It has been explained to me that the NFL replay system has oversight in the league offices in New York, with league officials actively involved in consultation as they watch the replays. That being the case, why is Pete Morelli, the official who made the apparently erroneous call on the celebrated Steelers non-interception last week, being thrown under the bus by the league? Shouldn’t Morelli’s improper interpretation have been corrected by somebody in the league offices who was on the horn during the decision making process? Speaking of being thrown under the bus, I wonder how Peyton Manning and his offensive linemen will be getting along this offseason?

Ironic that the guy who has been calling for goal line cameras in the replay system, Bill Belichick, got stung when no definitive replay angle was available on Champ Bailey’s fumble of his interception return near the goal line. It is difficult to see how the ball didn’t go through the end zone based on the ball being carried with his inside hand and the simple physics involved. You can’t blame the officials for the call, as they would have had to keep up with the players for the full 100-yard return to be close enough to make an accurate call. Belichick’s desire for goal line cameras has been rebuffed by the NFL due to excessive cost, but it is surprising that such cameras haven’t been made mandatory for postseason use, when the games mean so much.

Despite having nearly 4 times as many positions, there are fewer college football head coaching jobs changing hands than there are in the NFL this offseason. 10 NFL head coaching jobs are turning over, while only 9 college programs will have new leadership next season. There was substantial turnover in the College football last year, as there were 24 coaching changes. The paucity of openings this year is bad news for out of work college football coaches, as with dramatically fewer new staffs being constructed, there is obviously a lot less opportunity in that difficult line of work.

Odd lack of action by one basketball coach this week. Bobby Knight seemingly refused to coach in Texas Tech’s 80-46 loss to Texas on Monday night as the margin got bigger and bigger. Not only did he seem to be offering little in the way of instruction and direction, but Knight didn’t call a single timeout to try to quell the rout. After the game Knight said, “We just got our asses beat by a much better team, that happens once in a while” and when asked about the Red Raiders suffering several lopsided defeats answered, “does everyone win with a lot of freshmen playing?”

No they don’t, Coach, but maybe calling a timeout at some point to settle the freshmen down and offer them some instruction wouldn’t have been the worst thing in the world to do. We had a winner with the under in that game on our free hotline. Call 1-770-618-8700 for free picks on a recorded message. Those games come with analysis, as well as often containing analysis as to why they didn’t make our late phone service. So you’ll learn and get some good information on those calls.

ESPN won’t mention the flaws in their in-house movie Glory Road about the Texas Western NCAA championship, but an Iowa newspaperman does. Just like Seabiscuit didn’t come back from 50 lengths behind in his last race, everything wasn’t quite as dramatic and everyone wasn’t quite as racist as the Disney movie proclaims. The Iowa angle involves the fact that the Hawkeyes that year had 3 African American starters and their top 2 reserves that season were also black. Apparently the movie suggests otherwise. The article is here.

We’ll stay in the Hawkeye State for a free play in Saturday college basketball, as Drake travels to Northern Iowa in a battle of teams off of overtime victories. Northern Iowa guard Erik Crawford had started 80 straight games before breaking a bone in his right foot last week. Crawford had a stress fracture in the bone previously, which caused him to miss several weeks of preseason practice. Northern Iowa has plenty of veteran leadership but Crawford is the best Panther defender and will be missed. Northern Iowa’s double overtime win Monday night over Southern Illinois was aided by the opportunity to shoot 38 free throw attempts to only 11 for the Salukis. Their good fortune may end here, as Drake, victorious over Indiana State in overtime on Wednesday night, beat the Panthers in Des Moines last year and here in the UNI Dome lost by a slim 61-60 margin. Look for a game that goes down for the wire. Take the points with Drake.

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