Instant Replay

Good morning -- Matt Holliday -- Instant replay? Maybe the umpires should have dusted the plate for fingerprints.

Can the Broncos get quality quarterback play from Bubby Brister or Brian Griese? Do the Jaguars have enough defense to get to the Super Bowl? Will the Vikings' dominating offense pick up where it left off last season?Those are several of the major questions on the NFL's table as another season kicks off this weekend. But every question pales next to the gigantic one everyone was asking during the exhibition season:What, exactly, are the referees watching in those instant replay booths on the sideline?

MIAMI -- Super Bowl XXXIII might be the last NFL game that could be decided by a bad officiating call that league officials would be powerless to reverse.Although team owners rejected the idea of bringing back instant replay for the playoffs after a series of bad calls marred the second half of the season, commissioner Paul Tagliabue predicted at his annual Super Bowl news conference yesterday that replay will be back next year."I'm optimistic, but nothing in the NFL is a certainty," Tagliabue said, while conceding that replay could create as many problems as it solves.

Quote: "Most guys make history by hitting two grand slams in a game or something. I make history by hitting a ball that's reviewed on instant replay." -- Cliff Floyd of the Marlins.It's a fact: Cincinnati's 16-10 record last month was its best May since going 20-6 in 1995.Who's hot: The Rockies' Neifi Perez went 2-for-4 last night and is 16-for-31 (.516) in his past nine games.Who's not: The Reds' Mike Cameron was 0-for-4 last night and is hitless in 24 at-bats.On deck: With his next strikeout, the Braves' John Smoltz will become the 52nd pitcher in major-league history with 2,000.

The NFL is so eager to bring back instant replay this fall that it is willing to play its games with two sets of rules.Under a proposal passed by the competition committee, 7-1, that will be voted on by the owners next week at their annual March meeting in Phoenix, the league will use a coach's challenge system for the first 28 minutes of each half.If a coach wants to challenge a call, he will press a buzzer and the referee will view a monitor on the field to decide whether to overturn the call.

To replay or not to replay.In the wake of National League umpire Frank Pulli's decision Monday to check a television camera for conclusive proof on a call, the dormant debate over whether baseball should use instant replay got fired up.Based on what happened Monday and for the integrity of the game, Fox announcer Joe Buck, who was calling the St. Louis-Florida game for a Midwest audience, is foursquare against replay."

PHOENIX -- The NFL owners wrapped up their annual March meetings yesterday by approving a new version of instant replay and giving the Howard Milstein group another month to get its financing in order in its bid to buy the Washington Redskins.The version of instant replay passed by a 28-3 vote might be called "Replay Lite" because it is designed not to correct most bad calls, but only the calls that can turn around a game.Only three teams -- the Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals, who have traditionally opposed any form of replay, and the New York Jets -- opposed it. Jets coach Bill Parcells didn't like the coach's-challenge part of the plan or the fact it's tied to timeouts.

SAN DIEGO -- Upon further review, commissioner Paul Tagliabue thinks instant replay may be returning next year.At his annual Super Bowl news conference yesterday, Tagliabue said, "I think because of Mike's [Holmgren] leadership as co-chairman of the competition committee, there's a better than normal chance that instant replay would be be adopted this year."He said it is likely the owners would install a coaches' challenge system in which a limited number of plays would be reviewed."If the committee members come back with that type of a proposal again, I would support it," he said.

Facing a credibility crisis and a firestorm of criticism over a series of blown officials calls, the NFL announced last night it will consider bringing back instant replay for the playoffs.An NFL spokesman said the league will draft a proposal for a coach's challenge system and present it to the owners for an electronic vote at a yet-to-be-determined date.The league hasn't put together the specifics of the proposal, although it will include allowing replays in the final two minutes, .. even if a team is out of allotted challenges.

Three of the Ravens' 11 games have turned on blown calls by the officials. Numerous other games around the NFL have turned on dubious calls this season.Yesterday, the officials couldn't even get the coin flip right before overtime in the Lions-Steelers game.The NFL's officials are having such a bad year that the league office should draft a standard apology form for use during the week after a typical Sunday of boo-boos:Dear (owner/coach/team): A review of Sunday's key a) holding, b) pass interference, c)

College lacrosse has grown rapidly through the years, but it's not ready for the big time yet. The NCAA rules committee on lacrosse met recently to determine whether instant replay is needed. A few members thought it is time for a change, but upon further review, it isn't. There are instances when it would help, like on the last shot before time expires. Navy coach Richie Meade has seen games decided by whether a player has stepped into the crease, resulting in a goal being taken away.

