Ed Hochuli graces the cover of Sports Illustrated
I would imagine it's the only time an official has appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated, and who better than the 24 inch pythons of Ed Hochuli. Hochuli has always been one of the NFL's most recognizable officials, but he became the rallying cry for fans yearning for the real refs to return. While it was nice to see the real refs receive ovations all around the country before Week 4's games, predictably, the honeymoon period was short lived. And that's the way it should be. At least SI was smart enough not to put Jeff Triplette on the cover.
(H/T Paul Pabst)
IF EVER AN OFFICIAL MIN ANY MAJOR SPORT (IN AMERICA) DESERVED THE COVER OF S.I. IT IS ED HOCHULI! IF IT WERE NOT FOR HIS OFF THE CLOCK UPDATING AND TESTING OF THE "REAL OFFICIALS" DURING THE LOCKOUT, THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN JUST AS BAD AS THE REPLACEMENTS IN THEIR FIRST WEEK BACK ON THE JOB. THERE WAS THE "NON FUMBLE - FUMBLE" IN THE GREEN BAY GAME, BUT OTHER THAN THAT ONE GLARING ISSUE, THE OVERALL GRADE FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE WAS A "B+" NOT BAD, CONSIDERING THEY DID NOT EVEN GET TO WORK THE SUMMER SCRIMMAGES OR PRESEASON GAMES.
1 Like
Well, even though they are back, The Regular Officials make mistakes too just ask The Packers on The NON-Fumble! Glad "Big Ed" Hochuli made the SI Cover though!
1 Like
At least SI was smart enough not to put Jeff Triplette on the cover. http://goo.gl/gc14J
It was indeed refreshing to see the regular refs back in action and to see the enforcement of the "Brady cannot be touched" rule combined with the "blown replay call in the Pats favor" rule, the combination of which on consecutive plays kick-started the New England steamroller on Sunday.
