Replies

The optics on it were awful as to the replay assist. When that has happened in some of the games I call where we have replay assist (quick replay) I have the crew make damn sure of being situationally aware so it doesn’t look sketchy. The way it was caught on tape looked awful.

The inside baseball (or football as the case may be) is that a lot of replay assist occurs especially on long passes down field. I have an interest in tech on officiating as it could be done so much better than it is now. There is the debate, especially in football, about the replay official becoming the “sky judge” and allowing him to create fouls. Right now it’s only for things that have to do with lines and times. The missed DPI in New Orleans playoff game a couple years ago was the lightning rod for the debate.

The danger is over officiating judgment calls as the gut feeling ok whether to pass on a hold or throw it is often the beat analysis. So I am generally not in favor of it. From a fans perspective especially at the higher level, the white hat has to worry shout getting all the commercial packages in, moving the game along, getting it in in under three hours and making it flow. There is real artistry in that. We spend a lot of time thinking on which players are getting edgy and keeping the game from boiling over.

There is so much work in the background that when done well it is invisible to the average fan. And even when it is going well, there is always that potential that it cousin go sideways in a flash. So you get through all of that and take a deep breath, and turn on the mic and smile at the camera and wonder if your fly is unzipped.

Anyway what remains true is that you can get it all correct and then shoot your self with the optics. One thing that has always stuck with me — no group of humans have ever blown their own wanker off than sports officials. And republican members of congress.