So far in this insane era of replacement refs we've had extra timeouts given to teams, a Saints fan assigned to ref a Saints game, and a total and complete lack of Ed Hochuli. But this story that Eagles back LeSean McCoy told on WIP is easily the most damning of the season so far.
That's a giant issue. Once you have refs with a financial stake in the outcome of the game, the very legitimacy of the sport gets called into question. What's to stop him from calling a face mask to give McCoy a shot at more carries? This is a giant conflict of interest and the fact that this ref was allegedly flaunting it to a player shows just how badly we need the real guys back. Also Ed Hochuli's dulcet tones have been missed.