We can all play armchair official from our favorite football-watching chair. It is not as easy when you are the one tasked with making a decision that can have implications on the national champion as the nation is watching and fidgeting. During college football's National Championship game, a pivotal play deep
Author: Ben Austro
Ben Austro is the editor and founder of Football Zebras and the author of So You Think You Know Football?: The Armchair Ref's Guide to the Official Rules (on sale now)
Schedule for the 2021 NFL playoffs
Here are the kickoff times and dates for the NFL 2021–22 postseason games. All times are Eastern. Referee assignments will be posted when available. Starting this season, there is a Wild Card Playoff game on Monday night. Also, only the top seed in each conference will receive a first-round bye. Super
2021 Peach Bowl liveblog
We are covering the Peach Bowl between the Michigan State Spartans and the Pittsburgh Panthers. Today's crew is from the SEC. Leave a comment below Send us a tweet @footballzebras Connect with us through Facebook Reply on Instagram .lb24-component-score-num {font-family: "Jockey One"; font-size: 55px;} Live updates loading ... You have created a new
Transparency in the officiating department hits a low mark in a muddled video
Commentary by Ben Austro Under previous NFL officiating administrations, Fridays were sort of a news dump of rulesplaining in their weekly "media tapes." The original purpose of the media tapes was to allow the officiating department to communicate with members of the media to clarify calls and rules interpretations that had recently
A salute to the veterans in stripes
We recognize with profound respect all those who have served our country on this day, and we salute the veterans on the NFL officiating staff. http://gty.im/1190306201 LJ59 Rusty Baynes, U.S. Marine Corps, 1988-94 http://gty.im/1228501615 LJ44 SSgt. Frank LeBlanc, Texas Army National Guard, 1983-2004 http://gty.im/1183900979 FJ109 Dyrol Prioleau, U.S. Air Force, 1982-2005 http://gty.im/1182936234 FJ31 Tech Sgt. Mearl Robinson, U.S.
Katie Blackburn is first woman appointed to influential Competition Committee
4 former players also on committee, an all-time high The NFL has made history by appointing the first woman to its Competition Committee, the most visible and highly influential of all the ownership committees. Katie Blackburn, the executive vice-president of the Bengals, is now listed on the Football Operations website as
Our Call of the Week honors Carl Madsen
Replay official Carl Madsen dies at 71
http://gty.im/73373855 Carl Madsen 1949-2021 Carl Madsen, a replay official and former umpire, died in Nashville while traveling home from his game assignment on Sunday. He was 71. The Associated Press is reporting that Madsen experienced a medical issue while driving home. Madsen was an umpire on the field from 1997 to 2008, when