You know the only time people really complain about instant replay? When a difficult call that is subject to multiple interpretations goes against their team. That's it. And that's why replay works. Because no one is full of outrage and crying about conspiracies when it works to their benefit. That's why any argument that begins with, "This is why we need to do away with this stupid system!" gets immediately dismissed in my household. Replay is a necessary nuisance in the NFL. For the most part, it works pretty well.

For the second time this season, a heartbreaking Ravens loss was decided, in part, by a controversial call by an official, and enraged and confused Baltimore fans are facing the same harsh reality They just have to deal with it. And instant replay? Even with the benefit of electronic 20-20 hindsight - as was the case in the 13-9 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday - NFL officiating is still being called into question. But before Ravens followers take too personally what happened in the game against the Steelers, and also in a 13-10 loss to the Tennessee Titans this season when the Ravens were hit with a questionable personal foul, they should understand that fans of the San Diego Chargers, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints and, yes, even Pittsburgh backers have had to swallow similarly bitter medicine at some point this season.

It's not crystal clear why the NFL's instant replay system has worked so poorly the past few years. It's not even clear what specifically isn't working. But there's no doubt that it doesn't work. At the very least, it should be completely overhauled in the offseason - and if it weren't so disruptive, it ought to be done sooner. At most, it should be discarded for something else. Anything else. Except that "human element," because that wasn't good enough, either. The human element is what's making a disaster of things now. Humans are either making bad rules, enforcing them poorly, interpreting them poorly or some combination of them all. Viewers can believe what they want to believe about Santonio Holmes' catch Sunday, but referee Walt Coleman was responsible for knowing the rules, reviewing the replay and explaining his decision to the crowd, both coaches and, later, a pool reporter - and he did none of that well.

God save the baseball umpire. He's not a robot, but Joe Six-Pack sure expects him to be. Despite the fact that he gets 99 percent of the close calls correct, the instant replay advocates still will be up in arms every time he misses one. The umpiring hasn't been great this Series, but I like the human element of baseball. I like it that a team often has to overcome a few bad calls to win a championship because it's a metaphor for life. You have to be mentally toughest when the breaks don't go your way. The Phillies had been jobbed a few times but still had a 3-1 lead.

It might be a little late to learn this, but I thought you should know. Jeffrey Maier supports instant replay. Major League Baseball began using it last week to determine whether potential home runs were fair or foul or whether they cleared the wall. And the boy turned man who was involved in one of the most controversial "boundary" calls in the sport's history, certainly the most painful one in the Orioles' 55 years, believes baseball should do whatever it can to get those calls right.

So professional baseball has been played for, what, about 140 years, give or take, and has managed to get along without the technological assistance commonly referred to as "instant replay." Now, suddenly, Major League Baseball has to have instant replay and it has to have it immediately. By immediately, we're talking yesterday. Most fans are aware that replay will be applied only to home runs - fair or foul, over the fence or still in play, fan interference or not. And it might be a good idea in concept, but what's not a good idea is the timing.

Too often in this life, we ignore chances to make modest improvements because we're waiting for the perfect solution. I'm glad baseball didn't make that mistake with instant replay. Instead, commissioner Bud Selig implemented limited replay as soon as he reached agreements with his players and umpires. If the technology saves even one blown call down the stretch this season, it was worth it. Some baseball men felt replay was introduced hastily. Orioles manager Dave Trembley said that if technological kinks haven't been worked out, "they are going to set themselves up for some embarrassing situations."

After months of discussion, Major League Baseball is implementing limited instant replay beginning tomorrow - a decision that is getting mixed reactions. The last of the four major team sports to embrace instant replay, baseball will use it only to resolve disputes about whether home runs clear the fence or are fair or foul. "Finally, somebody is going to help the umpires," Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "If you make the right decision, somebody is going to be mad. You make the wrong decision and somebody is really going to be mad. That is going to help baseball.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Though the Orioles aren't ready to embrace the idea of Major League Baseball using instant replay later this year, they can see it might prove beneficial in certain instances. Being on the wrong end of a close call tends to adjust a player's perception. However, replay wouldn't have allowed Friday night's controversy to swing in the Orioles' favor. According to an ESPN.com report last week, baseball is tentatively planning on experimenting with replay in Arizona Fall League games on disputed home run calls - not to determine whether a ball hit down the line is fair or foul.