Hard of hearing?
Disputed calls, coin flip mar Steelers-Lions OT game
Posted: Thursday November 26, 1998 08:37 PM
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Pittsburgh’s Mark Bruener (left) and Brenden Stai argue with field judge Jim Saracino after Saracino ruled intercepted a pass Bruener felt he had caught AP |
PONTIAC, Michigan (AP) -- Pittsburgh Steelers
coach Bill Cowher didn't have any doubt about who to believe. In a war of
words, Cowher was sticking with his players.
A controversial call by referee Phil Luckett cost the Steelers the
ball to start the overtime period against Detroit, and the Lions scored on
their first possession for a 19-16 victory Thursday.
On the midfield coin flip, Jerome Bettis of
Pittsburgh said he called tails. But referee Phil Luckett told pool
reporters after the game Bettis called "heads-tails" and Luckett went with
the first thing he heard.
"I have two guys, Jerome Bettis and Carnell Lake, that I would
leave my family with," Cowher said. "I trust them. I got two guys who look
me in the eye and tell me that they called what landed. Talk to Phil
Luckett."
The referee had a different version. Here is what he told pool
reporter Mike O'Hara of The Detroit News:
"What happened on the coin toss, I talked to number 36 Pittsburgh
[Bettis] to call it. `Call it in the air, please,' and tossed it. He called
`heads-tails.' He first called `heads.' When it hit the ground it bounced
to tails. And I said ,`You called heads, so Detroit has won the toss.' "
"I did not say `heads-tails,' " Bettis said. "That is a lie. That's a
bald-faced lie."
"I've never seen anything like this," Bettis continued. "This is the
most bizarre situation I've been associated with and I'm sure that I'll
take this one to my grave as probably the craziest call that a referee
would ever make."
Two calls earlier in the game went against Detroit, leading to the
Steeler's first field goal. On one, an apparent fumble by Kordell Stewart was waved
off. On the other, an interception by the Lions was disallowed.
On the Stewart fumble, Luckett said, "When in question, the runner is
down when you're not sure. So we went with the philosophy that the runner
was down, no fumble."
Luckett said none of the officials saw the interception, when Robert Bailey snagged
after the ball after it bounced off Courtney Hawkins' chest.
"The ball was bouncing around," Luckett said. "As soon as the play was
over, several officials got together, discussed it, and again, nobody got a
clear shot of it. The philosophy of the NFL is, `When in question, it is an
incomplete pass' and that is what they went with."
"It seemed like every time you looked up at the replays on the board,
you were disappointed again," Bailey said. "They took every big play I made
away from me."
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