This season, the Big Ten will institute a trial of instant replay reviewing of close calls made by on field officials. Other NCAA conferences may choose to adopt the system if the Big Ten trial is successful. ????? ??? ?? ??????

Clearly, JoePa, who had been complaining loudly about blown calls costing the Lions close games, exerted some influence over the decision by the conference.

The replay review will be done upstairs, in the booth. If one of the replay officials sees something on the field that is questionable, he’ll communicate wirelessly with the official timer on the field. ????? ???? ???? There will be no whining for reviews by the coaches on the field–this is completely in the hands of the officials. In that way and a couple of others, the NCAA review procedure will differ from that of the NFL. One other big difference is that the review will take place entirely in the booth and will use only the regular TV coverage for replays. On the other hand, both the NFL and NCAA require that a review be initiated before the next play begins. They also both require that the replay official sees indisputable visual evidence before a call can be overturned.

Is this good or bad? Surely, we have all seen bad calls–decisions by officials on the field that adversely affect the eventual outcome of a game that could have, at best, gone either way. I often hear that over time, bad calls even out. This may be true, but over what length of time? Longer than one game, to be sure. Statistical clustering of lots of bad calls that go against a particular team in a single game can certainly change the outcome of that game. In a 13 game season, one game can mean the difference between a national champion and an also-ran or, at the other end of the scale, between getting into a bowl and not getting into a bowl. So, I’m saying that it’s a good thing, right? ??? ????? ????? Not so fast, you who dine on my cousins on Thanksgiving! Those of you who know the Turkey know that he equivocates.

My main concern about this imposition of technology is the effect it will have on the flow of the game. Already, we have to deal with obnoxiously long and frequent TV commercial breaks. Now, we will add the occasional 90-second (which becomes four minutes) break for a play review. If we feel the pain and boredom sitting on our duffs, just think of how those players must feel standing around during these breaks with sore and cramping muscles. The Big Ten does not think that replay will add signifcantly to the burden. Their pilot program last season yielded the subjective statistics that out of about 10,800 plays, 50 would have been reviewed. This is fewer than one per game. So, I guess it is worth a try. Other conferences will be watching, and I hold no doubt that next year, we will see a broad scale implementation of this system.

It’s just about that time again! The long football drought will soon end. PSU’s 2004 season kicks off with the Akron game on September 4. Zack Mills and the Nittany Lions are making themselves ready for what we hope will be a Cinderella season after last year’s disappointing campaign. Fellow Penn Staters: like Rodney Dangerfield, we’re just not getting any respect! The pompously ponderous pre-season pundits penuriously pick Penn State to place perilously proximal to the middle of the NCAA Division I-A pack, even with perennial powerhouse Michigan not scheduled as an opponent again this year. (And, with that, I have fulfilled my quota of alliteration for today.) We’re obviously hoping for a much better finish than that which has been predicted by the experts.

The new season brings with it some coaching changes. No, not the head coach! The only change there was that JoePa, who was recently named by ESPN as the best coach of the past 25 years, signed up for another four years! With 38 years of head coaching in Happy Valley, he’ll be gunning for Amos Alonzo Stagg’s record of 41 years. While there is stability at the top, the organization beneath Joe has been shaken up significantly. As Joe was negotiating his new contract, Fran Ganter, formerly offensive coordinator, was being kicked upstairs. Partially filling Ganter’s shoes will be Galen Hall, who will also be in charge of running backs, while Jay Paterno will be responsible for quarterbacks, and State College’s own redhead, Mike McQueary, will coach the wide receivers. Tom Bradley will return as defensive coordinator.

Will these coaching changes make a difference in the team’s performance? Perhaps. I am advised that the quarterbacks and wide receivers now practice with each other. Huh? They didn’t do that before this year? Geez, maybe that would explain the cellar-dwelling offensive (literally) performance in 2003. It got so bad last year that when Thrush came over to watch games, he would bring a few liters of wine, which would be almost gone by the time the fifth or sixth dropped pass occurred. (That was usually sometime in the first half.)

After a 3-9 finish in 2003, this team has nowhere to go but up! Even more than ever, your support is essential to their success. Your chapter’s officers have been working hard to improve the viewing party situation for this season. They have found what looks to be an ideal venue. Read about it on the Central Florida Chapter’s home page.