has been decided by the coin toss for the past 100 years. The coin toss determines who gets the first choice of
Tag: Ron Winter
Speculation whirls around new referee hires
R Ron Winter retires after 19 seasons
Football Zebras exclusive Football Zebras has learned that Ron Winter will not be returning for the 2014 season, according to several sources. Winter is the sixth official to retire at the conclusion of the 2013 season and the second from the referee position. Those six retiring officials all worked in the final
Boger, Carey, Parry out of playoffs
In an attempt to narrow down potential assignments, Football Zebras has learned from multiple sources that last year's Super Bowl referee, Jerome Boger, did not receive a playoff assignment this season. Also not receiving an assignment are Mike Carey and John Parry. Missing the playoffs the year following a Super Bowl
Our playoff predictions: Morelli, McAulay consensus in top slots
Football Zebras commentary Week 17 is upon us, meaning that the final evaluations for officials vying for playoff positions are being determined. Officials will not be informed of the Wild Card Playoff assignments until the middle of the upcoming week. The later playoff rounds will then be rolled out in the
Float like a butterfly…dodge like a ref
Week 5 remainders
We have some leftover items from Week 5, so let's serve them up before their expiration dates pass. Bengals lost timeout Prior to a Bengals 3rd-and-goal situation, the crew stopped the clock for a game clock adjustment. When the game clock was stopped, and additional three seconds ticked off the play clock,
The eyes have it
Kickoff 2013: The officials by the numbers
Click the image to enlarge. It is time to kick off the new football season! Here are some numbers for all of the zebra watchers out there. Enjoy! Designed and researched by Ben Austro. Sources: NFL Record and Fact Book (2013, 2008, 2000); Pro-Football-Reference.com (Coleman, Freeman, McKinnely); Football Zebras, "Officiating crews for the
6 NFL officiating things to watch for in 2013
Commentary by Mark Schultz Here are the things I am pondering as I "zebra watch" this year. 1. Will some high-profile officials make a playoff comeback? Gene Steratore, Ed Hochuli, John Parry, Tom Stabile, John McGrath, Rob Vernatchi, and Walt Anderson missed out on an on-field playoff assignment in 2012. Will they