[Chris Hibner]

What I saw from the Midwest regional (as a participant), the referees did a very good job. I thought the officiating was very consistent.

The referees at Midwest called all fouls by the letter of the rules (except for G25 which is really a judgement call). They disabled robots for breaking the plane whether is was by 1 inch or 1 foot - they made sure the rule was very black and white in its enforcement. I appreciate that. I thought it was called very consistently with no favoritism.

Just to let everyone know, some of the calls could have hurt my alliance. Some did hurt my alliance. However, I thought all of the calls were fair. Even if I don't agree with a call, I can live with a referees decision since they are human and they have a tough job.

I summary: I think they are doing a better job this year than in past years and overall they are doing a good job, especially given the game. And everyone needs to keep one thing in mind: teams that REALLY deserve to win will find ways to overcome a marginal officiating decision. Also, teams that REALLY deserved to win will try not to put themselves in that position.