Column: It's the Newby Awards, honoring best, worst of 2019

And the winner is ...

Miss Philippines?

No, no, no.

Sorry, Steve Harvey, we'll pass on your offer to host of the Newby Awards.

Who else might be available?

We'd love to have Monday Night Football Cat, if only we could track down the feral feline that wandered onto the field during an NFL game at the Meadowlands. M.N.F. Kitty has decided the better option is to continue roaming the bowels of MetLife Stadium, even if that comes with its own sobering risks. Namely, the chance of seeing both the Giants and the Jets attempting to play football.

So, before we run out the clock on 2019, let's press forward with our seventh annual review of the best, worst and wackiest in sports from the past year:

RAZZIE FOR OFFICIALS GONE WILD

It's always easy to complain about anyone wearing stripes.

This year, that was especially true.

There was the official who turned into Helen Keller when Los Angeles cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman committed a blatant interference penalty that was more like an assault in the NFC championship game.

And the Final Four refs who could've called a foul on Auburn or a decisive double-dribble on Virginia's Ty Jerome but curiously went with Option C — none of the above. Then, while everyone was debating the non-call, they whistled Auburn for a questionable foul on a three-point attempt that handed the Cavaliers the victory.

Oh yeah, let's not forget the Kentucky Derby. Maximum Security led every gallop of the way in the Run for the Roses, only to be disqualified afterward for alleged interference. The first DQ of a winning horse in the derby's 145-year history elevated 65-1 long-shot Country House to the winner's circle.

Robey-Coleman spoke for us all when he sheepishly said, “I got away with one.”

BEST...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Column-It-s-the-Newby-Awards-honoring-best-14939857.php