The Otherside of Instant Replay

Instant replay has become a major issue for several sports. Either you have it and it works great, or leagues are dragging their feet to the dismay of most fans. What most people think about when they think of instant replay are games like the now infamous France vs. Ireland game with Theirry Henry's blatant handball or the Yankees/Angels ALCS game with umpire Tim McClelland making two awful calls against the Angels. What people don't see, however, is the otherside of the argument. Many who argue against instant replay say that it will slow games down. These argument are largely ignored because its implementation in the NFL has been a huge success. Baseball which has been one of the most resistant has instituted replay for homerun calls and it doesn't seem to affect the flow at all. Hockey has had replay for years and no one complains. Friday night, however, I finally saw the argument.

On Friday, William and Mary took on Villanova in the football Division 1AA semi-final game. I caught the game midway through the third quarter. In that one and one half quarter, four plays were reviewed. I have to say, it really slowed the game down. I have always supported instant replay in pretty much all sports, but I also recognize that replay run amok can be a bad thing. The problem on Friday was the specific system used. There were no coach challenges, rather every play was subject to review. I recognize the importance of making sure the right call is made every play, but there has got to be a limit. You cannot replay every close play just to be sure. Of those four plays that were reviewed, only one was a close call that really warranted a review. In fact, that was the only play that was overturned. The other three seemed pretty clear cut and I felt replay was unnecessary. If replay were limited to coach challenges as we see most often used in football, I think only the one overturned play would have been challenged by the coaches.

What this shows us is why soccer and baseball have refused instant replay. Part of soccer's international appeal is the constant flow. To stop that for replays would really hurt the game. The length of baseball games is already becoming an issue for fans. Extending the game further would do more harm than good. While I have a new appreciation for these arguments, I still believe that, like Friday's game, a form of limited replay would not hurt. The NFL and the NHL have shown us that limited reviews help officials make correct calls on big plays without really stopping the game. Also, how long do you think a review of Henry's handball or McClelland's calls would have taken? How long did it take for you to see the wrong call was made? A referre could make the correct call in a matter of seconds. The fact is that you can add more officials to soccer games or put better umpires in important games, but they are human and will still make mistakes. Making a scapegoat out of Henry as FIFA is attempting to do is not the answer. Replay is. Unlimited replay will slow down a game, but limited replay will help officials make correct calls which is what's ultimately important.

Brian Kelly to Notre Dame, Irish Hope he Brings Luck With Him

Reports have confirmed that Cincinnati head coach Brian Kelly will be the next coach of Notre Dame. Kelly leaves a 12-0 Cincinnati team that narrowly missed the National Title game and is poised to play Florida in the Sugar Bowl. Kelly will not be on the sidelines for that game, nor will many of his assistants as many will follow him to South Bend.

The coaching search was extremely well executed by Notre Dame, suggesting to me that they may finally have found a candidate that can lead them into the future. First, Kelly was hired only 10 days after Charlie Weis was fired. The Irish didn't waste any time with their unrealistic wish list, quickly ruling out Oklahoma coach, Bob Stoops, and Florida coach, Urban Meyer. While Notre Dame would have loved either one of these coaches, neither coach was going to leave their respective program. There was no point in alienating prospective candidates to pursue a situation that just wasn't going to happen. Second, Notre Dame recognized Kelly as the man for the job very quickly and did what was necessary to bring him in. Kelly refused to publicly acknowledge any interest in the job. Then on Wednesday of this week, reports came out saying there was mutual interest between the Irish and Connecticut coach, Randy Edsall. The next day Kelly accepted the job. While we don't know for sure how negotiations went between the two parties, it looks like the Irish may have played a little hardball to bring him in.

Why was Kelly so sought after? Well, the Irish may finally realized what it takes to be successful in South Bend. Lou Holtz has been reporting on ESPN that the coaches that make it in Notre Dame are the ones who come in already well established and successful as a college head coach. Charlie Weis came in as a great NFL offensive coordinator. Tyrone Willingham was the head coach of Stanford going 44-36-1, but was inconsistent to say the least winning the Pac 10 in 1999 while still losing to teams such as San Jose State. Bob Davie was Lou Holtz's defensive coordinator. The last successful coach for the Irish was Lou Holtz himself, and he had 17 seasons as a head coach coming into Notre Dame. Kelly comes to South Bend with 18 years of head coaching experience and an overall record of 171-57-2. The Irish may finally have found the coach they need instead of the coach that fits.

Portis Out for the Season, Future Unclear

The Washington Redskins announced this week that Clinton Portis will miss the remainder of the season due to a concussion. This has called into question what Portis' future will be in DC. Portis will turn 29 next season which is old for most starting running backs and is injury prone. He only has one touchdown in 2009 and it is also well known that Portis and head coach Jim Zorn have not gotten along since Zorn first came to DC. Perhaps it may be time to look for another running back to take over.

It may be a little early, however, for the Redskins to turn away Portis. First, the running backs behind him are not starting quality players. Ladell Betts and Rock Cartwright are great back ups, but I'm not sure they're good enough to take over. Rookie Quinton Ganther may evetually develop into a good running back, but he's certainly not there yet. What's more, Portis' stats remain solid. He averages 4.0 yards per carry and has only one fumble in 124 attempts. Portis was one of the league's leading rushers in 2008 with 1487 yards. His single touchdown this season is more because of a weak offensive line rather than any drop off in Portis' play.

As for Zorn, he will most likely be gone at the end of the season. With the Redskins ready to start over in the offseason, is the running back position another thing they Redskins want to add to the laundry list of things they need to improve on? With no starting quality running back to turn to, the Redskins would have to persue another probably expensive running back to take over. Portis still has plenty left in the tank. Let's focus on a head coach, quarterback, offensive line, and secondary before we decide we aren't happy with our running back.

The BCS Messes Up Again

On Sunday night, the BCS made its bowl selections. Coming in, we already knew that three undefeated teams were not going to make the National Championship Game. Everyone expected the winner of the SEC championship would face Texas, even if they managed to win the Big 12 with a miraculous last second field goal. This left out Cincinnati (a BCS conference champion), TCU, and Boise State. Nobody likes this system and everyone argues for playoffs for these occasions since three teams did everything right and were still not given their shot. That, however, was not the big issue for me this year because I knew this was going to happen. I may not like it, but I was prepared for it. What bothered me a lot was the Fiesta Bowl selection.

The Fiesta Bowl, to be played on January 4, will be played by TCU and Boise State. Both teams have proven themselves this season and both deserve a BCS spot, but the fact that the two non-BCS teams have been pitted against one another is absurd. This completely defeats the purpose. The point of the BCS systems for teams like TCU is so that a non-BCS team that has proven itself throughout the season gets a chance to play against the best of the BCS teams. It's a chance for them to prove themselves to the rest of the country. By putting TCU and Boise against one another, the BCS has completely devalued the Fiesta Bowl.

In 2008, Utah, a non-BCS team, managed an undefeated season and received a spot in the Sugar Bowl. They met SEC runner up Alabama and crushed them 31-17. No one thought Utah could compete against one of the best teams in the country and they dominated from start to finish. The game gave legitimacy to Utah's entire season and most of all it gave them respect. What does a Fiesta Bowl win do for either TCU or Boise State? Both teams had a legitimate claim for a spot and now won't even get a chance to justify that claim.

Non-BCS teams don't get much respect over the course of a season. While they may go undefeated, many claim it is merely because of a weak conference schedule. That's what makes the bowls so important. It gives teams a chance to compete against the best BCS teams and prove that they are just as good. Both TCU and Boise State are great teams, but what can they claim at the end of the season? They have been cheated out of a chance to compete for a national title and now won't even get a chance to justify their season.

Redskins Lose Through Collective Effort

Despite dominating the undefeated New Orleans Saints, the Washington Redskins lost 33-30 in overtime. While the Redskins were certainly expected to lose, it was the way they lost that was so infuriating. With less than 2 minutes left to go in the game, the Redskins led 30-23 and had the ball on the Saints' 4 yard line. The Saints had no timeouts left. If you put any team in the NFL in this position, they win the game. Not the Redskins.

On fourth down, the Redskins lined up for a 23 yard field goal. A chip shot. Two yards closer is an extra point. Shaun Suisham, however, missed the kick. From the moment he kicked it, it was clearly wide. A 10 point lead at that point in the game would have forced New Orleans to score twice with less than 2 minutes and no timeouts. Instead, the Saints got the ball on the 20 yard line down only by one touchdown. I understand that sometimes kickers will miss kicks. Missing this kick, however, was unacceptable. Professional kickers who get paid millions should make those kicks whether they are winning by 7 or 70. Despite how much money Daniel Snyder likes to spend for players, the Redskins have not had a dependable kicker for several seasons. Suisham also cost the Redskins against Dallas with two missed field goals. A football team needs a kicker they can depend on to score from close yardage and in clutch situations. Suisham has shown he is not dependable in either situation.

