On this weeks TSNFC podcast we spent a long time discussing the handball decision that effectively ended Vancouver Whitecaps season. Stephon Gilmore 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. Ryan Allen Jersey . On Saturday night, Winnipegs strong offense was again accompanied by some fantastic pitching which gave the Fish a commanding victory. David Andrews Jersey . UCI President Brian Cookson said Wednesday the commission will investigate allegations "that the UCI has been involved in wrongdoing in the past -- allegations which have done so much to hurt the credibility of the UCI and our sport. http://www.shoptheofficialpatriots.com/Elite-Eric-Rowe-Patriots-Jersey/ . -- Claudio Bieler hadnt scored since early September, and not from the run of play since mid-July.MILWAUKEE -- After struggling to score runs in the last four games, Carlos Gomez knew his team needed a spark. The Milwaukee Brewers outfielder provided one. Immediately. Gomez hit the first pitch he saw from Mike Bolsinger leading off the bottom of the first inning for his eighth home run of the season to propel the Brewers to an 8-3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday night. "I really wanted to get something going tonight," said Gomez, who also had a two-run single and walked three times. "I knew he likes to throw the ball close to the zone on his first pitch, so I was ready for it." Gomez was just 3-for-16 in the Brewers four-game series against the Cincinnati Reds over the weekend, while Milwaukee lost three of the games. He said he thought about making sure he was swinging at good pitches while coming to Miller Park on Monday. "I continued that through batting practice and right into the game," Gomez said. Martin Maldonado and Jean Segura also homered for Milwaukee, which had lost four of its last five entering the game. The Brewers still have the best record in baseball at 22-11. Milwaukee remained the only team in baseball to not lose when scoring at least four runs, improving to 18-0 in those games. Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said he was pleased to see his teams offence come to life. The Brewers had been struggling offensively, scoring only 10 runs in the Reds series. "Weve been talking about somewhere in there getting, six, seven, eight runs and we did," Roenicke said. "It sets up a lot of things when you get people on base. The guys did a great job." Matt Garza (2-3) allowed three runs and eight hits in six innings for Milwaukee. It was only the third time in seven starts this season that Garza has not given up at least four runs. Garza said it was satisfying to win the game, despite struggling through the first few innings. "I really wanted to attack tonight and not shy away from contact," he said. "My teammates really backed me up tonight until I got it ttogether. Stephen Gostkowski Jersey. ." Bolsinger (1-2) took the loss after giving up four runs and seven hits in five innings. "We didnt execute pitches from the first pitch of the game," Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said. "We walked seven on the night and we needed to make pitches and we couldnt make them. We couldnt keep the ball down." Arizona grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Gerardo Parra led off the game with a single and moved to second on a walk to Miguel Montero. With two outs, Aaron Hill lined a hit to right that Brewers outfielder Caleb Gindl dived for, but could not hang on to as Parra scored. Gomez tied the score in the bottom of the inning with homer. The Brewers grabbed a 3-1 lead in the second as Maldonado hit a two-run homer. Arizona tied it at 3 in the third inning on RBI singles by Montero and Hill, who had four singles in the game. The Diamondbacks loaded the bases with one out, but Garza struck out Alfredo Marte and Ender Inciarte to get out of the inning. Khris Davis sacrifice fly in the fifth inning scored Scooter Gennett, who had doubled, to give Milwaukee a 4-3 lead. Gomezs bloop single in the sixth scored two runs. Segura then followed with a long home run to left field, his second of the season, to boost the lead to 8-3. The Brewers won a challenge in the fourth when Bolsinger was called safe at first after Segura bobbled his grounder. However, the call was overturned after replays showed he was out. NOTES: Diamondbacks SS Chris Owings was voted the National League Rookie of the Month for April. Owings paced N.L. rookies in hitting through the first month of the season, posting a .313 average. He also led rookies with five doubles, six extra-base hits and 26 hits in 28 games. ... Arizona OF A.J. Pollack didnt start for the fifth straight game due to a groin injury. He pinch hit in the sixth inning and grounded out. ... RHP Marco Estrada (2-1) will start in the second game of the series for Milwaukee against Josh Collmenter (1-2) for Arizona. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '