FIFA Institutes Goal-Line Technology: Still not enough

FIFA, the organizing body for international soccer, has decided that the next world cup will feature goal-line technology. Goal-line technology was used in the 2012 FIFA World Cup in Japan, the event was won by Brazilian side Corinthians. There was not a standard goal-line technology system however as the stadium in Yokohama used GoalRef and the stadium in Toyota used Hawkeye (the program that is currently used in a few Tennis Grand Slams). FIFA has not decided which program to use in Brazil in 2014. The two systems that were used in Japan are up for consideration as well as two possible submissions from unknown German companies.
This however is not good enough for enough for FIFA as blown calls on the goal-line are not their only problem. Their needs to be some type instant replay review in addition to the ability to detect whether or not the ball has crossed the goal-line. Goals such as Thierry Henry's against Ireland and this German goal would have been disallowed if instant replay was in use during the 2010 World Cup and its qualification. Critics that argue that it would ruin the flow of the game are just wrong... players tend to celebrate for at least 10 seconds after a goal and that is exactly how long it should take to decide whether or not the goal needs to go to further review. And to argue that the flow of game is more important than making sure the correct team wins the game is even more ridiculous, anyway, that is how I feel about FIFA's use of technology.

NBA Recap
Rudy Gay and DeMar DeRozan both scored 24 points in the Raptors' 96-88 win over the Washington Wizards. Rudy Johnson also added in 8 rebounds. Bradley Beal led the Wizards with 25 points.
The Bobcats defeated the Magic 105-92 thanks to Gerald Henderson's 24 points and 10 rebounds. Kemba Walker also scored 24 points and dished out 7 assists. In the losing effort, Nikola Vucevic scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

Brandon Jennings

Overtime was needed to decide the Nets-Bucks matchup at the Barclay's Center. The game was close throughout but the Nets won the overtime period to win the game 113-111. Brandon Jennings scored a game-high 34 points and also chipped in seven assists. Joe Johnson had 24 points in the winning effort.
The Grizzlies were able to survive pseudo 4th quarter comeback by the Pistons to win 105-91. Zach Randolph was the leading performer for the Grizz scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
Luol Deng and Joakim Noah continue to carry the Bulls as they have been left without star guard Derek Rose. Deng scored 20 points while Noah scored 15 and grabbed 17 rebounds during their 96-87 defeat of the New Orleans Hornets. Anthony David of the Hornets recorded his second straight double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
A strong third quarter helped the Nuggets defeat the Celtics 97-90 at home. Danilo Gallinari and Ty Lawson each scored 26 points for the Nuggets.
The Jazz took a 26-19 lead over the Warriors after the first quarter and never looked back in their 115-101 win. Al Jefferson scored 24 points in the winning effort. This was the sixth straight loss for the Warriors but Steph Curry was a bright spot with 29 points. David Lee also had a strong performance for the Warriros with 18 points and 9 rebounds.

Tony Parker

Despite a 3 pt advantage in the 4th quarter, the lowly Kings lost 108-102 to the Spurs. Tony Parker scored 30 points and also had 11 assists as the top performer. His teammate Tim Duncan had 9 points with 14 rebounds. Isiah Thomas led the Kings with 22 points.
In the night cap, the Suns beat the Trail Blazers 102-98. The Blazers made a run towards the end of the game but were unable to pull out the victory. J.J. Hickson had an incredible night scoring 25 points and grabbing 16 rebounds in the loss. For the Suns, Luis Scola had 18 points.

All NBA
Guard- Goran Dragic- Phoenix Played a true point guards game with 18 assists but also had 5 turnovers. He scored 16 points and collected 5 rebounds in a rare win for the Suns.
Guard- Ty Lawson- Denver Had the shooting touch last night going 8-13 from the field and 8-10 from the line. He gathered 26 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists.
Guard- Tony Parker- San Antonio His 7 turnovers were a little high but he made up for them with his points. He had 30 of them in the Spurs close win going 10-20 from the field and 10-12 from the free throw line. He also had 11 assists.

Noah

Forward- J.J. Hickson- Portland Lamarcus Aldridge's complement came up big last night scoring 25 points on only 14 field goal attempts. He shot 71.4% from the field and 5-7 from the line. Not only did he score but he snagged 16 rebounds.
Forward- Joakim Noah- Chicago *Player of the Night* As usual Noah had a night of high rebounds and average scoring. He was 6-11 from the field and 3-4 from the line for 15 points while grabbing a monster 17 rebounds. On defense he blocked 3 shots and even did a little ball distribution with 5 assists.

NHL Recap
The Jets got out to a quick start getting a 2-0 lead in the second period and were able to starve off the Sabres as a goal by Jason Pominville at the end of the second was the only thing the Bruins could muster in the 2-1 loss. Andrew Ladd netted his eighth goal of the year for the Jets. It was the Sabres 4th loss in 5 games.
Canadiens won their 5th game in a row thanks to Alex Galchenyuk's goal early in the third to break the 1-1 tie. Raphael Diez scored on an empty net later in the third to seal off the 3-1 victory.
Craig Anderson saved 37 of 38 shots in the Senators 3-1 victory over the Islanders. The Sens took a 2-0 lead into the third period before Travis Harmonic trimmed it down to a one goal advantage.

Ripped off in that trade

Steven Stamkos's 10th goal of the year broke the 1-1 tie in the second period. The Lightning then scored another two goals (Matt Carle, Alex Killorn) before James van Riemsdyk netted his ninth goal of the year for the Leafs, but it was meaningless. Notice that two former Flyers scored (one defensemen, another we traded for Schenn, and now we are stuck with Schenn and Coburn who currently #1 and #17 respectively in the league in turnovers, while Carle and van Riemsdyk aren't even in the top 90).
Tim Kennedy gave the Sharks a 2-1 win with 7 minutes left in the third period with assists from Tommy Wingels and Justin Braun. Patrik Berlgund scored his 9th goal of the year for the Blues in the 1st period.
Jimmy Howard was pulled after just 11 minutes due to letting in two goals on seven shots. The game was sent to overtime thanks to Pavel Datsyuk's eighth goal of the year with just under 7 minutes left. Once in overtime, Shea Weber netted a goal only 44 seconds in to give the Predators a 4-3 overtime win.

Hossa

The Blackhawks made history before the end of the game by reaching overtime, therefore recording a point in all 16 games to open the season. That ties them with the 06-07 Ducks and have now stretched their Central Division lead to 8 points. Marian Hossa scored two goals, both in the second period, to improve his season total to 8 (but he was also injured in the head,, not sure on return. and give the Blackhawks a 4-3-1 advantage after the second frame. The Canucks then came back with two goals of their own by Alexander Edler and Kevin Bieks to send the game to overtime. The 5 minute period produced nothing and the game was sent to a shooout. Both teams missed their first attempt but Patrick Kane of Chicago and Christopher Higgins of Vancouver both put in their attempts. On Chicago's third attempt Andrew Shaw scored which left it up to Ryan Kessler who failed to score on Ray Emery. This gave the Blackhawks a 4-3 win. (Interesting to see that this was a matchup between two backup goalies; Schneider continued to prove that Luongo is better and Emery did his job giving Crawford a break).
A goal by Jeff Carter with 50 seconds left (his 7th of the year) broke a 1-1 tie. Jarret Stoll scored 28 seconds later to cement the 3-1 victory. Oiler's goalie Nikolai Khabibulin played well stopping 35 of 37 shots.

All NHL

Bozak

Forward- Tyler Bozak- Toronto Did a good job controlling the puck winning 22 of 13 draws while forcing two turnovers while having one himself. He also added in an assist.
Forward- Pavel Datsyuk- Detroit Grabbed two points off an assist and a goal  while firing 7 shots on net. Finished the game with a +2 rating.
Forward- Joe Thornton- San Jose One of the premier performers this year Joe scored a goal and also won 12 of his 14 faceoffs. He also recorded a hit and one takeway.
Forward- Vincent Lecavalier- Tampa Bay Played a very physical game with 5 hits but also played skilled netting one goal.
Defense- Duncan Keith- Chicago Gave the Canucks a fit last night forcing three turnovers while adding an assist on the powerplay. Finished the game with a +1 rating.
Defense- Matt Carle- Tampa Bay Scored a powerplay goal and also played great D. He blocked three shots, forced two turnovers, and recorded a hit. Despite all this he finished the nigh with a -1.
Defense- Shea Weber- Nashville His goal in overtime gave the Predators a win and he also had an assist. He didn't forget how to play defense however blocking three shots and snagging two takeaways. Finished the game with a +2 rating.
Goalie- Craig Anderson- Ottawa No surprise here, he is almost always on the list due to him being good and the fact that his defense sucks. He saved 37 of 38 shots for a league high .974 SV% (well for goalies that played more than 40 minutes.
Goalie- Cory Schneider- Vancouver I think it safe to say that Luongo could have prevented the loss but his defense did not make things easy for Schneider. He saw 43 shots last night saving 40 of them but he came up short in the shootout letting in two goals.

Anderson "My Fantasy Hero"