One official was pulled from duty because hes a fan. Another negated a touchdown without ever throwing a penalty flag. Several others had difficulty with basic rules. Upon further review, the NFLs replacement officials came up short in Week 2. Coaches and players around the league are losing patience and speaking out against the fill-in officials following a slew of questionable calls in the games Sunday and Monday night. Some players are even joking about dipping into their own pockets to settle the contract dispute and get the regular officials back on the field. "I dont know what theyre arguing about, but I got a couple of (million) on it, so lets try to make it work," Washington defensive back DeAngelo Hall said, kiddingly, on Monday. "Im sure the locker room could pot up some cash and try to help the cause out." The NFL locked out the regular officials in June after their contract expired. Negotiations with the NFL Referees Association broke down several times during the summer, including just before the season, and the league is using replacements for the first time since 2001. The results have been mixed. Just hours before kickoff Sunday, the NFL removed side judge Brian Stropolo from the New Orleans-Carolina game because it was discovered hes a Saints fan. Then came the on-field problems. In Philadelphias 24-23 win over Baltimore, two game-altering calls left quarterback Joe Flacco and linebacker Ray Lewis fuming, though it appeared on replay that both calls were accurate. That didnt make them any less controversial. Flaccos scoring pass to receiver Jacoby Jones in the fourth quarter was called back because of offensive pass interference. The official who made the call didnt throw the yellow flag, though he immediately signalled a penalty. "I might sound like a little bit of a baby here," Flacco said, "but for them to make that call, I think, was a little crazy." There was confusion later during Philadelphias go-ahead drive. First, the two-minute warning occurred twice. Then, quarterback Michael Vicks forward pass was called a fumble inside the Ravens 5. It was ruled incomplete following a replay, and Vick scored on the next play after a few anxious moments. "Its extra stress when you have to sit there and wait," Vick said. "The one thing you dont want to do, you dont want to put the game in the officials hands." Lewis, like many players around the league, has seen enough. "The time is now," he said. "How much longer are we going to keep going through this whole process? I dont have the answer. I just know across the league teams and the league are being affected by it. Its not just this game, its all across the league. And so if they want the league to have the same reputation its always had, theyll address the problem. Get the regular referees in here and let the games play themselves out. "We already have controversy enough with the regular refs calling the plays." The problems continued Monday night when Peyton Manning led the Denver Broncos against the Atlanta Falcons. The officials missed a call on Denvers first touchdown, ruling that Demaryius Thomas was pushed out of bounds. The replay clearly showed he got both feet down, and the call was reversed after a review. The Falcons first score also was reversed, this time with the officials ruling, with help from a replay, that Michael Turner actually landed short of the goal line. He wound up scoring on the next play. In the second half, the officials got mixed up on where to place the ball after a defensive holding penalty on Champ Bailey. The crowd booed while the officials conferred, finally moving it a few yards forward to the proper spot. It was those sort of delays that helped the game drag on for nearly 3 1/2 hours. Despite the public outcry, the league backed the replacement crews, a collection of small-college officials who have been studying NFL rules since the summer. "Officiating is never perfect. The current officials have made great strides and are performing admirably under unprecedented scrutiny and great pressure," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in an email to The Associated Press. "As we do every season, we will work to improve officiating and are confident that the game officials will show continued improvement." While some of the mistakes on Sunday were judgment calls -- such as a pass interference penalty on Pittsburgh defensive back Ike Taylor in which he appeared to miss a New York Jets receiver -- the more egregious errors appear to be misinterpretations of rules. In St. Louis 31-28 victory over Washington, Rams coach Jeff Fisher challenged a second-quarter fumble by running back Steven Jackson near the goal line and it was overturned. The Rams ended up kicking a field goal, which was the margin of victory. The problem there was a coach is not allowed to challenge a play when a turnover is ruled on the field. It shouldve been an automatic 15-yard penalty on Fisher. Also, if Fisher threw the red challenge flag before the replay official initiated the review, then a review is not allowed and the Redskins wouldve kept the ball. "I just think that theyre just so inconsistent that it definitely has an effect on the games," Redskins linebacker London Fletcher said. "You were hoping it would get better, but everybody is having to dealing with it." In the Cleveland-Cincinnati game, the clock continued to run after an incomplete pass by Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton in the second quarter. A total of 29 seconds ticked off, and the Browns ended the half with the ball at their 29. Perhaps an extra half-minute couldve helped the drive. The Bengals won 34-27. "Missed calls & bad calls are going to happen," Browns linebacker Scott Fujita, an NFLPA executive council member, wrote on Twitter. "Thats part of the deal & we can all live with it. But not knowing all the rules and major procedural errors (like allowing the clock to run after an incomplete pass) are completely unacceptable. Enough already." The Colts were incorrectly told at the end of their game that accepting an offside penalty would start the clock. So, quarterback Andrew Luck spiked the ball to stop it and set up Adam Vinatieris 53-yard field goal that gave Indianapolis a 23-20 win over Minnesota. Feisty play was a common theme around the league, as well. Players are seemingly getting away with being more physical, especially after the whistle. Officials appear reluctant to call personal fouls, opting instead for offsetting unsportsmanlike penalties that wont dissuade guys from going after each other as much. The officials singled out an offender in the final minutes at St. Louis. Washington receiver Josh Morgan reacted after being tackled -- and then shoved -- by Cortland Finnegan, tossing the ball at the Rams cornerback and drawing an unsportsmanlike penalty. That turned a potential game-tying 47-yard field goal into a 62-yard attempt, which Billy Cundiff missed short. "Ive never been a part of a game that was that chippy," Washingtons Hall said. "Just so much extracurricular things going on after the play." Philadelphia receiver Jason Avant predicted replacement officials would have trouble keeping players in line. "When you go into a game, you know what things you can do to get away with, with these refs that we have," Avant said a few days before the season opener. "Guys are going to kind of cheat." As a result, Avant and many of his peers are concerned about safety. "If theyre going to press player safety," Buffalo centre Eric Wood said, "and theyre going to have this multibillion-dollar industry, they should probably try to get something done to keep the product high." In 2001, the lockout lasted for one week of the regular season before a settlement was reached. This was the second weekend the replacements were used, and the NFL has drawn up a five-week schedule for using them if the labour dispute is not resolved. In Week 1, there was one major error, when the officials awarded Seattle an extra timeout in the final minutes of a game at Arizona. The Cardinals held on to win and the crews referee admitted the mistake. "I dont know if theres a newfound appreciation or anything like that, but those guys have been doing it for a long time and they put a lot of time and hard work into going out there and doing this and seeing those games," Flacco said about the regular officials. 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[url=http://www.germanysoccerproshop.com/World-Cup-Per-Mertesacker-Germany-Jerse... Mertesacker World Cup Jersey . The captains of their respective countries at the world junior hockey championship provide an intriguing and unusual subplot to what is already billed as the biggest game of the preliminary round. The winner of Mondays meeting will top Pool B and gain a bye to the semifinal, while the loser must advance via a quarter-final.SAN FRANCISCO - The San Francisco Giants are finally getting some timely hits from the familiar faces as well as the newcomers.Buster Posey delivered a go-ahead RBI single in the eighth inning, and the Giants rallied to beat the Colorado Rockies 3-2 on Monday night to match their best winning streak of the season at three games.Gregor Blanco hit a tying home run leading off the sixth for San Francisco and also added a pair of singles, including one to start the rally in the eighth against loser Rex Brothers (1-2). Joaquin Arias then beat out an infield single when Rockies catcher Wilin Rosario tried to let the bunt up the first base line roll foul and it stayed fair. He rushed his throw to first and the ball got past Todd Helton for an error that moved Blanco to third.I thought it was going foul. I knew I needed a good bunt because we had to get that runner to second, said Arias, who committed a fielding error at third in the ninth but recovered to make a play on the final out. Things are starting to go our way.Sergio Romo (2-0) struck out Michael Cuddyer with runners on second and third to end the eighth for the win. Santiago Casilla finished for his eighth save in nine chances despite allowing an unearned run in the ninth.Casilla retired Chris Nelson on a groundout to end it with the bases loaded.The Rockies got a scare in the eighth when Troy Tulowitzki took a foul ball hit by teammate Dexter Fowler off the left leg.Nothing was broken. Just hit me on the side of my knee, he said. Im not a doctor but I guess there was tendon there and its just kind of blown up a little bit and sore. I was standing all the time on that top step when Im in the hole and I was doing the same thing Ive been doing ever since I started in the big leagues. Ive never had one really come close.After being examined by athletic trainer Keith Dugger, Tulowitzki stayed in the game and took his at-bat. The star shortstop reached on an infield single against Javier Lopez but hobbled to the base, clearly in pain. Manager Jim Tracy and Dugger hustled out to first and Tulowitzki was lifted for pinch-runner Nelson.X-rays on Tulowitzkis knee were negative.All I can tell you is we dodged a serious bullet there, Tracy said. If that ball would have been a couple of inches left, it might have hit him right in the kneecap. We were really fortunate.Brett Pill singled in an insurance run in the eighth for the Giants after he couldnt come through earlier.In the sixth, Posey hit a two-out single and Angel Pagan doubled to bring up Pill with runners on second and third, but he struck out. Posey snappedd an 0-for-10 funk with just his fourth hit in 28 at-bats.ddddddddddddRosario hit a towering home run deep into the left-field bleachers to start the fourth for Colorado, which missed several other scoring opportunities in losing its fourth in a row and ninth in 10. The Rockies are wrapping up a rough eight-game road trip with this short two-game series.Christian Friedrich delivered the kind of outing Colorado desperately needed in just his second career start. The left-hander struck out 10 and walked one, allowing six hits and one run in seven innings. He won in his major league debut last Wednesday, allowing two runs — one earned — on five hits with seven strikeouts and one walk in six innings at San Diego.His consistency came at a good time for Colorado. A day earlier, the Rockies walked 10 batters, all during a span of five innings, and six of them scored in Sundays 11-5 road loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers that led to a sweep.Friedrich got a nice over-the-shoulder catch from second baseman Marco Scutaro on which he hustled back into shallow left to snag Melky Cabreras flyball.Giants starter Ryan Vogelsong walked a season-high five batters and allowed three hits in seven innings. He still hasnt lost to the Rockies for his career, going 4-0 with a 1.07 ERA in five starts, including 3-0 with a 0.64 ERA in four at home.The right-hander walked three in the first and two more with two outs in the third to load the bases. Vogelsong received a mound visit from pitching coach Dave Righetti before facing Cuddyer.I was just trying to survive until I could find something that worked, Vogelsong said.The Giants ended a stretch in which they had lost the first game of a series in the previous six openers. San Francisco is just 4-8 in those games this year — with this win marking the clubs first victory in a series opener since beating the Mets on April 20 in New York.Cabrera had his 11-game hitting streak snapped with an 0-for-4 night for the Giants.NOTES: Giants slugger Pablo Sandoval had five stitches removed from his surgically repaired left hand. He had surgery May 4 for a broken hamate bone. ... San Francisco 2B Freddy Sanchez was scheduled for an MRI on his lower back after injuring it in his rehab games. ... Fowler didnt start as a precaution a day after he left the game following the fourth inning because of blurred vision, the result of a throw to second by catcher A.J. Ellis that struck him as he advanced. He was checked for a concussion. ... The Giants sold out their waterfront ballpark for the 100th straight game dating to the final series of the 2010 season against San Diego. ' ' '