Virginia’s loss a good lesson in hidden vigorish

If you grew up listening to Bob Prince calling Pirates games as I did, you know all about hidden vigorish.
The Gunner would remind us often that the longer a guy had gone without a hit, the better his chances of getting one.
The University of Virginia got a good lesson in hidden vigorish Friday night. Losing to University of Maryland Baltimore County may be the best example of hidden vigorish in sports history. Some day some 16th seed was going to beat a No. 1 seed. Virginia was that No. 1 seed and the game wasn’t close.
The celebration by UMBC was justified and heartwarming. And the long losing streak actually created an all-time great sports moment, but let’s not use it as proof that ridiculous 1 vs 16 matchups have always been a good idea.
The fact that 16 seeds were 0-132 since 1985 was proof that it was a waste of time for 32 years.
So 1-135 after 33 years makes it a good idea?
Should we be okay with it if somebody makes it 2-270 in March of 2051?
Imagine how exciting it will be if a 16 seed wins for the third time in 99 years to make it 3-405 in 2084.
That’ll make up for almost 100 years of stupidity?
Fortunately, I’ll be dead.
— This is one time when players who say nobody gave them a chance are really telling the truth. Nobody gave UMBC a chance to beat Virginia. Not one person in North America thought UMBC could beat Virginia. Not one. Not counting the UMBC players and coaches, of course. And few if any of them did, either.
— NHL general managers promise to address goalie interference at their meetings next week. Actually, it should be called the interfering with the goalie issue because that’s what it is.
Or isn’t.
That’s the problem, nobody seems to be able to agree on what it is. NHL Director of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell reminded the GMs last week that it was they who had been pushing for video review of interfering with the goalie for five years. He had minutes from their meetings to prove it and he pointed out that Commissioner Gary Bettman had warned them to be careful what they wish for.
It really needs to be fixed before the playoffs.
Right now the referees can review the video or defer to a crew watching in Toronto. Campbell is suggesting that it be decided in Toronto. Of course, that means longer delays.
A lot of excitement is taken out of the game when fans have to wait five minutes to cheer for a goal.
This is one more example of how using slow motion replay to review a call has ruined sports.
And it’s the super slo-mo that is the problem.
If the refs or a crew in Toronto or The Hague can watch a play in super slow motion, chances are pretty good that they can find something wrong.
Allowing coaches to challenge interfering with the goalie and off sides was a bad idea.
If the only way you can spot interference is by watching it in super slow motion from every imaginable angle, it didn’t happen. Give the guy who did the interfering credit for getting away with it.
Same with offsides.
If two guys, whose main purpose is to stand on a line and make sure that the puck always precedes the first skater into the zone, missed somebody’s skate being a quarter of an inch over the blue line, it didn’t happen.
Again, give the players credit for being good enough to sneak in by a fraction of an inch. It’s part of the game.
In every sport, video review was supposed to correct only egregious errors.
If someone several hundred miles away is zooming in on a 70-inch 4K screen to see if he can spot a ball carrier’s shoe covering a 16th of an inch of the white sideline during an 80 yard run, it’s gone too far. It didn’t happen and the defending team doesn’t deserve to be saved by that.
The solution is the elimination of all challenges.
Put an eye in the sky — a full fledged referee or umpire in the press box with a monitor. If he sees something that he believes was a missed call, make it possible for him to signal the official or officials on the field immediately and tell them that he is reviewing the play.
If you don’t hear from the sky guy in 30 seconds, call it too close to call and continue play. Remember when replay review was only supposed to overturn a call when the video was conclusive?
What’s better evidence of something being inconclusive than several people looking at it in super-duper slow motion from 12 different angles for five minutes?
No more officially reviewing every scoring play for the NFL. If the referee in the booth doesn’t see conclusive evidence that an incorrect call was made, line up and snap it.
It’s time for all sports officials to stop interfering with the fans’ ability to enjoy the games.