Despite missing an easy field goal, the Redskins still held a 7 point lead with 1:52 left to go. It took the Saints only five plays and 33 seconds to score. After one play, Albert Haynesworth gave the Saints a time out as he went down with an injury. Even though Haynserworth played a good game, he seems to get injured at least once every week. Going down in such an important situation allows the Saints to regroup and get ready for the rest of the drive. If Haynesworth is injured, he's injured and there's nothing really he can do, but I'm getting pretty tired of watching him go down every game. He's getting paid too much money to sit out the majority of a game.

The biggest mistake that drive, however, cam from LaRon Landry. When it comes to stoping the run, Landry is very aggresive and seems to always be in the play. When it comes to the pass, however, he is constantly beat deep. His aggresiveness constantly gets him into trouble. What he doesn't seem to realize is that he is a safety, meaning he is the guy in charge of making sure the defense DOESN'T get beat deep. Robert Meachem managed to get behind Landry for a 53 yard touchdown that tied the game. Landry is a three year pro and should know his responsibility. It doesn't matter if he he can stop the run. If receivers can get behind him at will, he is useless to the team.

Even with the game tied, the Redskins still had a great opportunity to win the game. There was still 1:19 left on the clock and they had two timeouts. But, we can't forget the man playing quarterback, Jason Campbell aka Mr. Dependable. At the New Orleans 45 yard line, Campbell threw an interception right into the hands of Jonathan Vilma. People can show me all the stats they want on how Campbell played and I'll admit, to that point he had a good game. This interception, however, was terrible. There was little pressure on Campbell and Fred Davis was CLEARLY covered. An NFL quarterback should not have made that throw. I don't know what Campbell saw or how he could have missed Vilma standing right in front of Davis, but still the ball was thrown. I'm not going to blame Campbell for losing the game because for the most part he played well, but did anybody believe the Redskins were going to be able to drive for the win? Drew Brees is a great quarterback because he can lead foruth quarter come backs. So can Peyton Manning, so can Brett Favre. Jason Campbell? He tries to throw through the invisible Vilma. Further evidence that come the offseason, Campbell needs to go.

Was this all the Redskins had in store? Nope. In overtime Mike Sellers fumbled the ball on the Redskins 37 yard line, giving the Saints the ball at the edge of field goal range. All this capped off a game ending collapse for the Redskins. We also can't forget their earlier mistakes such as a miffed punt, and an interception by Kareem Moore who was stripped by Saints' receiver Robert Meachum who managed to return the fumble for a touchdown. Only the Redskins could lose a game in such spectacular fashion.

Is Ovechkin a Dirty Player?

The NHL announced on Tuesday that Alex Ovechkin would be suspended two games for his knee-on-knee hit during Monday's game against Carolina. In the first period Ovechkin tried to size up Hurricanes' defenseman Tim Gleason who saw him coming and skated to avoid the hit. Ovechkin then stuck out his leg and led with his knee sending both players sprawling onto the ice. Ovechkin seem to bear the brunt of the hit and had to be helped off the ice. He then received a 5 minute major penalty and a game misconduct ejection. Ovechkin has been listed as day to day so the suspension may not actually be a bad thing as it will keep Ovechkin from trying to rush back immediately from the injury. It appears his injury will not be serious and the Capitals have already proven this season that they can win without him so the bigger question this raises is what type of player Ovechkin really is.

Ovechkin's game misconduct was his second in three games. Ovechkin received one in the game against Buffalo the day before Thanksgiving for boarding. This has led some people to ask if Ovechkin is a dirty player. The answer, quite simply, is no. Ovechkin is fun to watch not only for his skill but for his physical style of play. He's such a dangerous player because not only can he deke you, but he can skate right through you. Compare him to one of his biggest rivals, Sidney Crosby. Pittsburgh fans will tell you Crosby is better, Washington fans will tell you Ovechkin is better. Most hockey fans, however, including those who cheer for Pittsburgh, will tell you Ovechkin is better. Why? Crosby won't play physical hockey. Ovechkin, on the other hand, plays the game the way it should be played. If Crosby gets hit, he looks like he's on the verge of tears and immediately complains to the referee. If Ovechkin gets hit, he hits right back. In a game as physical as hockey, it's nice to see a supers star who doesn't hide behind his enforcers.

