14 - August 6, 2010


Pelham~Windham News The Trickle-Down Effect of Instant Replay


by Chris White It seemed like everyone saw it happen, except the one guy who had to make the call. I’m talking about when Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga had his bid for a perfect game broken up by an erroneous call from first base umpire Jim Joyce earlier this season. It was clear that Galarraga had rushed over


to cover first base in time, and the throw beat the Cleveland Indian runner to the bag. But for whatever reason, Joyce called the runner safe. Adding insult to injury, the play would have been the final out of the perfect game for Galarraga. Instead, it became an undeserved blemish on one of the greatest pitching performances in major league baseball history. I’m not here to bash Joyce (who handled the situation with class, as did Galarraga) or any other umpire/official, but plays like this are encouraging the use of instant replay, not only in professional sports, but in college and high school athletics as well. I’m here to simply ask the question: does instant replay belong on the high school sports scene?


Pelham~Windham News Professional sports? Definitely. College sports?


Sure. But high school? Well, let’s see. If you didn’t know already, the National


Federation of State High School Associations actually passed a couple of rules in 2009 to allow the limited use of instant replay. One of the rules for basketball allows officials to use instant replay during state playoff and championship contests. Officials are allowed to review any last second shots in deciding a contest – whether they should be counted or disallowed – plus they can use the technology to tell the difference between a two- or three-point field goal if necessary. So instant replay is already part of the high


school athletic culture in some sports. But is this okay? I say it is—on a limit basis, though. I think instant replay is a great thing to have


available. The number-one reason I think it has the potential to be such a useful tool is because it takes a lot of unnecessary pressure off of the officials to make the right call when the game is on the line. Why put so much pressure on officials by not having it? With instant replay, an official can easily correct his mistake by going to


the sidelines to review a call for a few minutes. I think it would also allow officials to just relax and make calls during the game, knowing there’s a safety net to fall back on. Many traditionalists say that instant replay compromises the human element of sports, though. They basically say that the mistakes of players and coaches are included in a game’s outcome, and if this happens, then officials should be allowed to mistakes too. Officiating isn’t about being human, though.


It’s about doing your best to get it right. And if we ignore the instant replay technology available to us – even at the high-school level – then we’re not doing everything we can to get it right. Fans don’t go to games to watch referees blow


their whistles. They go to see athletes perform and to see their team win. For those reasons alone, an official’s call should never determine the outcome of a game. Not every call has to be correct, but an official’s call should never decide the game when it’s coming down to the wire. Officials are there to simply make sure that the contest is played by the rules and played fairly.


Sports Sports


Windham’s Historic Run Ends in Championship Series


Windham second baseman Chad Tompson throws the ball home in an attempt to keep Portsmouth’s lead runner from scoring


by Chris White


After winning game one, 3-2, and dropping game two, 7-2, Windham faced a winner-take-all situation against Portsmouth in the New Hampshire 12-year-old Little League Championship Series. The decisive game three was held at Colby Field in Laconia on Wednesday, July 28. With Windham advancing to the championship round for the first time


in history, Portsmouth was heavily favored to be the victor. Indeed, Portsmouth would prevail by the score of 15-1 in five innings to win the championship. Portsmouth took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, and the score stayed that way until the third, where Portsmouth’s bats came alive. Portsmouth scored its first run of the inning on a fielder’s choice, where the throw from


Connor Hopkins delivers a fastball to a Portsmouth hitter in game three


Windham second baseman Chad Thompson did not reach home in time. That left the bases loaded for the next Portsmouth hitter, who smacked a grand slam over the right-center field fence to make the score 6-0. Portsmouth’s next batter followed with a solo shot for back-to-back homers and a 7-0 lead. The big inning put Portsmouth in the driver’s seat for the rest of the game,


as it continued its offensive success in the fourth and fifth innings as well. Windham was able to muster one run in the fourth, thanks to a solo homer to right center off the bat of catcher Reily Magee. It was a well-hit ball that left the yard in a hurry, and cut the score to 8-1 at the time. After the game, Windham was recognized as the New Hampshire Little League Runner-Up. The feat is something that no other Windham team has accomplished until this summer. With that, Windham’s success in the state tournament in recent years has helped prepare this year’s group to be successful. “Last year, the 12-year-old team made it to the district finals and lost to Bedford,” Windham Manager Dan Moynihan explained. “It showed the younger group [the 11-year-olds] that it was possible to go deep in this tournament.”


In addition to seeing the possibilities, members of this summer’s 12-year-old team have spent ample time playing ball together. Last year’s 11-year-olds


actually lost in the district finals to Goffstown. But nine of the 12 players on that roster returned to play for the 12-year-old all-stars this summer. Moynihan also said he credits the


development of the town’s Second Season program with helping Windham become a considerable force on the New Hampshire baseball scene. Jim Bail and Bruce Yennaco started developing the program six years ago, and it has given Windham’s youth the opportunity to play competitive baseball all summer long. “The kids get to play another season and get good coaching all summer,” Moynihan said. In addition to Moynihan, Dan Bresnahan, Joe Deluca, and Yennaco coached this summer’s 12-year-old team as well. This summer’s 12-year- old team raised the bar by advancing to the New Hampshire championship round. Now, with the success of Windham’s 10- and 11-year-olds this summer, the question seems to ask which Windham team in the future will go further than that.


Hey, it’s a thankless job, but someone has to do it. And to make sure the rules are enforced, especially in critical situations, high school athletics should have instant replay available and ready to use in certain situations.


Of course, we need to put limits on its use, so it doesn’t get too ridiculous or out of hand. We don’t want to be stopping every five minutes during a football game to check the spot of the ball. It will take some experimentation to see just how far we can let it go; but I trust that people, as sports fans and caretakers of their game, will know how much we need. The key will be to make sure we are providing enough help to officials in getting it right, but not overstepping the boundaries of letting technology control the game. Even with instant replay, at any level, human officials should be controlling almost the entire game. It’s just that decisive moment in the waning seconds of an overtime barn-burner, or the climactic occurrence of history being made where it might be nice to have the freedom to take a second look.


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