Bilder von dir :D » " San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said

On this weeks TSNFC podcast we spent a long time discussing the handball decision that effectively ended Vancouver Whitecaps season. Much has been said and written about whether or not World Cup referee Mark Geiger made the right call to penalize Kendall Waston in last weeks playoff match at Dallas, with many differing opinions on the matter. There doesnt seem to be a consensus, although Geigers boss - referees chief Peter Walton - said it was the correct decision and a standard call. As a veteran Premier League referee who now runs the Professional Referees Organization in North America, Waltons opinion should be respected, but the controversy surrounding the decision - and many other handball decisions we see all over the world each week - could easily be avoided if there were a change to the law. In my view, there are two things wrong with the current law. Firstly, the punishment doesnt fairly reflect the size of the crime. Secondly, there is too much room for interpretation of the referee which makes consistency of decisions almost impossible. Here are the main points of the current FIFA Law: Handling the ball involves a deliberate act of a player making contact with the ball with his hand or arm. The referee must take the following into consideration: ? the movement of the hand towards the ball (not the ball towards the hand) ? the distance between the opponent and the ball (unexpected ball) ? the position of the hand does not necessarily mean that there is an infringement Deliberate - done consciously and intentionally I dont think Kendall Waston made a conscious and intentional decision to handle the ball inside the penalty area in the last 10 minutes of a playoff match. In my mind it was a momentary lapse in concentration from the towering defender rather than a deliberate act. In relation to this law, it seems deliberate can also mean a player didnt react quickly enough to move his hand/arm out of the way of the ball. But the fact the law allows such ambiguity means officials are in the spotlight more than necessary whether or not they get the decision right. There must be a better way. Although video replays will certainly assist officials decision making in other areas, in the instance of Waston it wouldnt have made much difference because even with review, the decision would have been made depending on the officials interpretation of the law. One suggestion I have seen is to award a penalty anytime the ball hits a hand or arm inside the area whether it is intentional or not. A clear rule - it doesnt matter how it happens, if the ball strikes the hand, it is a penalty. Theres very little room for argument and interpretation there, but I think it would lead to far too many penalties and also an excessive number of game changing moments. Again, the punishment wouldnt match the offence. New Law So how about this. In order to provide clarity, I would be in favour of a rule change along the following lines: Anytime a player makes contact with the ball inside the penalty area with his hand or arm, an indirect free kick will be given. There is no room for interpretation - if it hits the arm or hand whether deliberate or not, it is an indirect free kick. There is one exception. If a player handles the ball to prevent a goal or an obvious goal scoring opportunity, a penalty is given. With this rule applied, Kendall Wastons handball would have been penalized with an indirect free kick, still giving the opposing team the benefit of a set piece close to goal but eliminating the need for a referee to award a penalty for an incident that was not going to end in a goal. For me, that far better reflects the size of the infringement and also would remove much of the debate surrounding penalty kicks awarded for handball. Im not na?ve enough to expect that changing the law would eliminate all problems. Im sure in some instances there would still be controversy and debate surrounding what is or isnt an obvious goal scoring opportunity. But I believe it would drastically decrease the amount of times a game is decided by a referees decision and therefore lead to more post-game talk about players instead of officiating – and that can only be a good thing. Cheapest Yeezy Boost 350 . The D-Backs came into being in 1998 and appear destined to finish second in the AL West after the Tsunami that is the Los Angeles Dodgers swept over them. I thought it might be interesting to see what the D-backs have done over their 16 years compared to what the Blue Jays have done over their past 16 campaigns. Yeezy 350 Shoes Australia . Having won the first leg 1-0 in Barcelona, Madrid entered the match at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium already in control and quickly sealed its place in the semifinals when Jese Rodriguez scored in the seventh minute. http://www.cheapyeezy350australia.com/.com) - The Columbus Blue Jackets rewarded starting goaltender and pending restricted free agent Sergei Bobrovsky with a four-year contract extension on Friday. Yeezy 350 Australia Sale . Next years tournament is also within sight for Bosnia-Herzegovina, which has never