When National Football League owners tossed out instant replay, they figured it would quietly go away. But at least three times during Sunday`s games, network analysts pointed out plays thatmight have been overtuned under the old replay rule.
The NFL continues to experiment with instant replay at some games, trying to find the proper equipment to speed up the process.
NBC`s Paul Maguire points to at least two plays in the last five weeks
”that were just crazy”-one involving a fumble by the Patriots, in which the Bills` Shane Conlan stripped the ball and teammate Mark Kelso recovered.
”It took (the officials) 2 1/2 minutes to decide the runner was down,”
Maguire says. ”How stupid is that? That`s dumb. You`re either down or you`re not down.”
One of the reasons the owners gave for eliminating the replay was to speed up games.
But, without replay and game officials having conferences on every penalty, games are ”no longer or no shorter,” says Maguire, an observation seconded by NFL executives.
”Somebody is going to lose a game because of the replay not being there,” CBS analyst Randy Cross says. ”And if there`s justice in the world, it will happen to one of those 11 owners that voted against it.”
Cross, a firm believer in the replay, agrees it needs modifying, and ”it will be back next year in a new form, sort of tweaked and shined up a little bit. It`s a huge mistake not having replay this year.”
Maguire, who was a ”strong proponent” of replay since his USFL days on ESPN, figures ”it`s gotta come back. But what they need is someone (in the replay booth) making the calls with guts. You`ve gotta say it`s either yes or no. It`s that simple.”
Maguire, like Cross, realizes the lack of replay could be costly once the postseason starts.
”God forbid this thing happens in the playoffs,” he says. ”Can you imagine to go that far, and a bad call costs you a game? If they never had it, that`s OK. But they had it (and got rid of it). That`s where the real problem is.”
– While CBS` ”NFL Today” concentrated Sunday on two-sports stars Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders, NBC`s ”NFL Live” devoted almost a third of its program to a report by Jim Lampley and Hannah Storm on the Bengals rape case. While not divulging any new information, the well-researched feature covered all sides of the controversy. . . . As for Sanders` double-header day, ESPN`s ”NFL GameDay” host Chris Berman summed it up best: ”It`s the American dream, playing two (sports) in one day-Go for it, Deion.”
– NBC lucked out on its presidential debate coverage Sunday when the featured late NFL game (Bills-Raiders) finished early. CBS didn`t fare as well. The network`s American League playoff telecast-thanks in equal parts to the A`s penchant for long games and to Roberto Alomar`s game-tying homer in the ninth- didn`t end until 7:30 p.m., barely in time for the start of the NL playoff game and five minutes after the debate had concluded. ”We do things in intriguing style,” said a CBS Sports official. The network`s coverage of the debate was pushed back to its overnight news show.
– Just one word on CBS` baseball pregame show Saturday-Muppets?
– Bad decision by producer CBS baseball Ric LaCivita, who used the high-home camera on Pirate Doug Drabek`s bunt situation Saturday night, then compounded the mistake by using the center-field camera for Alex Cole`s infield hit that drove in two runs in the same inning.
– Jim Kaat was back on duty Saturday after fighting the effects of laryngitis that forced the CBS analyst off the air late in Thursday night`s ALCS telecast. Fortunately for the network, Johnny Bench was able to move over from the CBS Radio booth to help out play-by-play man Dick Stockton. ”It was a mid-game, one-sided trade,” a CBS representative said. At one point in Thursday`s telecast, Kaat was writing notes for Stockton to read on the air.
– White Sox outfielder Michael Huff has joined ”The SportsChannel Report”
for the duration of the playoffs and World Series. . . . ESPN will present two half-hour World Series specials at 6:30 p.m. Friday and Oct. 19. . . . ”Diamonds on the Silver Screen,” a one-hour American Movie Classics special on baseball as seen through Hollywood camera lenses, debuts at 7 p.m. Thursday.
– Strongest line from Arthur Ashe, on BET`s ”Sports Report” Saturday: ”I find it hard to believe Magic (Johnson) is the only person who`s tested positive for HIV in the NBA, the CBA, the NFL and baseball.” . . . Most interesting line from ESPN`s Dan Jiggetts on underclassmen being eligible for the NFL draft: ”Coaches at big-time football schools have to re-recruit their stars as juniors.”
– Good move by NBC switching WMAQ-Ch. 5 viewers Sunday from the Cowboys-Seahawks yawner to the Steelers-Browns thriller, although it led to the cliche of the day as Ahmad Rashad actually said, ”The season records go out the window when these two teams play.”
