I’ve started to think that the same people who decide on the Oscar nominations is the same group of people who elect new members for all of the Hall of Fame’s as identical sets of irrational fingerprints are found on each.  Its some sort of secret society of quasi-senile shut in’s who make Howard Hughes look like a social butterfly.

There’s no other way to explain the most recent set of Oscar Nominations or possibly the candidacy of Kurt Warner for the National Football Hall of Fame (more on that in a minute).

First of all, how can you whitewash Gran Torino from the primary Oscar categories?  No nod to Eastwood for Best Actor?  Best Picture?  Nada.  How about at least Best Director, the Gold Glove to Best Picture’s Cy Young and Best Actor/Actress’s MVP awar?  Robbed there too.  Its one of the most complete movies I can remember seeing.  It makes most dramatic or social commentary movies feel like Corky Romano 2.  It’s funny.  It’s thought provoking.  It's moving.  The character development is stunning.  It’s as funny as it is somber.  And at the end of the movie, you’ll hear more than a few embarrassed sniffles.  It’s a must see.  Trust me.

Now, one to more important issues.  Kurt Warner’s candidacy for the Hall of Fame.  Warner has started 16 games just 3 times in his career: 1999, 2001 and 2008.  All 3 of those seasons uncannily resulted in a Super Bowl appearance, including a win for the 1999 season.  Incredible to be sure.  But in between, Warner was unproductive, ineffective and irrelevant.  He was cut by the Rams.  He was dumped by the Giants.  He was an afterthought for 2 mostly forgettable seasons for the Cardinals.  His number of unproductive seasons (6) doubles the number of extremely productive seasons (3).  It’s not as if he wasn’t in the league for those 6 years.  He was.  He just didn’t do anything.

This is not a Sandy Koufax, Jim Brown or Steve Young case.  His dominance is scattered unpredictably over the course of a 10 year career.  Further, it can be explained by the situation.  Dick Vermeil, Marshall Faulk, Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce, Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, and Ken Whisenhunt are all very good reasons for any QB to have success.  How many Hall of Famers were a non factor for 60% of their careers? 

This is not to say Warner is not one of the most compelling stories in NFL history or that his ascension is any less remarkable because of his lengthy period of NFL irrelevance. 

Now, maybe if I could broker a deal with the secret society of Oscar and Hall of Fame voters that got Gran Torino on this year’s ballot, I’d be willing to accept the curious case of Kurt Warner as a Hall of Famer

If the Arizona Cardinals unexpected hosting of the NFC Championship game is any sign of things to come sports-wise in 2009, it’s going to be a crazy year.  Here are some other teams that may benefit from the Cardinals improbable run and further signs that 2009 is the year of the sports apocalyps

• They might as well start printing the NL Champion T-shirts for the Pittsburgh Pirates, which for a change may actually end up staying in America, instead of shipped to some 3^rd world country.

• NBA fans should braces themselves for a second half surge from the Clippers, who will shock the NBA world by playing their way into the NBA Finals and promptly announce they ceasing operations as a franchise. 

•   In college basketball, Oregon State goes from winless in conference play in 07-08 to the Pac 10 Champions in 08-09 after winning the Pac 10 tournament.  The Beavers will be spurred on by some imaginary motivational force field that only exists when your coach is related by marriage to a new president.

The most shocking thing about the Cardinals game is how much tickets are selling for.  The game sold out in 6 minutes, which normally could only have been explained if the current Cowboys were playing the 93 Cowboys at Univ. of Phoenix stadium.  Since tickets are selling for 2,3,4 and even more times their face value, I think the Cardinals would be wise to implement some sort of test for people to purchase tickets.

•    Timm Rosenbach was: A) Prominent Phoenix Lawyer or B) Starting QB for the Cardinals

•   Fill in the Blank:  ________ Joyner and Clyde _______

•     Buddy Ryan’s defense was called the what?

•     Rob Moore played what position?  Ron Moore played what position?

•   The Arizona Cardinals logo is what bird?

• True or False: Phoenix is not Los Angeles.

• Name the last 4 Cardinal head coaches after Buddy Ryan.

If you can answer 4 of the questions above, you should automatically be comped tickets to the NFC Championship game.

If you can’ answer 4 of those questions, you should have to pay at least 5 times face value of your tickets to a Cardinal season ticket holder who has held his/her tickets for at least the last 5 years.

It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, we should give the first crack to, you know, actual Cardinals fans.

