Why do we rely on officials, referees and umpires to make calls in those areas where technology can do a better, totally consistent job? Screw tradition. Wired Magazine showed the results of some studies on officiating:
• Close calls went in favor of the home team 15.5% more often
• Red uniforms got less fouls than blue uniforms
• The brain makes tiny fraction of a second mistakes when putting together visual information. The 2007 Wimbledon line call errors were studied. 87.5% of the bad called could be attributed to the way the brain processes images.
A few nights ago I was watching a Ranger baseball game. There were 2 outs on the Twins. The umpire called ball four on a pitch that the pitch tracker clearly showed should have been strike 3. The twins scored 4 runs that inning after it should have been over. Wouldn’t it better to let the pitch tracker call balls and strikes in baseball? Or technology to determine balls that are in or out in tennis? Home teams and star players will no longer have the advantage of bad calls in their favor. The best team that night will more likely win. Who cares that officials don’t like it? They shouldn’t count because all too often they don’t make the right call and all too often a game is in the balance. And who likes officials anyway?
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