The problem with Ovechkin's play is that he really walks the line between physical and reckless. Against Buffalo, Ovechkin was just a little late. You can't argue against the call, but it wasn't a dirty play, it was a reckless play. Watch the replay of the hit on Gleason. Ovechkin is clearly skating in for a body check and Gleason sees him coming. It is Ovechkin's competitiveness that doesn't allow Gleason to skate past him. You can't really argue that he was trying to hurt Gleason because in those types of hits, you can't tell who's going to get the worst of it. If you hit someone full speed with your shoulder, the other guy is the one who goes flying. If you hit with your knee, it really could go either way and that's why Ovechkin went down.

While many may see this suspension as a turning point for Ovechkin in which he realizes he needs to turn it down, I wouldn't count on it. Ovechkin himself has already come out and said "I'm not going to change anything" and for the most part, that's a good thing. What is probably the best game of Ovechkin's career is his performance against Montreal on January 31, 2008. In it Ovechkin broke his nose after a hit from Francis Bouillon, was hit in the lip with a puck, and refused to back down going on to score four goals including the overtime winner. Without his physical style of play, this performance never happens, nor does the amazing spin around goal last season which Ovechkin was only able to finish when he pushed pass defenseman Kyle Chipchura. You can also forget about the spectacular goal against Phoenix during his rookie season too (which if you haven't seen yet, where have you been? Look it up on youtube immediately). If there is any reason to pull back on the reins its because of injury worries. While the Caps have been successful this year without Ovechkin, he still remains the face of the franchise and the road to the Stanley Cup will not be possible without him. Two game misconducts in three games? That's a result of bad timing more than a reflection on Ovechkin. With the way Ovechkin dazzles us every time he steps on the ice, do we really want him to change who he is? If he does I think everyone is going to miss out on something special.

Weis, Groh, Bowden Among First Victims of the College Football Offseason

After many teams finished their seasons last weekend, all eyes turned to coaches on the hotseat to see who would be fired, who would step aside, and who would be given another chance. Among the first coaches to go were Charlie Weis, Al Groh, and Bobby Bowden.

Charlie Weis was fired yesterday by Notre Dame after another lackluster season finishing with a record of 6-6. When Weis was first hired, he held a firey news conference and gave the ironically prophetic statement "you're a 6-5 football team. And guess what? That's just not good enough. That's not good enough for you, and it's certainly not going to be good enough for me." Well in Weis five seasons he went 9-3 (with predecessor Tyrone Willingham's recruits) in 2005, 10-2 in 2006, 3-9 in 2007 giving Notre Dame its worst record in school history, 6-6 in 2008, and 6-6 in 2009. Basically he proved he could win with other people's recruits, but not with his own. Many expected this would be Weis' last season. The only reason Notre Dame would keep him at this point would have been the $18 million it took to buy him out. With a record of 15-21 over the last three seasons that just wasn't enough. The search now begins for the next Notre Dame coach.

After a 3-9 football season for UVA including losses to AA William and Mary, Southern Miss, Duke, and a sixth straight to rival Virginia Tech many were not surprised by the firing of long time head coach Al Groh. Groh was hired in 2001 succeeding George Welsh who retired as the winningest coach in ACC history. Al Groh had some success winning ACC coach of the year in 2002 and 2007. He came under scrutiny, however, in 2008 when UVA started the season 1-3 including a 31-3 loss to Duke. UVA rebounded slightly finished 5-7. After another bad season, UVA officials saw a team on the decline with little hope of competing with rival Virginia Tech for Virginia recruits and Al Groh was sent packing.

Many reports indicate that Bobby Bowden will announce his retirement either today or tomorrow. Out of the three, this is perhaps the coach that was treated the most unfairly. Bowden was hired in 1976 to coach a team that had won four games in the past four seasons. Bowden's only losing season was his first in '76. He won two National Titles in '93 and '99. Florida State began to look ahead and named Jimbo Fisher as Bowden's successor to take over the team whenever Bowden chose to leave. Apparently having the second most wins of any coach in history including 315 wins with Florida State wasn't enough for the Seminole faithful who began calling for his retirement. Chairman of the university board of trustees, Jim Smith, stated "I think the record will show that the Seminole Nation has been more than patient. We have been in decline not for a year or two or three but I think we're coming up on seven or eight. I think enough is enough." Well in the last eight seasons, Florida State has won three conference titles with an overall record of 65-38. Despite essentially building the program itself, Bowden became a victim of his own success when he couldn't compete with the soaring expectations. This led to the absolutely outrageous and absurd treatment of Bowden this season by the trustees. As they were unable to fire him, it seems they did everything in their power to force him out on his own. Quite an undeserved ending for such a great coach.

With the offseason just beginning and the bowl games to come, no doubt there will be many more stories to come.