Summer is not usually the best time for sports.  Once the basketball playoffs finally end, baseball (and perhaps golf) is the only thing saving sports fans from total boredom. And though I love baseball as much as anyone, I, along with most of the American sports world, am completely ready for the start of the football season come September—and not just the NFL: did anyone see that UCLA/Tennessee game the other night?

This summer was obviously an exception. The Beijing games were entertaining, from the ridiculous opening ceremonies to the fun events like kayaking and BMX biking. Yeah, and those Bolt and Phelps guys. I think the 4 X 100 freestyle relay may have been the most exciting race of any sort I have ever seen. And Bolt’s performance in the 200 meters was amazing, I don’t care how many times he banged on his chest at the end…

Actually, I think the neatest part of the Olympics came in baseball. Now ordinarily no one, not even myself, pays attention to Olympic baseball. But this year, the IOC added quite the kink—beginning in the eleventh inning, each team starts their half of the inning with men on first and second and nobody out, thereby increasing the likelihood of rampant run scoring dramatically.  The idea is to save pitchers arms—a noble idea, especially in an elimination tournament where players have professional careers to worry about. But I love it just for the drama. Imagine K Rod forced to pitch two stressful innings in the 11^th and 12^th instead of just a smooth ninth with a three run lead. Or in the Mets case, Luis Ayala. It’s definitely got that college football overtime feel.

Alright, maybe it’s not the best idea. The beautiful thing about baseball is the potential for two teams to battle late into the 21^st inning, while Dusty Baker manages to use his entire pitching staff in a vain effort to win one game. Also, relievers might not be too happy with the idea. Still it’s pretty cool.

Speaking of pretty cool, has anyone heard Brett Favre is the Jets QB? Nah, I didn’t think anyone had been talking about that…

Actually, rather than spill more ink on No. 4, why don’t we talk about something that I think has generated surprisingly little buzz: instant replay in baseball.Now, before those of you were hoping for some fun NFL discussion roll your eyes and click away, consider for a moment the groundbreaking nature of MLB’s decision to allow for HR calls to be reviewed. I don’t think either the sports media or the sports world has really appreciated a) what a bold step this is for an institution that is not known for being particularly nimble, and b) what this says about the role of umpiring in baseball in general.

Baseball is the sport most directly influenced by officiating. Most sports can reasonably be played without refs- and often are. Basketball, football, soccer, etc, all require refereeing because they are contact sports where physical players often take advantage of the others in a way that is dangerous or detracts from the quality of play.

Baseball is different. Umps do not throw flags or spot violations (with the exception of balks and ejections, I suppose)—they dictate the way the game is played, both behind the plate, and on the basepaths. Now obviously football refs have to decide if someone caught a pass in bounds, or crossed the plane, or made a ‘football move’ (notice, these are generally the things that instant replay deals with). But in no sport I know of is the impact of this sort of refereeing as deep and constant as in baseball.

So here’s my question: if MLB admits that umps may be fallible in home run calls, why does the same logic not hold true on the basepaths, an arguably more controversial and more frequent decision. Or, even more often, why not for balls and strikes? We have the technology. Quest-tech (sp?) cameras, an entirely impartial and infallible judge of balls and strikes, already monitor each game as a means of grading umpires.

So what exactly are we waiting for? It can’t just be time lost—if MLB wanted to, it could place replay centers at each stadium and have the correct calls in under one minute radioed to the crew chief. Or it could institute a challenge system similar to the NFL. Never mind the time saved from not having Lou Piniella rant.

Or is it a tradition thing? Well, regardless of my disrespect for silly traditions (especially when your tradition is being incorrect), I’m having a tough time understanding the double standard. Why do we stick with the ‘quaint’ umpires with balls and strikes, but not home run calls? Why is the correct call only valued in one particular situation? Also, why is no one talking about this?