Hmmm, where to start?

Integrity? Competency? Blame-shifting?

The Steelers lost to the Patriots Sunday on a last-second (literally) from Adam Vinateri . You can read the whole debacle (thanks Myron) here. You can watch the kick here. Once again, just for clarity, the Patriots beat the Steelers.

Sure, they did. With a little help from the clock guy, who added 52 seconds to the game clock.

I know that a lot of stuff affects the outcome of a sporting event. I understand that ultimately the team that loses has to look in the mirror and face the people who are responsible for winning or losing. I am aware that it's too easy and convenient to blame a loss on the officiating.

But, come on...

How does this get by the people who are supposed to be watching this sort of thing? How could they not catch a mistake this big?

I'm not saying that the Steelers would have won without the clock error. The Pats are a good football team, and Tom Brady continues to play his best in the biggest games. Give credit where credit is due...

I am pleased that I haven't heard any whining from the Steelers. As a high school baseball coach, I know the pain of feeling cheated by poor officiating. But the ability to rise above the circumstances and take care of business is huge. I don't know if the Steelers knew about the clock mistake during the game, but I haven't heard one Steeler griping.

As I sit thinking about unfairness/being cheated/whining/blame-shifting, etc, it kind of makes me sad that I am so quick to look for someone else to blame for the things that go wrong.
My kids made me late...
My wife moved my stuff...
The dog ate my homework...

I want to do a better job of taking responsibility for my stuff. I don't want to blame others for the goofy stuff that I do. I make mistakes--pretty often.

Grace is good, and needs to be applied to life liberally. I need it, and I want to be known as a Grace-giver.