Thursday, January 04, 2007

Verse and Quote of the Day

I lay down and slept;
I woke again, for the LORD sustained me.
I will not be afraid of many thousands of people
who have set themselves against me all around. Psalm 3: 5-6 (ESV)

I've always liked these verses from Psalm 3. They remind me of the similar moment in Psalm 23 when David is so calm he can sit down and eat a meal even enemies are all around him. It also looks ahead to Philippians 4:6-7 and the promise that if we give our anxieties to the Lord he will take them and give us peace. David was in a dangerous place when he fled from Absalom, but he slept trusting the Lord.

Gratuitous amusing quotes:

"There's got to be inconclusive evidence for them to overturn this call." a sportscaster during a video review in one of Monday's bowl games. How long should the video crew have to decide whether or not the evidence could go either way?

"I couldn't argue either way." a second sportscaster in a different game regarding a call under review that he'd just claimed should be overturned because of the "indisputable video evidence." I suppose he's technically right, if it's "indisputable" then he wouldn't be able to dispute it, but the "either way" part seems shady.

1 comment:

Becca said...

I've learned that the commentators are just talking out their rears when it comes to the challenges. I've lost count of the number of times I've heard Thiesman, Simms, or Collinsworth argue that a particular position is SO obvious only to be capped by the official making the opposite judgement.

I've also seen officials make different calls on the same day for similar challenges in different games, most recently around determining forward motion to determine QB fumble or incomplete pass. I know it's subjective, but second guessing should be more exact and the rules a bit clearer.

Regarding the reviews in general, I think all calls should be up for grabs or none of them. I also think coaches should be able to challenge during the last two minutes of each half rather than leaving it to the booth--if the coach has the timeout left, let him decide whether to make the challenge or keep the timeout to manage the clock.