THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: A lot of hogwash to wade through before Sunday

This will be a slightly shorter sermon today.

Yes, I can hear some of you muttering: “Thank heavens, I’ve got things to do and this guy wants to explore the meaning of the universe again.”

Fair enough, I’ll take my hits (although Carl Sagan was my hero).

But just so you get it, the REASON we’re going to hit this one modestly down the middle and start walking is pretty simple.

There’s a single point involved, something that matters. I want to hammer at it and hope it sticks.

As I’m wont to do, however, I have to include one little story from off to the side.

See, I had a particular word I hoped to use as sort of a keynote in this discussion.

“Hogwash!”

I like the word, and knew immediately it would fit.

Then on Wednesday, podcaster Tony Kornheiser was addressing Aaron Rodgers’ claim that he planned to spend four full days in total darkness to ponder his future.

Kornheiser wasn’t buying any of it, cynically pointing out that it was another of Rodgers’ offseason bouts of self-serving nonsense, and called it …

Hogwash.

WELL, I’M here to announce there is room for more hogwash in sports, and especially in the NFL.

Rodgers can go enjoy hallucinating in his dungeon of darkness, and frankly, it’s a good place for him during Super Bowl week.

On the other hand, though, the league’s boss WAS present in Arizona, obliged to give his annual commissioner’s state of the game address to the breathless media.

His highness Roger Goodell was questioned immediately — shocker! — about the NFL’s standard of officiating.

That’s the kind of thing that happens when a team is allowed to run two consecutive third-down plays in an AFC championship game.

No biggie.

Goodell is no doubt lighting candles in front of his private altar — the one with a wax bust of George Halas — while giving thanks that the Chiefs-Bengals game wasn’t decided by that extra third down play.

That doesn’t mean, of course, that he wasn’t prepared to offer up a mega-sized dose of hogwash about his employees in striped shirts.

Here is the commish on the overall quality of officiating …

"I don't think it's ever been better in the league," Goodell said.

"There are over 42,000 plays in a season. Multiple infractions could occur on any play. Take that out or extrapolate that.

“That's hundreds if not millions of potential fouls. And our officials do an extraordinary job of getting those.

“Are there mistakes in the context of that? Yes, they are not perfect and officiating never will be."

Wow!

The officiating has never been better.

With all due respect, Mr. Commissioner …

That’s hogwash!

DOES THIS man think we’re all idiots?

How about coaches and players throughout the league?

They know.

As I said in that spoiler at the beginning, Goodell is pulling our chains.

He knows, too.

The league works hard to train these part-time officials — gentlemen who are insurance brokers and high school principals in real life — and I’m convinced the effort is there.

Among other considerations (like who wins the AFC), there are billions bet on every football game, and if the boys in Vegas are not happy with the integrity of the sport, you had damn well better fix it.

I honestly believe the league works at it.

Notwithstanding the fact that several of its best officials have taken the big money to explain calls on TV instead of listening to abuse down there in the rain …

The NFL is trying — because it must.

HOWEVER …

Officiating will keep sliding slowly backwards.

If I could make you a graph, it would show the size/speed of the athletes and blitzkrieg hurry of actual plays increasing, while the pay for NFL officials is capping at around $250,000 per year — a nice gig for weekends while working half a year.

But these men (and eventually a full cadre of women) are still part-time employees.

They begin training — physically and mentally, with new rules and such — in summer and finish up after the season.

Here’s more from Goodell …

“We may not agree with every TV announcer or officiating expert, but we think our officials are doing a great job.

“We're always going to look to our competition committee and everything else we have, how we improve our officiating, but it will never be perfect."

No, sir, it will not.

But it can be better, if NFL officials become full-time employees — perhaps attending OTAs and year-round preparation like the players they adjudicate.

Yes, it would cost the league more money.

I’d argue, though, that a league making BILLIONS can afford to pay full-time officials.

Goodell is right that there will always be mistakes.

Getting a proper workforce to handle this truly tough job, though, would improve the NFL’s odds against more scream-out-loud mistakes.

Arguing against that notion is, well …

Hogwash.

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Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press four times each week, normally Tuesday through Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”