INDIANAPOLIS -- The NFL's version of a mid-season Super Bowl between the powerhouse Colts and Patriots turned into a fiasco for the ages on Sunday. The Patriots prevailed, 31-29, on a controversial game-ending call. The play followed a brawl that took away a key defender for the Colts in the fourth quarter.

Rookie head referee John Perry seemed overwhelmed all day, as these two teams fought tenaciously for what will likely be home field advantage in the playoffs.

Colts safety Bob Sanders was ejected after taking a swing at Randy Moss, although replays showed Moss instigated the fight by spearing Sanders in the back with his helmet. The one-sided ejection brought down a shower of beer bottles from fans, and it took nearly 10 minutes to clean things up and get order restored.

Then, on what would have been a game winning 48-yard field goal by Adam Vinatieri, Perry's crew whistled a time out by the Patriots just before the snap. The kick was good, and the Colts ran onto the field thinking they had won the game.

However, linebacker Teddy Bruschi was unaware the Patriots had no timeouts remaining. After the penalty, Vinatieri's second attempt was blocked, preserving the victory for the Patriots and quite possibly paving the road for another Super Bowl appearance.

The preceding vignette is complete fiction. None of it happened. Thank God.

But, it surely could have. Especially with the NFL's incomprehensible decision to send one of its youngest, greenest head referees to officiate the most important regular season game the league has seen in more than 20 years.

What, Tim Donaghy wasn't available?

I mean, really ... a game this big, and Ed "Hercules" Hochuli isn't your FIRST choice? If not him, how about Pete Morelli, Walt Coleman or the take-no-guff Mike Carey? Hell, give me Larry Nemmers in a pinch.

I won't get too in-depth about the actual calls in this game, although there were plenty to make you raise an eyebrow in suspicion:

• The first long pass interference on Reggie Wayne was marginal.
• The sideline call that Patriots coach Bill Belichick successfully overturned should have never been called in the first place.
• The missed pass interference on third down against Kevin Faulk got Tom Brady hopping mad.
• The offensive pass interference against Randy Moss was a total joke.

All told, the refs were merely a drag on the Patriots, not fully conspired against them like a good old fashioned NBA screw job.

But, that's not the point.

The point is simple: SEND THE BEST PEOPLE! Especially the refs.

It would be like CBS telling Jim Nantz and Phil Simms to take a seat, so they could work Ian Eagle and Solomon Wilcots into a big game for a change.

Perry is a guy with just seven years of service in the NFL, and this is his first season of being a head referee. And while it's true that the other six guys make most of the calls, the man in charge still has to handle all the esoteric things that crop up.

And believe me, things get screwed up.

Remember the time Phil Luckett botched the coin flip?

How about the time a hailstorm of beer bottles actually did cut short a Browns game at home? If I recall, Browns fans were irate when the home team successfully snapped another play before a key replay, thus closing the "review window." However the ref said his "buzzer" went off before the snap actually occurred. It was a shaky excuse, and needless to say, Browns fans weren't buying.

Just last year, Hochuli had to scold the frenzied crowd in St. Louis that the "game is not over" because of an unusual quirk which distinguished when and how the ol' "10-second runoff" gets applied following a penalty. Hochuli, a lawyer by trade, was dead right. The Seahawks got a chance for a field goal, made it, and won the game at the gun.

Then there was the Giants-49ers playoff fiasco from several years ago, when a botched field goal attempt at the end of the game resulted in a desperation pass attempt. The refs said there was no pass interference on a jolly fat lineman trying to make the catch, because he was downfield illegally. Well, turns out, he wasn't. And it SHOULD have been pass interference. But by then, the Giants were halfway across Nebraska with a playoff loss. All they got from the league was a little "oops."

I even remember when Ron Blum had to announce on the stadium speaker system "I'm not sure if that's a reviewable play, but I will check."

"Price check, aisle four!" Somebody call the manager.

Egad.

The NFL rulebook is endlessly - and in my mind, needlessly - complicated. When Walt Coleman invoked the mysterious "Tuck Rule" on that snowy night in 2002, Tom Brady was not a three-time world champion, Bill Belichick was still trying to erase his disastrous tenure with the Browns, and the Raiders were pretty much set to fly to Pittsburgh for the AFC Title game.

To this day, Al Davis doesn't believe there was a "tuck rule" at the time. Of course, Al Davis isn't exactly tack sharp these days.

So, why did the NFL assign a total greenhorn to such a huge game? I'm stumped. I am sure the league will spin some jive about random rotation of crews, express total confidence in all of their referees and point out that instant replay is always there in case something really egregious happens.

Maybe, just maybe, they wanted a "pure" referee and crew, one that hadn't been tainted by previous Colt-Patriot showdowns. If you recall, the Patriots manhandled Colt wide receivers in their first two AFC Championship beat downs. Then, when Peyton and Company whined loud enough, the league tweaked the rules and Manning ripped the league for a record breaking 49 touchdowns.

This time, the league got lucky, and the team that got hit with a franchise-record 10 penalties for 143 yards actually won the game. Next time, just send the A-team in the first place.