The NFL frowns upon replacement refs working games involving their favorite team

It turns out Brian Stropolo’s dream of officiating a game involving his favorite NFL team just wasn’t to be Sunday. Stropolo was slated to be the side judge in Sunday’s Panthers-Saints game in Charlotte, but the league removed him from the crew after it was discovered Stropolo was a fan of the Saints.

How did he get busted? Facebook, of course. Stropolo had pictures of him in Saints gear on his page and there were even comments from his friends amazed he was going to be working a Saints game.

Making matters worse for Stropolo is the fact the Panthers won the game.  Maybe he could have changed things for his favorite team?

Now might be a good time for the NFL to go ahead and pay the real refs whatever they want so we can be done with this kind of nonsense.

Former Auburn and current Panther quarterback Cam Newton had a price on his head

The NFL came down hard on the New Orleans Saints today. By now you’ve heard head coach Sean Payton has been suspended for year as part of the punishment for the team’s bounty program.  Today the NFL also revealed the names of specific quarterbacks the Saints players targeted. One of those listed is none other than Panthers QB Cam Newton.

Newton of course was not injured in the game, but Saints defensive lineman Turk McBride was flagged for an illegal hit on the rookie signal caller. McBride was flagged when he went high on a blow to Newton in the game in Charlotte.  You can check out the hit below and judge for yourself what you think the intent was. 

Charlotte Observer reporter Joe Person points out the Saints were flagged for illegal hits on Newton three times last season.

The NFL is expected to hand down suspensions for the players in the near future.  This could be a game changer in terms of the battle for the NFC South next season.