Bill Vinovich this morning (1 Viewer)

[Muleskinnerblues]

I would have had to ask him how much did ole Rog pay him and his crew to make sure that L.A. team got to the Super Bowl?

 

[SaintJ]

If you read his story the guy almost died 6-7 years ago.

A coward dies a thousand times, a hero dies just once.

Whatever his incentive was to follow implicit orders, I hope he thinks it was worth it.

 

[Meachemdat]

I wouldn't worry about us fans, I'd be more worried about what Vegas is going to do to him for losing them so much money.
Hearing stories of bookies having to give out refunds....Messing with the mob seems like something you'd do if you didn't value your life.

 

[SaintJ]

Or another key question may be, "How much was Vegas behind the Rams and 3 points?"

It wasn't necessarily the Rams, it was that there was enough on both sides that they would have lost their cut of the vig on a push. Keep the game going, there's at least a chance somebody wins by six or seven and not three.

Not that I ever focus on football gambling.

 

[SaintJ]

The insanity of this is that he is going home - to Los Angeles!

I saw this on Football Zebras concerning the 3 refs that had responsibility and a clear view of the play - the Down Judge, Side Judge and Back Judge. Cal State Fullerton (35 Minutes from the L.A. Coliseum), Cal State Long Beach (25 Minutes from the Coliseum), and Hancock College (Located in Santa Maria, CA 2.5 hours north of the Coliseum). That’s where the 3 referees that “called” this play went to school and where they live…aka the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. Add to this that Vinovich is from LA as well and that is 4 out of 7 on the crew from the LA area.

Also keep in mind that all week these refs read and heard as they lived in LA that they were biased against the Rams and were being petitioned to be removed from the game by their neighbors.

Can you imagine if guys from the New Orleans area named Boudreaux, Thibodeaux, Hebert and Landry were on this crew, living in New Orleans, with all the build up and intensity, billboards, people walking the streets in Saints gear, every local TV station with reports on the game and the fans, not being affected by that?

These are "all star" crews, so obviously the league could specifically choose refs that are not from either geographic region, to avoid even the hint of bias or impropriety.

That is why normal sane people, who don't normally believe in conspiracy theories have to shake their head and at the least, question if there is gross incompetence from the top down, or if it is just willful disregard for the integrity of the game.

If I were going to influence a game, I might certainly pick the crew that had never worked a game the Rams had won, and allow that little news to circulate around.

The pressure on those guys was enormous.

And there are no accidents in a league that will do anything, and I mean anything, to control what things look like, while not caring so much about how they really are, like "support for the troops," "player safety," "women," and "integrity."

 

[Consigliere]

I would have accidentally spilled two glasses of wine on him - because of, you know, "turbulence" and all.

 

[saint_drago]

OP you're a class act and a great representative of the Who Dat Nation. What you said probably crushed his soul way worse than any cussing or violence.

 

[redzone762]

You’re a better man than me because I would have definitely let everyone on that flight know exactly who he was.

 

[TB12]

I'm on flight this morning from NOLA bound for Los Angeles. I go about midway down the plane and to my right I see a familiar face....it's none other than Bill Vinovich. The plane is filled with Saints fans. We outnumbered Rams fans going to Los Angeles by 3 to 1....Similar to their home games.

Anyway, a Rams fan goes to sit next to Bill but a Saints fan yells out..."Congratulations. What about that call?" The Rams fan not realizing he was about to sit next to Vinovich says, "I'm sorry that was a horrible call against you guys." Next Rams fan opens the newspaper. Vinovich glances over, the Headlines, "They blew the call".

I'm contemplating all the way to Los Angeles as he sleeps wondering if I'm going to say anything. Finally we start to get off the plane. I go into the isle to exit. I lean over and say, "Hey Bill (he was shocked that I knew who he was) tough game last night huh? Next time take the time to get it right". He hangs his head down in shame. A slight bit of sarcasm coming from me. I couldn't say what I wanted but he got the point.

If you read his story the guy almost died 6-7 years ago. I'm guessing my compassion came into play by not letting me say what I wanted to. I'm hurting tonight like almost all of you. It's been eating away at me all day. I woke up at midnight and couldn't go back to sleep. I do know that just like the Vikings game we will get past it. I'm guessing it will take a good part of the offseason for me.

It's freaking hard to get where we just got to but our city is strong, our team and our coach are strong. We will come back. I'm a lifer and will support our team. WhoDat!

I feel really horrible for you guys. It's really the fault of the down judge and back judge who were closest to the play. Vinovich has to go with whatever he is told (or not told in this case) by the other refs.

 

[cmire1]

He's just like me.....I like to go to sleep after screwing someone too

POST OF THE YEAR

 

[jrdbrn]

I don't feel sorry for him in the slightest. I do believe he had money on the game. It's the only rational explanation. It wasn't even a close call. It was a blatantly obvious call.

 

[SAINTSFAN]

Surprised he was not flying home on Kroenke's private plane with the rest of the Los Angeles based crew.

 

[TenTwo]

Are you absolutely sure it was him? There is no way I would take public transportation if I were him.

 

[FGE413]

You handled it perfectly, Cajun Chat. They shouldn't be let off the hook and you were right to say something, but if you had cursed at him or threatened him or assaulted him, he becomes a victim and the story stops being about the refs' corruption and incompetence and instead becomes about crazy Saints fans. I would've said "I had to console my sobbing 11-year-old nephew last night and explain to him that in sports, like life, people do horrible, inexcusable, and unfair things to us for no reason at all."

 

[Noble Saint]

Or another key question may be, "How much was Vegas behind the Rams and 3 points?"

If any of us truly believes this a factor in this, then we are idiots for investing any fragment of our lives into it. This is why I am done.

I will just say this. Technology has made casinos even more rigged than one can imagine. There are laws that specify a % has to be paid back to customers. The laws do not specify who that money can or can’t be paid back to, other than a progressive jackpot being paid to an employee. Employees know a lot of of people who can legally win.

I only point this out because Sports Gambling is nothing more than another casino game. If you do happen to get a taste of victory from time to time, it’s only to keep you coming back and handing over more of your money.
/soapboxrant