On 11/3/2014 sfnative said:
I agree with you, LaVell35. Jeff's decision to choose the outside lane had me yelling at the TV. In a way, I think it almost does this part of the race a disservice to watch it extra slow-mo as hckynut did. Though I realize Jeff started to drift down, "dirty air at 195mph can be wreck-causing, I saw Keselowski plow up and through those racers watching regular speed just like Dale Sr. Wreck 'em right, wreck 'em left. He never gave a darn how many wrecked cars he left in his wake. He was no gentleman and neither is Keselowski. I don't agree with the poster who likens Jeff Gordon to Dale Sr. Now THAT is a joke!
Hi sfnative,
As one that was an on ice hockey referee for over 30 years, believe me I am not a fan of replays when it comes to any sport. I doubt that few, if any, reading this have ever been a ref for an Adult hockey game, and if so they will know what I am saying about replays.
If replays are going to be used for all the calls in any sport, why would a person want to risk being seriously injured or even being killed to be a referee in these sports. Football and basketball do not fall in the same category to me as does an umpire in baseball. In ice hockey and baseball you have a puck and/or a ball moving at over 100mph speeds and you have to first make sure you do not get hit and then you also have to make a call, the quicker you make it the better.
With baseball an Umpire has room to move. In ice hockey the Referee is constrained by hard boards and plexiglass and getting out of the way? You have hockey players coming at you, from both directions at times/razor blades on their feet/a stick that is well over 4' long, and then the puck that is 3"x1" of hard frozen rubber to dodge. And all of this happens in an instant, much of which your view is blocked by the bodies of other players.
Just wanted to let you know that I am not a stranger to having to make split second decisions when it comes to controlling a sports game. With the in-car cameras in the Cup Cars, it is easy to see, at full speed, when a spot opens. Like with hockey, you either make a move based on instinct or you do not. Racing at those speeds, as in playing or being a ref in ice hockey, you do not have time to think before any move. Both are based on instinct, not a reaction to situations. Your mind thinking about what to do, and it is too late. That is the same in both sports and, in my opinion, that is what Brad Keselowski did when Gordon vacated this starting spot to move up towards the wall to gain momentum for the turn and the following straightaway, hoping to pass Johnson.
I replay hockey ref's calls the same as I do in most any HD sport where I want to see what really happened. Frame to frame or just in slo-mo. I certainly would be the last one to "Monday Morning Quarterback" any call by any official when they rely on instincts and experience in making them calls. When a call is wrong it is wrong and in ice hockey games can be won and/or lost from a single wrong call. They don't do a restart or replay the game. The game is final and the calls are history, except the Ref may get a call from his boss and even maybe disciplined by not getting any games, for making mistakes in his calls.
Think you know I raced cars, but not a 195mph, nor on long oval tracks. I raced the 1320' race called Drag Racing. Standing start to the end and hopefully in front of the car that is your competition. Fastest for me was 10.2 seconds for this quarter mile at 129mph. Make a driving mistake? Most of the time you lose the race, and some times you blow up and engine or another part of say, a drive train or any other number of race parts.
Got a feel for oval racing by racing Nascar Simulator Races online with racers from around the world. Many Cup drivers and others helped build these computer tracks so they would closely replicate driving a real car on a real track. Junior honed his skills for some tracks by using this same simulator to help him figure out certain part of certain tracks.
Too long a post. I know making calls in "real time" and I am still doing it at times with my adult hockey league games, except I am doing them from off-ice since it is no longer safe for me to risk serious injury or worse by being back on the ice. My eyes and my leg speed are no longer what they used to be.
hckynut(john)
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