Arizona loses a tough one to Texas A&M on the road tonight that spoiled what was turning into a very solid Friday night for me.  I had just finished the best Bear Down Friday of the year, headed home, ate some Stouffers frozen lasagna aka God's gift to frozen dinners, and settled in to watch what I thought was an undermanned Arizona team struggle against  the Aggies.

Instead, Arizona was not just controlling this game but dominating it for much of the first and second half.  Arizona ultimately went on to lose 66-65 after another questionable final possession.  Here were some of my thoughts from the game:

•  It was actually refreshing to have this game announced by the anonymous ESPNU announcers, who were actually very solid, but moreso than that did not dwell on Arizona's coaching situation too much.  Instead they used the following phrases, amongst others, to describe Arizona: "loaded with talent" and "supremely talented".  You can tell neither one has probably had the time or need to follow Arizona that closely and instead were just winging most of it but it was still refreshing to hear.  It was like taking a girl you are dating but unsure about to a friends get together and afterwards your friends have nothing but positive things to say about her.  It may not make those things disappear that you were initally worried about but at the time it made you forget about them.  That's how I felt about Arizona during this game, I almost forgot about the lack of a bench, etc., etc

• Jordan Hill's free throws this season remind me of the old NBA Live video games I used to play and maybe the new ones are the same but I havent played a basketball video game in years.  In the old video games, when you were shooting a free throw, you would have to stop a meter that bounced up and down  and a meter that bounced left to right and the quickness of the meter bouncing was determined by how bad the free throw shooter was.  For the best free throw, you would want to stop both meters in the middle, with some margin for error to still make them.  Jordan Hill's free throw meters this year would be extremely fast and almost always landing either to the extreme left or right and always at the highest point.  That was an incredibly long explanation to basically say Jordan has been terrible from the free throw line.

• I was really impressed with the way Zane Johnson was able to build off his performance against LMU against the Aggies.  Its not like he played lights out but he make some shots and didn't look like he was in the middle of a nightmare hoping to wake up like last year.  The only time he became a liability on the floor is when A&M pressed and Zane was forced into handling the ball.

• I was also impressed with Alex Jacobson's performance in the first half.  He gave some solid minutes and apparently has now even been programmed to shoot outside shots and dunk putbacks. 

• The story of the game is how Arizona controlled this game until Nic Wise fouled out with 7 minutes to go.  7 minutes!  Even Jordan Hill couldn't believe Wise fouled out that quick.  The Aggies seized the momentum and never relinquished it.

• Not long after Wise fouled out, Jordan picked up his 4th foul.  Of course, this nearly provided Arizona fans with the answer to a question they have no interest in discovering, "What happens when both Nic Wise and Jordan Hill foul out in the same game?".  The answer is pretty predictable.  Its like finding out the answer to a question like, "What happens when I kick this person in the groin?" or "What happens when I speed up when a police car is trying to pull me over?"  Not every question needs to be answered to know what the answer is.

• Shockingly, Texas A&M didn't go right after Hill after he picked up his 4th foul, settling instead on a barrage of what turned out to be highly effective jump shots.  Granted they still won but it was questionable strategy. 

• I'm fascinated by the interaction of the Arizona coaches on the bench with both the players and each other.  I also believe Dewey Pennell deserves his own cheering section at McKale.

• Finally, the last possession.  Clearly, Russ Pennell was affected by the UAB game where Nic Wise dribbled around before putting up an errant shot only this time it was Chase Budinger who did the honors.  They ran Chase off some screens and such but with exactly zero other actual threats from the perimeter on the floor for Arizona, it would have been better to run a play through Jordan Hill.  Also, can someone explain to me why Chase Budinger was inbounding the basketball with .3 second to go in the game.  Sure, its highly unlikely that with any lineup on the floor you are actually going to convert a tip in with that time left and the opponent knowing exactly what you are going to do but wouldn't you at least want the all world volleyball player with a 44 inch vertical leap on the floor?

What an interesting weekend of football.  We’ll have full coverage of it on today’s Happy Hour, but here were some things that struck me as interesting enough that I would sit down and type them out.  Either that or things that aren’t good enough for use on the air.  You decide.

• I’m already sick of hearing about what a testament to the toughness of the team Arizona’s 2^nd half comeback was.  Grit, determination, toughness, resolve; theses are all words in some form that fans have been using to describe the effort.  The 2^nd half effort may have shown those qualities in the team but here are some other words; unprepared, unfocused, sloppy, poor, shredded.  Those words describe the first half effort, which was just as much of a reflection of this team’s personality.

• That being said, what an amazingly entertaining college football game to watch.

• I also decided during this game that it does bother me that Oregon uses 73 different uniform variations.  There’s still a cost associated with producing all those jerseys probably offset by all the Ducks fans who then purchase the new merchandise but it’s still an off-putting move.  At some point in the future, Oregon will have uniforms made entirely off sewn together 100 dollar bills. 

• Did anything else remotely interesting happen in college football this weekend?  I don’t think so, unless I completely missed it which would be concerning because you know, it’s my job.

• Wait a second, they are now making movie trailers for video games?  That’s just annoying.

• Seriously, the NFL may have just had its Tim Donaghy moment.  The officials in the Steelers/Chargers game reversed a last second TD by Troy Polamalu because of an illegal forward pass.  This decision came AFTER reviewing the play and it was obvious to anyone that didn’t have gambling vision, that there was no forward pass.  The result of wiping out the TD?  The spread was preserved and covered by the Chargers.  There is absolutely no other explanation that makes sense.

•     Always a lot of fun to watch a football game in the snow, especially for the first time.  The aforementioned Steelers vs. Chargers game was played in true winter conditions.  Meanwhile, its sunny and 80 degrees here and somehow I’m the one jealous of the freezing fans.

Lots more tonight on the show about Arizona football, Arizona basketball, the NFL and what ever else I can come up with between now and then.

Thought I’d post some thoughts on the sports world and beyond since its mostly MLB playoffs this week…

Television recommendation: Mad Men on AMC.  If you are under the age of 55, you’ve probably only tuned into AMC by accident, but that all changes.  Mad Men is in just its 2^nd season and may already be one of my 5 favorite TV shows of all time.  It’s set in the 60’s at a Madison Ave. advertising company.  It was created by one of the main Soprano guys and the show is better than any other on TV right now.

MLB Postseason

•   I’m fired up because the Phillies/Dodgers game tonight will be called by Dan Shulman and Orel Hershiser on ESPN Radio.  I think Orel Hershiser may be the best baseball color commentator out there.  He brings such a unique perspective as a former player, coach and now parent to the game.  I’m stunned that he isn’t used more often.  Even for this series, he only gets games 3-5 and then Steve Phillips takes over for Games 6 and 7. 

• The thing I love about Hershiser is he’s able to not only draw on his experiences in baseball but he also is able to superbly describe the situation with deft clarity and detail.  So many former players get into the announcers booth and instead of being former players talking baseball, they try and do their best impression of what they think an announcer sounds like.  Chris Singleton being the most recent example.

• And Dan Shulman is the next great baseball PBP man for ESPN.  The most difficult thing for a PBP man to do, in my opinion, is master the art of setting up the color commentator as well as perfecting the art of voice inflection during key moments of the game.

• I’m not sure what this says about me, but I could talk announcing teams for an entire hour.  Wait, I know exactly what it says about me:  I have no life.  That sounds about right.

• Everyone is predicting doom and gloom for a potential Phillies/Rays series because of the disastrous ratings it would mean for Fox.  I didn’t know that many people were had profit sharing deals with Fox that the ratings actually impacted them.

• The Phillies and Rays are clearly playing the best baseball and deserve the potential berth in the World Series, why should it matter what the ratings are?  What if the series happens to be epic?  Let’s give the Series a shot no matter what the match-up is.

• And I think it will be the Rays and Phillies.

NFL

• WR Roy Williams was traded to the Dallas Cowboys for a bunch of draft picks, including next years 1^st and 3^rd rounders.  What is going on in Dallas?  The answer for Dallas was not adding another mouth at the dinner table offensively, it was shoring up their defense.

• My analogy on the show yesterday was:  Its like the family with 4 kids, who can barely have enough food for everyone trying to solve the problem by having another child.  Its just illogical.

• The real reason I’m upset about this trade is because it throws one of my fantasy teams into disarray.  I now will be starting TO and Roy Williams in a league the emphasizes WR play with 40 year old Brad Johnson trying to decide if he should throw it to them, Jason Witten or Marion Barber.  I’m not pleased.

Happy Hour returns for a quick show tomorrow before a potential full show on Friday, if the Phillies clinch tonight.

Well I was all fired up to do a show today until the White Sox and Angels decided to delay the inevitable and force their respective series to Game 4.  After a busy weekend of baseball, Arizona football, NFL and college football I was ready to rant for a good 2 hours.  Oh and I almost forgot, the NHL season opener and the WNBA Championships!  So for now, it will have to wait until tomorrow, when Happy Hour returns for a full two hours.  In the meantime, a quick preview of what we’ll be talking about:

MLB Playoffs

• Fairly shocked that the Cubs rolled over so easily until I realized the Diamondbacks did the same to them last yea
• Why are they such an easy playoff team?  Its gotta be the pressure, there’s no other excuse
• Philly versus LA couldn’t be bigger contrast in fan bases.  Philly fan’s lives are at stake in this series; meanwhile there’s a good chance 5 out of 10 random people you would meet on the street in LA have no idea the Dodgers are in the playoffs.
• Let’s hope we get a competitive series, though it looks like the early line (according to, well, me) is for a Dodger win in 5 games
• Sure, the Angels may have won last night but they lost as well.  The game should have been over in 9 innings, but instead the Angels, and the Red Sox, were forced to use up most of their bullpen.  Its not as big of a deal for Boston, considering they are at home and have the series lead.
• When I saw the play in the top of the 2^nd that led to the Red Sox clearing the bases and tying the game at 3, I had to check to make sure the Red Sox weren’t playing the Black Sox.  Bases loaded, 2 out and Jacoby Ellsbury skies a routine pop up a beyond 2^nd base.  This wasn’t one of those bloop singles that lands in short center before anyone can get in good position to catch it but rather a pop up that stayed in the air for enough time for me to microwave my dinner, check my fantasy football leagues and play a game of Spider Solitaire.  Instead of being caught and ending the inning, 3 Angels including perennial Gold Glover Torri Hunter watched the ball drop between them, when all 3 had a legitimate shot of camping underneath it.  Just inexplicable.

NFL

• How about them…Redskins?  Wow, talk about a physical, smart football team.  What does this say about Joe Gibbs?  Why do I feel the need to bring up a negative for team with so many positives?  This used to be the team that saw its best player dress up in costumes for press conferences and overpay middling talent.  Now it’s a team that doesn’t back down, overpowers you and has plenty of weapons offensively and defensively.
• How do people forget so easily that the Chargers are still a team coached by Norv Turner?  Shame on anyone who predicted them to win the Super Bowl.
• Who’s the best team in the NFL?  Still too early to tell.  The Giants schedule is about to get absolutely brutal.  The Titans won’t get the attention they deserve because they are, afterall, the Tennessee Titans.  And the Cowboys are too combustible to forcefully assert themselves as the best.
• Who’s the worst team in the NFL?  I couldn’t imagine the Lions, the Rams or the Benglas doing anything to take them off this list.

A full afternoon of playoff baseball is in the books and I’ve got some thoughts.  Except for an unexpected nap (you know one of those naps where you wake up shocked it was only 15 minutes when you swear you had a dream that lasted several hours?) during the mid innings of the Phillies/Brewers game, I watched or listened to almost all of it.  Here’s my breakdown of each game but first some broadcasting thoughts:

•  Why am I not surprised to hear Michael Kay, the voice of the New York Yankees, broadcasting playoff games for ESPN Radio.  I don’t think ESPN can bear the thought of not having any Yankee connections during the post season.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see every Sports Center and Baseball Tonight peppered with people from the organization.
• So on ESPN, we get guys like John Kruk, Chris Singleton, Orestes Destrada, Eric Young and others breaking down baseball but TBS hauls in Dennis Eckersley, Cal Ripken Jr and John Smoltz?  So the channel I watch that covers nothing but sports gets out maneuvered by the station I only watch Seinfeld repeats on?  I find that interesting.  Plus during the games, we get excellent color commentary from Tony Gwynn, Ron Darling and Buck Martinez while the best the World Series can do is Tim McCarver?  Well played TBS, well played.

Phillies vs. Brewers

• Great pitching performance by Cole Hamels.  Hamels is really an interesting guy.  Southern California guy who doesn’t seem to outwardly exude much emotion, talks about holistic healing for his body, almost Barry Zito circa 2001 like.  The strange thing is he has thrived in Philly.  You know if he struggled in Philly, they’d jump all over his attitude but he keeps everyone quiet with his performance.  He’s a more talented, more mentally tough Barry Zito.
• There isn’t a whole lot to like about the Brewers lineup other than Fielder, Braun and maybe Hart.  
• Brett Myers takes the mound tomorrow.  Call me crazy for rooting against this guy.  He’s the same guy who a couple of years ago literally punched his girlfriend while out one night in Boston.
• I’d expect CC Sabathia to pitch the Brewers back into this series, I mean what else could possibly happen when he’s on the mound?

Cubs vs. Dodgers

• Really an odd game to watch
• The Cubs were in control but then Dempster starts walking everybody and James Loney drills a grand slam into the centerfield bleachers.  After that, everyone got anxious and the 100 years failure reared its head in Wrigley.
• Carlos Zambrano pitches the biggest game of his career and after giving up 36 ER in 8 starts since August, excluding his no-hitter, it hard not to feel for Cubs fans.
• Anytime you lose at home in the first game of a 5 game series AND are forced to use your bullpen for nearly 5 innings, things aren’t looking good.
• Alfonso Soriano may be one of the most overrated players in baseball.

Red Sox vs. Angels

• I’m not sure what happened, but I find myself naturally inclined to root for this Red Sox team.  I don’t have anything against the Angels, I just don’t like the idea of them advancing.
• Jon Lester is a great story.  Now if he would only wear his hat straight, I might be able to really pull for him.
• Vlad Guerrero was gunned down at 3B on a flare over 1B by about 99 feet.  He looked like he was running in quicksand.  Good lord, Vlad used to be one of the most freakishly athletic players in the league and once stole 40 bases in a season.  Now he looks like Lou Pinella could dust him in a race around the bases and he’s just 32.  After watching him run, I wouldn’t be surprised if he and Miguel Tejada shared the same birth certificate making machine.
• The other interesting thing about Vlad, who I believe is a Hall of Fame type player, is I literally know nothing about him.  I can’t remember ever seeing a sit down interview with him or a full length magazine profile.  Yet he’s one of the best players of the past 15 years in baseball.

Back with another recap tomorrow.

Its such a relief to have the NFL back in my life.  Too many Sunday's were spent socializing, being outside, visiting with family and other productive things and now I can look forward to every Sunday being 100% dedicated to the NFL and of course, fantasy football.  My only conflict is I've been playing basketball on Sunday mornings and now there is a direct conflict.  I enjoy this physical exercise I had heard so much about and I think it may actually be good for me but I'm not sure it can win a battle with the NFL.

I made my NFL Playoff picks last week on the show.  My basic hope is that my two Super Bowl teams just make the playoffs.  I often will focus arbitrarily on one random stat or development on a team over another and it makes complete sense at the time but at the end of the season it was just complete nonsense.  Just scroll back to my MLB predictions.  Oh look, the Tigers added Miguel Cabrera, I'll just completely overlook their dreadful starting pitching and pick them to go to the World Series.  I may have even picked them to win the World Series but I'd rather not start my Monday off with a beat down of my sports self esteem.

Here are my 2008 NFL Playoff Picks:

NFC

NFC East: Cowboys - I've dubbed it the :"Harknocks Hypnosis".  If you've watched HBO's Hard Knocks series on the Dallas Cowboys this season, you've come away believing they are the greatest team ever assembled.  Its the kind of propoganda you would normally only see in wartime.  TO looks like the best teammate in the world, Tony Romo looks nothing but destined to be a Super Bowl QB, Jerry Jones appears involved but not overbearing, the coaching staff seems to have the right number of players coaches and disciplinarians, I mean its just the perfect formula.  If you've never seen the show, you don't have to to realize this is the most talented team in the NFC, and possibly NFL, on both sides of the football.

NFC North: Green Bay Packers - The youngest team in the NFL was so successful for more reasons than Brett Favre.  They have an active, aggressive defense; a strong, established offensive line; a fantastic trio of WR's; a solid ground game and a rallying cry this year.  I don't think the team is better off without Favre but I think they are capable of winning the NFC North.

NFC South: New Orleans Saints - They could have one of the best offenses in the NFL this season and the additions of Jonathan Vilma and Sedrick Ellis could be enough to solidify the defense.  Of course, I didn't factor this team potentially having to deal with not 1 hurricane this season but potentially 2 or 3.  Ultimately, the Saints prevail in an underrated NFC South.

NFC West: Seattle Seahawks  Arizona Cardinals- The last charge of the old walrus, Mike Holmgren.  I really don't have a very compelling reason for picking the Seahawks in the dreadful NFC West but at the very least I get to compare him to looking like a walrus.  The Seahawks have a decimated WR corps, a terrible ground game, a bad offensive line, a rookie TE and a QB in Matt Hasslebeck that may have a herniated disc bothering him all season.  Why again am I picking this team?  Screw it, I'm changing to the Arizona Cardinals winning this division.

NFC Wildcards: Carolina, Philadelphia. 

Like welcoming a good friend you haven't been able to see in several months, fantasy football has returned to my life.  You'd be this into fantasy football too if you're favorite team has been completely irrelevant in the NFL over the past 6 years.

I was supposed to draft my first fantasy football team last night but some technical difficulties made it impossible so I'm forced to try and contain myself until Tuesday night.

Its my 10th year playing fantasy football and like all great marriages, its just as exciting in year 10 as it was in year 1.  Sure, there have been some ups and downs but you get through those things together and it makes you stronger.  Thats not to say you don't have to get more creative and devote more energy as the years fly by.  By simply dedicating yourself to fresh message board posts, inventive team names and phone calls can help keep every fantasy football marriage fresh.

Without further ado, here's my list of 5 potential sleepers for the upcoming fantasy season:

1. Reggie Bush - Seriously.  You have to feel pretty confident in your drafting skills to put too much of your season on the back of Bush, but the chance his talent will suddenly translate at the NFL level will be tantalizing for the final time this season.

2. LenDale Whie - Last year he was fat and injured and still rushed for 1,100 yards and 7 TD's.  This year he's just fat for now which likely means he'll be even better.  He may turn out to be one of the best #2 RB's a team could have.

3. Laurence Maroney - You know in China or other oppressive countries when there's a controversy or political dissident, the individuals responsible just kind of disappear and are never heard from again?  I was worried that happened to Maroney last year but Belicheck-style.  This year, I'd guarantee he has at least 5 TD's in the first 3 games of the season and a big year after being "corrected" by Belicheck.

4. Steve Slaton - He just has to beat out Ahman Green and Chris Brown.  It would be like a promising recent college grad beating out the burnt out 70 year old and the temp for the job.  Barring something unforseen, I would imagine Slaton gets a lot of carries.   I doubt he's a  consistent back, he may be too small, but I would expect him to have a handful of big games.

5. Michael Turner - A sleeper in the sense I think he'll be better than most projections.  He's likely to have a handful of 14 carries for 23 yards games but also a candidate to have several 150 yards and 2 TD games.  Much like many marriages, if you can take the bad with the good, you can enjoy Michael Turner this season.

More Fantasy Football this week, with QB and WR sleeprs.  Also, don't forget about our Colin Cowherd interview tomorrow on Happy Hour and the exciting announcement we have planned for the station this fall.

This stuff with Bud Selig never gets old.  Seriously, I know I'm pretty harsh on the good ole Commish on the show but its impossible to not be entertained by the guy.  The latest development is with baseball's flirtation with implementing instant replay.  Initially, Selg wanted to "experiment" with instant replay and possibly use it next season.  Then, he acknowledged it could be used this year.  Then MLB was embarrassed when the LLWS decided to use replay.  Yes, Little Leaguers embarrassed Big Leaguers.

I just dont understand the reluctance to use instant replay.  Its a good idea.  Home Run calls are hard to get right, especially in big moments so why not take advantage of instant replay.  The idea its going to lead to a slippery slope and instant replay will be used in everything from balls and strikes to outs on the basepahts is ridiculous.  We aren't turning over replay to some machines of a superior intellect that will suddenly take over decision making from MLB.  There's no need to fear the powers of instant replay. 

Sure, people in the NFL still complain but its much better than not having it.  Baseball has fewer rules than in the NFL.  You are either out or safe.  Its a ball or a strike.  Its either fair or foul.  Instant replay only deals with one aspect.  Critics have claimed that "human error" is part of the history of the game.  Since when do we start championing mistakes and human error as the just cause over, you know, getting it right.  Plus, as long as baseball fans have Bud Selig as commissioner there will be plenty of human error for everyone to enjoy.

I applaud Bud Selig for entertaining the idea.  Its time to implement it and be done.  No experimenting, there is no great unknown with instant replay.  Its not going to organically grow and take over baseball from Selig, though I'm starting to believe he may be considering this an actual possibility.

Let's play ball.  And then use instant replay to make sure we got it right.