e play. The biggest hold up came from bas

[blueberryjerry]

Every football coach will tell you that in order to make a difference in the game, you have to take full advantage of your opportunities. . Now, on the field that could mean scoring after your defense creates a turnover or moving the football offensively when you have the wind at your back. On Thursday, the CFL Board of Governors will have their opportunity to make a difference when they vote on the proposal to make pass interference a reviewable call. A "yes" vote means that for the first time since video review was implemented, the system will be used on a judgment call by the refs. Coaches will not get extra challenges but if the rule change is passed, they will be able to challenge a called pass interference or challenge a missed called PI. Critics call it a drastic shift in philosophy which turns the on-field refs into robots, while proponents call it a small expansion of the current video review system that will help the on-field officials make the toughest and most controversial call in the game. The rules committee, which is made up of football people, passed the rule change proposal over a month ago but while it was a strong majority, it wasnt a unanimous "yes" vote. Sources contacted on Tuesday were divided on whether or not the fact that it wasnt unanimous will influence the Governors. While they couldnt come up with actual numbers, one source felt that rule change proposals that did not get a unanimous vote from the rules committee were almost always voted down by the Governors. A separate source didnt think that the fact that it wasnt a unanimous vote would make any difference at all to the Board. One thing both sources agreed on was that this is one of the most important rule change votes in recent memory and if passed, will be a rule change that will be watched closely by the National Football League. The NFL rules committee decided to put a much more drastic proposal to a vote this year when they tabled the idea of giving coaches the chance to challenge all personal foul penalties. That is a drastic change in philosophy with regards to video replay and it was, not surprisingly, voted down. However, if the CFL Governors vote "yes" to this PI rule change, you can bet the NFL will be paying close attention. In fact, a source close to the process said that there are many coaches in the NFL that are pushing for a chance to review pass interference, so if it is voted in by the CFL board and runs smoothly in year one, then it is safe to say it wont be long before the NFL tables the idea again. There is also a sense of urgency with this decision in that, when a rule change proposal gets defeated by the Governors it typically cant be reintroduced for two years. Which means, if you are a fan that gets frustrated with the inconsistency of the PI call, you are going to get two more years of a whole lot of the same. The CFL head office was contacted Tuesday and refused to comment, but football fans should not read into that. With the current CBA negotiations on going, the "no comment" response may becoming automatic. There has been interesting debate on this topic, however, the question football fans have to ask is; what is the downside and the upside of a "yes" vote? Without debating all aspects of this rule change proposal again, it is still tough to find a real downside. Even if this change is a one year experiment and the league finds out that it has created more questions than answers when it comes to pass interference, nothing is really lost. If it doesnt work, it was at least attempted, all teams in 2014 will have played by the same rules, and the idea is dropped in 2015. However, if it works; if it does help refs get the game changing penalty right more often and if it does improve the game, then the CFL will be looked upon as innovators. On May 13, a new crop of young football players will be drafted into the league and will be looking to take full advantage of their opportunity to play the game they love for a living. On the field, a defensive back can make a difference with an interception if he takes advantage of an opportunity when the quarterback throws and errant pass. On Thursday, an opportunity will present itself to the Board of Governors. If they vote "yes," they have a chance to make a difference. If they vote "no," it will be two more frustrating years and an opportunity lost. . Infante hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning and had an RBI single in a four-run fifth against former teammate Justin Verlander, helping the Kansas City Royals beat the Tigers 11-8 Monday night. . The Italian side scored twice in a four-minute span in the second half to defeat former stars from S. . -- Jay Haas and Peter Jacobsen took the second-round lead Saturday in the Champions Tours Legends of Golf, teaming for a 6-under 48 in windy conditions on the par-3 Top of the Rock course.SAN FRANCISCO - Pablo Sandoval singled in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning, lifting the San Francisco Giants to a 2-1 victory over the rival Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday night and into first place in the NL West. The struggling Sandoval came through after reliever J.P. Howell (1-1) intentionally walked Hunter Pence with two outs. Sandoval, who entered the game batting just .164, grounded into centre field to score Joaquin Arias from second. Jean Machi (3-0) pitched out of a bases-loaded jam earlier in the seventh for the win. Buster Posey broke an 0-for-13 skid with an RBI single in the third to give the Giants a 1-0 lead. Dee Gordons tying triple in the sixth accounted for the Dodgers lone run. Los Angeles at least dodged worse news. Shortstop Hanley Ramirez left in the seventh after getting hit by a pitch from Ryan Vogelsong on the top of his left hand. The team said X-rays on Ramirezs hand were negative. Sergio Romo pitched a perfect ninth for his fourth save, striking out Adrian Gonzalez and Matt Kemp to end the game. Vogelsong allowed the one run and four hits in six-plus innings to help the Giants win their third straight game. He struck out two and walked two to match Paul Maholm most of the way. Maholm gave up one run and five hits in six innings. He struck out two and walked three to rebound from a loss in his only other start this season on April 5, when he allowed five runs in 4 1-3 innings to the Giants. San Francisco improved to 4-1 against the Dodgers this season in a race that could remain tight through the summer. Both teams began the day with a 9-5 record. The starting pitchers kept the game moving at a far brisker pacee than the nearly 5-hour contest Tuesday night that ended when Hector Sanchez singled home the winning run with two outs in the 12th inning to give the Giants the win. . The biggest blemish came when Vogelsong hit the top of Ramirezs left hand to open the seventh. Ramirez slammed his helmet to the ground and hopped around in pain before being replaced by Justin Turner. After the Dodgers loaded the bases with one out, Machi fielded a hard comebacker from Juan Uribe to start a home-to-first double play. The biggest hold up came from baseballs new replay system after Vogelsong pick of Kemp at first base in the second inning. Dodgers manager Don Mattingly challenge the play, which umpires upheld after a 4:25 video review that drew light boos from some fans during the wait. NOTES: Dodgers ace and reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw, who is on the disabled list with a strained muscle in his back, threw breaking balls off flat ground. He is scheduled to throw off a mound Thursday. ... An MRI on Dodgers RHP Chad Billingsley showed no ligament damage in his elbow, Mattingly said. Billingsley has some tendinitis that will delay his recovery. ... Giants SS Brandon Crawford sat out with tightness in his right hamstring but said he expects to play Thursday. ... The Giants activated lefty reliever Jeremy Affeldt (sprained right knee) from the 15-day disabled list and optioned OF Juan Perez to Triple-A Fresno. ... Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig entered in the seventh and grounded out in the eighth. ... Giants LHP Madison Bumgarner (2-0, 3.31 ERA) takes the mound opposite Dodgers LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu (2-1, 2.57 ERA) in Thursdays series finale. ' ' '

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