Ref debacle transcends football

Maybe the Mayans were right.

Armageddon did come in 2012, but it had nothing to do with Dec. 21 prophecies or reaching a "Zero Date" on some ancient calendar.

No, this cataclysmic event consisted of a collection of buffoons in striped shirts looking puzzled and waving their arms in opposite directions.

And just like that, the replacement refs botched the outcome of an NFL game.

Only the world didn't end. Everyone woke up Tuesday morning, and guess what? Everyone was talking about the NFL.

Morning cable-news shows, in the middle of a presidential campaign, mind you, were debating how referees could have screwed up so badly. President Barack Obama weighed in on the controversy.

Heck, even the gals on "The View" no doubt delved into the Monday night gridiron fiasco. (Note: Leftovers does exhaustive research each day to come up with material, but nobody was willing to actually watch Tuesday's episode to confirm this hypothesis.)

Publicity for the NFL reached Super Bowl week levels all over television and social media.

Come Sunday, the ratings will be as high as ever, regardless of whether it's the regular refs who are back messing up games or the clueless replacement officials still wearing their old Foot Locker uniforms and throwing around pass interference flags like Dez Bryant passing out dollar bills at a strip club.

All the fans who hoped the Asleep in Seattle officiating crew from Monday night would be the precipice for the owners to come crawling back to the officials' union to make a quick deal may get their wish, but the bad call was not the reason this deal will get done.

No, the reason the real refs will be back starring in the country's most popular reality show each Sunday (and Thursday and Monday) is the backlash from celebrities. It's one thing to have fans angry, but when famous people are taking shots, the league notices.

"If you're holding your baby & I walk up and hug it, according to the NFL replacement refs, you have to give me your baby. #MNF," comedian Chris Rock tweeted.

OK, but that's from a celebrity sports fan. What about when someone who may have never had a job notices you aren't good at yours?

"Bad day to be a replacement ref SMH," tweeted Khloe Kardashian Odom.

But the true measure of just how bad things got came from perhaps the most important celebrity of our time.

"I'm not watching nfl football anymore until the refs are bak. This is krazy," Lil Wayne tweeted.

Whatever was still holding up the two sides at the negotiating table had to pale in comparison to the thought of Weezy not watching the NFL anymore.

■ POOR CHOICE - Talk-show host Conan O'Brien weighed in on the NFL referee controversy.

During his monologue Tuesday, O'Brien said the call was the worst in NFL history.

"Or at least since they decided to have The Black Eyed Peas play at the Super Bowl."

■ TURNED AWAY - The Deseret News reports John Stockton and Karl Malone will be part of this year's induction class into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame.

Bryon Russell was expected to be in line for enshrinement, but Michael Jordan pushed him out of the way.

COMPILED BY ADAM HILL
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL