Mauricio Pochettino Says Video Replay Threatens To "Kill The Emotion" Of Soccer
Yesterday’s Tottenham-Rochdale match had all the ingredients for great game. It had stakes, as an F.A. Cup knockout match; it had narrative, since it pit a Goliath of a club against a lower league David; it had drama, after it went into halftime tied at one goal apiece as Rochdale fought valiantly to keep their dream…
Video Replay Thwarted When Flag-Waving Fan Blocks Camera
Video replay in soccer, as in all sports, sucks. This is true mostly for philosophical reasons, but also for logistical ones, too. Like when this Boavista fan inadvertently boned their own team by waving a huge flag that blocked the camera angle that probably would’ve invalidated the opponent’s goal:
Upon Further Review, The NFL Dodged A Bullet
Thank god for Brandon Graham. It was his effectively game-sealing strip-sack of Tom Brady—an actual, incontrovertible football play, a display of the kind of strength and athleticism and determination that bring us to the sport in the first place, a moment for which there was no reason to doubt your lying eyes or…
Even An Official Didn't Know Why Kelvin Benjamin's Touchdown Was Overturned
The NFL’s stupid, byzantine rule book got in the way of our ability to enjoy the sport again last weekend. This time, Bills receiver Kelvin Benjamin had a sensational touchdown catch against the Patriots taken away by a replay cop stationed back at headquarters in New York, and even one of the officials on the field…
German Soccer Officials Are Realizing That Video Replay Fucking Sucks
The scourge of video reviews of subjective refereeing decisions has already infected soccer. The predominating viewpoint—mostly among soccer fans who haven’t seen how replay and inevitable replay-creep have poisoned American sports—on this unfortunate phenomenon has been that replay is good. But as officials in…
Video Replay In Soccer Sucks
For most of the soccer world, this summer’s Confederations Cup is the first time fans will have seen the sport’s much ballyhooed instant replay system live and in action. And as anyone familiar with replay’s fundamental epistemological shortcomings could’ve predicted, the whole process blows.
The Replay Technocrats Are Trying To Get Their Hooks Into Soccer
With the widespread implementation of goal-line technology and early experimentation with video replay ongoing, it is clear that technology in soccer officiating is here to stay. Whether that’s a good thing remains to be seen.
The Cardinals Got A Win They Didn't Deserve Because The Reds Couldn't Hear Their Dugout Phone
There’s a decent chance the NL Wild Card ultimately comes down to this:
Brewers Successfully Challenge Home Run Hitter Called Out At Home
Today in “manager challenges you didn’t expect to see”: Craig Counsell successfully challenging the Brewers’ Khris Davis being called out after hitting a home run. Home plate ump Will Little called Davis out after the Giants appealed, tossing the ball to the plate claiming the Milwaukee outfielder hadn’t touched it…
NFL Considers That Maybe It Was Wrong And Bill Belichick Was Right
Bill Belichick was grumpily baffled by the NFL owners' unwillingness to even consider his plan to install permanent cameras aimed at the sidelines and goal lines in every stadium. And he was even more upset they claimed it wasn't a possibility because it would have been too expensive. Well, I guess someone rifled…
Bill Belichick Is Pissed The NFL Won't Adopt His Great Idea
This seems as uncontroversial as it comes: everyone, from fans to bookmakers to players and coaches and officials alike, just wants the NFL to get calls right. So why is there so much resistance to Bill Belichick's long-fought attempts to have cameras permanently installed on every field's boundary lines? The owners…
NFL owners rejected 12 of 13 proposals to change the replay process, including the Patriots' proposal that every single play be challengeable. The only replay-related rule that passed will allow officials to use video review to put the right amount of time on the clock at the end of halves.
Lions GM Wants Coaches To Be Able To Challenge Penalty Flags
Detroit general manager Martin Mayhew, speaking at the combine, proposed a change to the NFL's replay rules: he wants coaches to be able to throw challenge flags on penalty calls. And yes, it has everything to do with the Lions getting screwed late in a playoff game.
The New York Times has a nice obituary of Tony Verna, the man who invented instant replay. [New York Times]
B1G Officials Lose Minds, Award OSU An INT On Obvious Incomplete Pass
Big Ten officials were stricken blind and stupid early in tonight's Ohio State-Penn State game as a pass from the Nittany Lions' Christian Hackenberg that clearly hit the ground was declared an interception by the Buckeyes' Vonn Bell.
MLB Umpire Hunter Wendelstedt Sat Down For A Pre-Game Interview
MLB umpires rarely sit down with the media, however umpire Hunter Wendelstedt gave Todd Kalas a peek into this year's biggest game changer – the instant replay. Instead of being salty that technology was taking part of his job, Wendelstedt praised the positive impacts that instant replay has made on the game.
Pirates Still Stewing Over Controversial Walk-Off Loss
The Diamondbacks won last night on a walk-off fielder's choice in the 10th, as Nick Ahmed successfully broke up the Pirates' potential double-play by getting hit in the arm by Jayson Nix's throw to first. Pretty perfect positioning with that arm, actually. Maybe a little too perfect.
There Is No Explanation For Blowing This Call
This was a trapped ball. It was pretty clear, and indisputably so on replay. Yet umpires upheld their initial ruling of a catch, even after Ron Gardenhire's challenge. My headline up there isn't some huffy hyperbole on just how baffling the call was—it's about how umpires literally didn't give an explanation for how…
Blue Jays Challenge Play To Get Their Own Runner Out
Blue Jays manager John Gibbons used MLB's instant replay in an unusual but clever decision in the top of the second of Thursday's game against the Athletics.
