In a post yesterday at RollBamaRoll I tried to explain the basic fact that Terrence Cody taking off his helmet was a non-issue. While that point is still accurate, I did make a mistake in the initial interpretation which a couple of RTT folks caught and commented on. I initially defended the interpretation (both at RBR and in a few threads here at RTT). I did some more reading last night and realized that I was wrong and the original post went a bit too far (emphasis in original):
Update #2: After spending a few hours last night poking around the NCAA football rule book, I see what bobo_the_vol was trying to say, and I now agree with him. My initial interpretations of a few different clauses in the rule book were incorrect. Upon further reading, Rule 4-3-h means exactly what I said it did not mean (oops). The rule that I was leaning on to provide that interpretation, after another few reads through, doesn't support my assertion as I thought it did. As a result, the initial post was incorrect: the ball was not dead before Julio fell on it. As far as this particular play is concerned, it's a distinction with no difference as the ball was never bobbled around and there wasn't a Tennessee player anywhere in the vicinity of it when Julio touched it, so the final conclusion of this post is still valid. Regardless, I regret the error and appreciate bobo_the_vol taking the time to educate my stubborn self .
Not being one to like being wrong, this really irritates me, but I do appreciate bobo_the_vol, kidbourbon, and anyone else who came along and helped me figure out my error so that I could correct it. Many thanks for that.
I also apologize for being a little more stubborn than I probably should have been on the issue.
I guess this is the part where I invite you to mock me for being a stupid Bammer who can't read. Have at it, I've earned it.