The Grassy Knoll

As Ricky Ricardo would say, "NFL, you got some 'splainin' to do."

Watching the game with my daughter, who was pulling for the Steelers just to rile me, I was indifferent to whether Pittsburgh scored or if Arizona miraculously came back in the last 35 seconds. I was just hoping Warner didn't throw a pick six in the waning moments and deep six my bet on the Cardinals and the points.

But the last play wasn't even reviewed by the referee. Apparently, the replay official in the booth said there was no need to. Was it a fumble or a forward pass? Surely there was enough evidence to take the time to look at it. I remarked, wait they're going to have to look at this a while. The next time I looked up from my nachos, Roethlisberger was taking a knee and the game was over.

The poor Cardinals had no dog in this hunt. Can you imagine the back pages if it had happened to the Giants or Jets?

Or consider this. Can you imagine the outcry from gamblers if the Cardinals were down by seven (the spread was seven or six and a half, depending on who you bet with) and they didn't get a second shot with a jump ball in the end zone with Larry Fitzgerald?

Now it may very well have been a fumble, but it appeared to me the doubt was such that even Arizona's linemen weren't scampering after the loose ball.

There has to be another explanation. Somebody in the booth had one too many at the ESPN party or didn't want to delay the post-game love fest. Less controversial plays are the subject of eight-minute looks by the replay guys in a game between nondescript losers in the middle of the season.

No, the NFL flubbed it and won't admit it.

Nevertheless, I must crow (Hah!). Warner's passing yardage fell within 102 yards of my prediction. Fitzgerald did score two touchdowns. The 14-point swing with the thug Harrison's 100-yard interception return skewered my score prediction. A prescient friend warned that a turnover touchdown would tip the scales. And, alas, Roethlisberger did flummox me with his continued expanding pocket saves. And was Santonio Holmes' right foot on top of his left and not on the ground? It's always something.