In Tuesdays game between England and Ukraine, we saw exhibit A for the utilization of video replay technology in football. Michael Harris Chargers Jersey . With England leading a tight game 1-0, Ukrainian striker Marko Devic saw his deflected shot cleared from the goal line by England defender John Terry. The goal line official – standing just yards from the goal – made no motion to indicate that the ball had crossed the line, and play was allowed to continue. Video replays soon revealed that the ball had clearly crossed the line. I believe that video replay technology should be used in football, and here is how it should be done. If the referee is unsure whether or not the ball has crossed the goal line, he should be able to contact the fourth official via headset (which is a technology that is already in place) and ask him to review the goal on a video replay. Play would be allowed to continue, until the fourth official could rule with confidence that the ball had or had not crossed the line. The game does not need to be stopped for this to happen, as it takes less than 30 seconds to review a video replay. I know this is possible because in the TSN EURO 2012 studio, we did exactly that. This is what we saw: The ball is clearly over the line, and the goal should have been allowed to stand. Now the debate begins, because in the lead-up to the goal, Artem Milevskiy, the other Ukrainian striker, was offside just before he played the ball to Devic. Play should have been stopped for the offside, but neither the referee nor the referees assistant spotted the infraction. Critics argue that allowing video replay technology to come into the game will open up a Pandoras box, as coaches would want every decision in the lead up to a goal to be reviewed on video replay. To combat this, here is what I would propose: Allow the use of video replays to determine whether or not the ball has crossed the line and a goal has been scored – and nothing more. Video replays should not be used to determine if a player has been fouled in the build up to a goal, or if a player was/was not offside. That is the responsibility of the referee and his team of assistants, and should be left in their control. Yes, it will result in fouls and offside decisions going the wrong way, but isnt that part of the beauty of football? We cannot – and should not – completely remove the human element from the game. But we can – and should – use technology to help the officials determine the most important deciding factor in a game of football, whether or not a goal has been scored. Bront Bird Chargers Jersey . The Ukrainians are scheduled to face the United States in a friendly on Wednesday in Cyprus, a match moved from Kharkiv to Larnaca for security reasons.David Johnson Chargers Jersey . Johns a tough opponent, even if the Red Storm dont get a win to show for it.DUNEDIN, Florida – Brandon Morrow arrived to camp healthy and with a noticeably heavier upper body, but when pressed to reflect upon a miserable 2013 season, he lightened his load by getting some pent-up emotions off his chest. "Really, we pitched like garbage," said Morrow. "Starting pitchers were awful the first month, myself included. None of us were pitching like we wanted to, whether it was just bad luck we were going through at that time or just putting pressure on ourselves." Manager John Gibbons and pitching coach Pete Walker are counting on this year to be different. The club needs R.A. Dickey and Mark Buehrle to pitch like they did post-All Star Break. J.A. Happ appears a favourite to secure either the fourth or fifth starters spot and must be more consistent. Theres a void at the back end of the rotation which will be sorted out this spring. Morrow is a lock, provided he doesnt get hurt. Staying healthy would mean bucking a troubling trend of the last two seasons. After making 30 starts and throwing almost 180 innings in 2011, arguably his best as a starter in the big leagues, Morrows been limited to just 31 starts over the last two seasons. A strained oblique cost him almost three months in 2012; an entrapped nerve in Morrows pitching forearm ultimately shut him down at the end of May last year. Coaches and players alike lamented Morrows latest injury, feeling bad for a fallen comrade but also disappointed because they viewed the flamethrower as the backbone of the rotation. In fact, last September, Mark DeRosa opined that losing Morrow "killed us." There are questions Morrow, who turns 30 on July 26, can answer only with time. Can he pitch 180 innings? How about 200? While pitchers dont enjoy sole control over their win totals, can Morrow pitch effectively, deep enough into games to blow past his single-season career-high win total of 11? "Theres no question, its important," said Walker of Morrow pitching healthy and pitching well. "Hes definitely someone were counting on to give us quality innings, to give us a good opportunity to win ball games. We need him out there every fifth day. We want him to be a workhorse for us. Thats what we envision for the season." Pitchers completed their medicals on Sundayy and Morrow weighed in at 219 pounds, a full 30 pounds heavier than a year ago.Jeromey Clary Chargers Jersey. The change is noticeable. His shoulders are broader. His chest is bigger. "He looks like hes supposed to look," said Gibbons. "Last year, he didnt look like that. He looks like a good, strong, durable pitcher. But the fact that hes out there and he feels good is big for us." Filling out the Rotation As of today, Dickey, Morrow and Buehrle are the Jays top three starters. Working off the assumption that Happ also has a spot, as many as seven pitchers will battle for the fifth job. They are Esmil Rogers, Todd Redmond, Drew Hutchison, Sean Nolin, Marcus Stroman, Kyle Drabek and Ricky Romero. "Somebody is going to rise to the top and somebody is going to, obviously, pitch well enough to take that (spot,)" said Morrow. "Theres like eight guys vying for that position and I couldnt tell you who its going to be but I know all the guys are capable of stepping into that spot." While they both admit there are favourites, Gibbons and Walker wont say who has the inside track. Rogers and Redmond each enjoyed periodic success in the rotation last summer, filling in when the likes of Morrow, Johnson and Happ were hurt. Kratz Catches Dickey Catcher Erik Kratz, acquired in the deal that sent reliever Brad Lincoln to the Phillies, is back with the organization that drafted him. He caught R.A. Dickeys bullpen session on Monday and with the coaching staff leaning against having Dioner Navarro catch Dickeys knuckleball, the honour will go to the man who wins the second catchers job. "Its really all about the reps," said Kratz. "If you step in and catch him perfectly right off the bat, youre probably not trying that hard. Thats really, for me, just a matter of not pushing it too much, not trying to be too perfect. Just trying to sit and wait for it to come to me." Kratz travelled to Nashville during the offseason and spent about a week with Dickey, catching a couple of bullpen sessions. Kratz, 33, is a 64", 255-pound, righthanded hitting catcher. The Jays selected Kratz in the 29th round of the 2002 draft. He made his major league debut with the Pirates in 2010 before moving on to Philadelphia. ' ' ' |