Sports

It's nearly a month into football season and fans are riled up over referees. The NFL locked out its regular refs and the replacements are taking the heat for a weekend of blunders capped by a Monday night meltdown. The Nation's Dave Zirin talks with guest host Celeste Headlee about the NFL's officiating issues.

Football fans are furious. Bettors are out an estimated $150 million. Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin — the Republican who's famous for battling with organized labor — is on the side of the referees union. And the NFL is in something of a "prevent defense," saying that nothing can be done to change the outcome.

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Well, as if NFL fans weren't ticked off enough about the replacement referees who are officiating this season's games, we bring you last night. The Seattle Seahawk's beat the Green Bay Packers in the final seconds to win 14 to 12, at least that's how the refs on the field saw it. The outcome is prompting new calls for the NFL and its regular officials to settle this labor dispute that prompted the league to lock out their officials in June. Joining me to talk about last night is NPR sports correspondent Tom Goldman.

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ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

We Googled the phrase: It's difficult to replace. And auto-complete suggested a couple things people clearly find difficult to replace: a radiator, a garbage disposal, a catalytic converter. Well, how about an NFL official? For three weeks now, NFL games have been officiated by replacement refs, due to a labor dispute, and things have been getting ugly.

For more, we're joined by NPR's Mike Pesca. Hi, Mike.

MIKE PESCA, BYLINE: Hi.

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LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

And now it's time for sports.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, LIFE IS A BALLGAME)

SISTER WINONA CARR: (Singing) Life is a ball game being played each day. Life is a ball game...

WERTHEIMER: An incident at the end of last week's NFL match-up between the New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers has created a fuss about the unwritten rules of football.

It got the attention of NPR's Mike Pesca, too. He joins us this week from member station KCRW in Santa Monica, California. Mike, hi.

Only 12 days left of Major League Baseball. Host Scott Simon looks at the numbers with baseball historian Bill James.

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AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

It's ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Audie Cornish.

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

And I'm Robert Siegel. The National Hockey League has rejoined the ranks of pro sports with labor problems. The league this week locked out its players and canceled all preseason games this month. If you feel like you've heard this story before, that's probably because the NHL lost an entire season to a lockout eight years ago. Sportswriter Stefan Fatsis joins us now as he does most Fridays. Hi, Stefan.

STEFAN FATSIS, BYLINE: Hey, Robert.

Despite complaints from NFL coaches and players, the league and its locked-out officials are no closer to reaching a deal than they were last week, according to reports. The two sides are separated by "significant and serious economic gaps," an anonymous source tells the AP.

A representative of the NFL Referees Association confirmed that talks had taken place, but he would not go into detail, the AP reports.

Niles Paul had a problem. The second-year tight end for the Washington Redskins couldn't stop his teammates from stealing his Capri Sun. You know, Capri Sun — those sugary-sweet packets of juice that come in triangular foil containers with their own straws attached.

There are 46 days to go before the presidential election, but change has already come to the nation's capital.

For the first time since 1933, there will be major league playoff baseball in Washington.