NFL officials honor late colleague with patch on hats

NFL officials are honoring former colleague and officiating vice president Wayne Mackie with a commemorative "WM" patch, shown here at the Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony on the hat of Carl Cheffers. Mackie passed away suddenly in March at the age of 62. Al Riveron, former senior vice president of officiating,

New officiating leadership team strong and prepared

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Embed from Getty Images   The new officiating year starts today and the NFL leadership team is in place -- Al Riveron as senior vice president of officiating, Wayne Mackie as vice president of officiating evaluation and development and Russell Yurk as vice president of replay and administration. Due to the relatively short notice

Super Bowl 50 photo album

Officiating photos from Super Bowl 50 courtesy of team photographers and Getty Images.From team photographers (click on any image to view as a slideshow):From Getty Images:Clete Blakeman and field judge Boris Cheek talk to Peyton Manning before the game.Embed from Getty Images Jeff Rice escorts Denver captains onto the field for

5 officiating observations from Super Bowl 50

Embed from Getty Images   No iconic calls, but Blakeman's crew handles business The game wasn't a classic, but it was more competitive than the 24-10 score. While none of the calls from Super Bowl 50 will make our list of best all-time calls, the officiating crew can be satisfied with their efforts. Here

Speculation whirls around new referee hires

NFL will hire from current roster Scott Green and Ron Winter have retired, opening up two slots at the referee position.  The NFL has not hired a referee straight out of college and into the NFL since the 1970 merger, so the two new white hats will come from the current

NFL grooming players on officiating ‘fast track’

The NFL could soon see more former players become officials. The league is sending 14 former players and one active player to a pair of officiating clinics over the next three days. The first clinic is tomorrow, March 13. It is the league's Fast Track Clinic, run by the Football Officiating

Referee assignments for Divisional round: Blakeman, Cheffers, McAulay, Morelli

Updated Friday, Jan. 10 to include full crews Football Zebras has confirmed the officiating crews for the Divisional Playoffs. Officials are listed with their uniform number, years experience (including this season), the crew each official worked with in the regular season (by the referee's name), college, and outside occupation. All times are Eastern. Three

New white hats looking to earn an ‘R’

NFL trying out potential replacements for retiring head referees The NFL is preparing for the inevitable retirement of officiating crew chiefs by conducting trial runs for some promotions in the second preseason weekend. An officiating source said that at least one head referee will retire at the end of the season.

Preseason week 2 referee assignments

Referee tryouts, advanced training recruits on field Craig Wrolstad is one of four officials being evaluated at the referee position this week. Wrolstad worked in Super Bowl XLVII last February. All times Eastern. Thursday, Aug. 15 Chargers at Bears, 8 p.m. ESPN — Bill Vinovich Falcons at Ravens, 7:30 p.m. — Terry McAulay Lions at