Sport


Instant replay could have saved American sports' worst calls

Let's go to the videotape! Especially the one from Ireland-France World Cup playoff


Baseball fan Jeffrey Maier grabs a ball destined for Yankee captain Derek Jeter's glove
Baseball fan Jeffrey Maier grabs an almost-certain homer by Yankee captain Derek Jeter

French soccer “star” Thierry Henry’s “hand of Gaul” go-ahead goal against Ireland in the  World Cup qualifier has once again shown the need for the instant replay. American sports are no stranger to human error, and bad calls that could have been solved by modern technology.

Here’s a list of the ten of greatest blown calls in American sports history that could have been reversed with instant replay:

•   Brett’s skate in the crease / Buffalo Sabres vs. Dallas Stars 1999 Stanley Cup Playoffs Game 6

The Stars’ Star Brett Hull in the game’s third overtime notoriously places his skate in the crease before shooting  the Stanley Cup-winning goal   game past the Sabres  goalie Dominik Hasek.  The league reacts by changing the “skate-in-the-crease” rule.

•   Jeffrey Maier: Yankee MVP / New York Yankees vs. Baltimore Orioles 1996 ALCS Game 1

Derek Jeter gets a “little help from the fans” as 12-year-old Jeffrey Maier plays the role of Yankee’s tenth man by snatching a fly ball hit by the captain that is ruled a home run in spite of the fan interference. The Yankees go on to win the ALCS and the World Series.


Nster.com


2 Comments

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I wish you could use instant replay on this article so the judges can penalize it and erase it jerk.
It's been a long time since I've seen the Renfro 'catch' (25 years at least), but my memory was that after all the replays you still couldn't tell. In fact, I remember writing something about that for my college newspaper as an argument against using instant replay in 1983. I thought there was doubt about when he had full control of the ball, but it's all pretty vague now. Would love to see it again. And I don't think the NFL adopted instant replay for quite a while after that. No? The USFL had it first, if I remember correctly.
 




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