| Sources |
- [S142] Newspaper Article, Chicago Tribune, record number: 19730910dn098, 10 Sep 1973.
Paul J. Pittges obituary
- [S142] Newspaper Article, Chicago Sun-Times, 24 Mar 1999.
Michael Jordan, Albert Belle, Kerry Wood, Chris Chelios
OK, but if anybody throws at Sammy Sosa, I'm pinching his head off.
The NFL season is still months away, but it's never too early for some controversy over instant replay. Listen to a couple of retired officials and see what you think.
"The challenge system is great," says Jack Pittges of Chicago, who had extensive experience in the WFL, the USFL and NFL Europe. "There will be no nitpicking over every little thing. The coaching staffs will pick out only those calls that are crucial and obviously wrong. It will be a great time-saver."
But Cal Lepore, a retired official who spent six years as an NFL replay referee, says there are going to be problems.
"If I have a play on the sideline, I want a camera on the sideline, and you don't always get it," says Lepore, who lives in Oak Forest. "My vantage point in the booth may not be the one they want."
Neither Pittges nor Lepore had an answer for what I consider to be the biggest flaw of the new replay system, the fact that teams will need an assistant coach upstairs to look at the replay before they decide whether to lodge a challenge.
Not every play is shown again during a game, of course, and what if a team is in a hurry-up offense? There may not be enough time for its opponent to decide whether to challenge a play. I can foresee a TV network being accused of favoritism for showing a replay that favors one team but not broadcasting one that helps the opponent.
Pittges said replay worked well in the leagues he officiated where they didn't seem to have the same communication problems between officials on the field and those in the booth that the NFL was never able to solve. But Lepore, who was the replay official for the last Super Bowl in which it was employed, remembers the problems, too, and he's not sure they've been solved.
...
E-mail Ron Rapoport at rjr@suntimes.com.
Edition: LATE SPORTS FINAL Section: SPORTS Page: 133 Column: BETWEEN THE LINES
- [S142] Newspaper Article, Chicago Sun-Times, 7 Nov 1999.
The fans' memories
Jack Pittges
Chief, Chicago Bears chain crew
Years ago, I was shopping at Water Tower Place. I ran for the elevator as the door was about to shut. I said, "Please hold it." To my surprise, one person was on the elevtor: Walter Payton. I said, "Thanks but excuse me, I know you're Walter Payton." He replied in that soft voice, "Well, yes I am." Then I said, "I hate to bother you, but do you think I could have your autograph." Of course, he said, "No bother, yes." But then I couldn't find anything to write on. His floor was comingandhewas getting off, so I quickly pulled out my checkbook and he signed across my check, "Walter Payton."
- [S142] Newspaper Article, Chicago Sun-Times, 13 Nov 2002.
Maybe Bears can find an overlooked QB, too
.
.
.
Football ain't beanbag
Jack Pittges, who was a head linesman for the USFL and NFL Europe and a member of the Bears' sideline chain gang for years, felt great empathy for the officiating crew caught in the middle of that huge fourth-quarter meltdown Sunday in Champaign. But it was the controversy about whether the Patriots made that crucial first down that really made him laugh. You'd be surprised how many games in the last two minutes in a hurry-up offense a play was run with just the head linesman's beanbag marking the spot," Pittges says. In the excitement of the game, nobody notices. When you do get there, you just line things up off the beanbag, and nobody pays attention." ... NBC might not be quite as thrilled as Notre Dame fans about the success the Irish have been enjoying this season, but it's got to be close. Ratings are up 36 percent over last season.
.
.
.
E-mail Ron Rapoport at rjr@suntimes.com.
Section: SPORTS Page: 149 Column: BETWEEN THE LINES
|
Search | Advanced Search
1931 - (92 years)
, d. Sep 1973 (Age 85 years)