played in a World Cup, but Cristiano Ronaldo looks destined for the playoffs with Portugal after a night when the qualifying picture in the nine groups became much clearer. Cheap Yeezy 350 Australia . The No. 5 Aztecs held Burton, the Mountain Wests leading scorer, to 11 points, 10 below his average, in beating the Wolf Pack 73-58 on Saturday night.SAN ANTONIO -- Family vacations, scouting, free agency, rest and relaxation, playing in the European Championships. The staff and players of the San Antonio Spurs had a hectic off-season, but not even the busiest day this summer could make them forget what might have been just three months ago. San Antonio was five seconds away from winning its fifth NBA title only to watch the Miami Heat rally for an improbable 103-100 overtime victory in Game 6. Almost as heartbreaking was a 95-88 loss in Game 7 that gave the Heat their second consecutive title and handed the Spurs their first series loss in the NBA Finals. "Suffice to say Ive thought about it every day," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "Im wondering if it will go away, Im anxious for it to happen, but it hasnt happened yet." Returning to the court as a team should help ease the pain. Thats what the players and coaches are hoping for. The Spurs open a four-day training camp in Tuesday at the Air Force Academy near Colorado Springs, Colo. "As time goes on, as we all know in our lives, you get back to the day-to-day stuff pretty easily, because its the nature of life," Popovich said. "Basketball might be like the 11th- or 12th-most important thing on your list. So, its time to get over it." Thats the mentality the veteran Spurs take into their 18th season under Popovich, but its one that will be different in a number of ways. San Antonios Big Three of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili return to a roster basically unchanged from last season. Still, the bench is going to look vastly different after assistants Mike Budenholzer and Brett Brown left to become head coaches at Atlanta and Philadelphia, respectively. "We really dont know yet (what impact the departures will have)," Ginobili said. "But, for sure, were going to miss them. If any of us had a doubt during the game we would go bother Brett probably before Pop because Pop is doing so many things and controlling other stuff that if you have a question you go to them because you knew they were going to think the same as Pop." Jim Boylen, formerly of the Pacers, was added to the coaching staff along with former Spurs player Sean Marks. Popovich joked he may turn over player instruction during training camp to his Big Three because he will be too busy "coaching the coaches." The Spurs have added Marco Belinelli, Corey Maggette, Sam Young and Jeff Ayres, who changed his surnamee from Pendergraph in the off-season, through free agency.dddddddddddd Maggette and Young will compete to spell Kawhi Leonard, the talented third-year forward who is expected to take on a bigger role in the teams offence after a breakout campaign last year. Leonard averaged 11.9 points and 6.0 rebounds last season and had a career playoff-high 22 points as well as 11 rebounds and three steals in Game 6 against Miami. "I think Kawhi is the new Parker, Ginobili and Duncan kind of guy," Popovich said. "Hes going to take over as the star of the show as time goes on. Hes been phenomenal. Hes improved more quickly than any other player weve ever had because his mindset is such that he wants to be great and he has all the reasons to be so we have to put him in position where he can be a great player." Leonards development will be needed on a veteran team that many thought was too old to make it past the first round let alone to fall in a heartbreaking defeat in the Finals. Can San Antonio overcome that disappointment for another improbable run? The Spurs can look to their French teammates to see a rebirth is possible. Parker, Boris Diaw and Nando De Colo took some of the sting out of their Finals loss by defeating Lithuania on Sept. 22 to claim Frances first title in the European Championships. "I had a great summer," Parker said. "Obviously it was worth it. Big win for France, first win in history. That last week it was an experience that you only live once in a lifetime; it was crazy in France." Popovich was proud of his players, but jokingly said he wasnt going to take it easy on Parker during training camp even though his All-Star point guard spent most of the off-season playing for Frances national team. "No, what does he make, like $200 million a year?" Popovich said with a wry smile. Still, the jovial mood didnt quite hide the disappointment he said he continues to feel. A former player and assistant coach with the Air Force Academy, Popovich said holding training camp in a new environment should quicken the team bonding. "Its going to be a lot of fun, just to do something different," Popovich said. "Take them to altitude, take them to mountains; get them away from everything. It will help the coaches. And look at the players that have been her for a while, it will be good for them to meet the new coaches. Weve got some new players in camp, so its a good camaraderie thing." ' ' '