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On this weeks TSNFC podcast we spent a long time discussing the handball decision that effectively ended Vancouver Whitecaps season. Dante Exum Jersey . 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. Karl Malone Jersey .C. -- Gleason Fournier scored the shootout winner as the Grand Rapids Griffins defeated the Abbotsford Heat 4-3 Friday in American Hockey League action. Utah Jazz Jerseys .Under the agreement announced Monday, the Cuban defector is guaranteed $68.5 million over six seasons.Tomas gets a $14 million signing bonus that is payable within 30 days of the deals approval by Major League Baseball, and then salaries of $2 million next year, $4 million in 2016, $6 million in 2017 and $10 million in 2018. http://www.officialjazzauthenticstore.com/kids-adrian-dantley-jazz-jersey/ .The long-haired pivot, who joined the Alouettes midway through the CFL season and put up a 9-3 record as a starter, will be listed as the top quarterback in training camp next spring.With a full training camp under his belt, the Alouettes will see if he has what it takes to get them back to the Grey Cup game after a four-year absence.DUNEDIN, Fla. -- After watching Esmil Rogers stumble, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons pulled out a baseball maxim. "Some of our top guys are putting together some good at-bats and some things like that," he said. "The key is pitching though. Thats going to take us as far as were going to go this year. Were trying to iron some things out, find out whos going to do what. We want strike-throwers." Rogers, in the mix for the Jays fifth starter, struck out six in his three innings Thursday in a 7-5 exhibition loss to the Houston Astros. But he also walked two and gave up four runs on five hits including two homers. "First inning he was good. Then he was shaky after that," was Gibbons pithy assessment of Rogers performance. "The key to him is throwing enough strikes. He could be a heck of a pitcher when he gets the ball into the strike zone. Weve seen it before, thats where he runs into trouble." With spring training entering its final weeks, the Jays are still looking wondering about their starting rotation. Gibbons pronouncement on pitching, while accurate, is hardly soothing to Toronto fans. Barring injuries, R.A. Dickey, Mark Buehrle and Brandon Morrow are expected to emerge as the first three starters. Rogers is competing against Drew Hutchison, J.A. Happ, Ricky Romero, Todd Redmond, Kyle Drabek, Marcus Stroman, Sean Nolin and Dustin McGowan for the fourth and fifth spots. Hutchison has drawn praise from general manager Alex Anthopoulos -- "We think Drews got a chance to be outstanding" -- while Gibbons called Romero "the big talk of camp right now." But questions remain. Rogers likely did not do himself any favours Thursday after a 1-2-3 first inning that featured a groundout and two strikeouts. Things went downhill from there. "My pitches were a little bit high," he said. "I lost my control." Teenage shortstop Carlos Correa, a 19-year-old who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 draft, and Jon Singleton hit back-to-back homers for Houston in the third inning off Rogers. Correa then drove in two more runs with a blast to centre in the eighth off Neil Wagner. In between, he made a slick fielding play in the fourth to throw out Brett Lawrie. Rogers said the Singleton homer came off a change-up, a pitch he suggested he might put aside for the time being. Starter Dallas&nbbsp;Keuchel pitched four scoreless innings as Houston (7-6) posted its fourth straight win in the spring. Jeff Hornacek Jersey. . The last time the Astros won four in a row in the Grapefruit League was in March 2011. McGowan was the best of the Blue Jays pitchers with two scoreless innings despite not having pitched in 10 days after being sidelined by a stomach bug that saw him lose eight pounds. The only blemish on his outing Thursday was a walk. McGowan still thinks of himself as a starting pitcher but, with only four spring innings under his belt, he is behind others. "Theres what I want to be," he said. "If Im there, great. If Im in the bullpen, also great. Its a win-win situation, I think." Houston went ahead 2-0 in the second on a Cesar Izturis single after Rogers dug himself in a bases-loaded hole with two walks and a single. Lawrie did his bit for the Toronto defence, gunning down Jesus Guzman at the plate before the Izturis hit. The Blue Jays (6- Cool

scored three in the fifth off Collin McHugh to cut the lead to 4-3. Houston made it 5-3 in the sixth via a sacrifice fly. Houston threatened again when Toronto pitcher Jeremy Jeffress loaded the bases in the seventh with no outs. He struck out one before giving way to Wagner, who struck out another and then escaped the inning when Ryan Goins made an eye-popping fielding play off a ball that flew off the pitchers body. There was action in the bottom of the seventh as Anthony Gose somehow turned a shallow fly ball into a triple when sliding Houston outfielder Adron Chambers was unable to chase the ball down. Kevin Pillar then was drilled by Josh Zeid with the Jays outfielder taking a long look at the Astros pitcher as he left the batters box. Gose scored on a fielders choice when Pillar was cut down stealing second, cutting the lead to 5-4. Gose also scored on a sacrifice fly in the ninth to make it 7-5 after Correas second homer extended the Houston lead. Keuchel has yet to give up a run in nine innings this spring. He scattered six hits over his four innings Wednesday, striking out two with no walks. The game featured half-brothers Cesar and Maicer Izturis, both starting at second base and batting ninth (the older Cesar for Houston and Maicer for Toronto). Toronto outhit Houston 13-12. The contest, which lasted three hours 11 minutes, drew 4,510 to Florida Auto Exchange Stadium on a 15-degree day. Cheap Soccer Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Hockey Jerseys Nike NFL Jerseys China Cheap Nike MLB Jerseys China Wholesale Baseball Jerseys China Wholesale College Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Wholesale Jerseys Near Me Cheap Jerseys Online Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Cheap NCAA Jerseys Authentic Cheap Nike NBA Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic MLB Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Throwback Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China ' ' '