Compiled by PHILIP REID

Grieving Djokovic makes difficult decision

PERHAPS we shouldn’t read too much into Rafa Nadal’s defeat of world number one Novak Djokovic in the Monte Carlo Masters – certainly, there’s no changing of the guard at the top of the rankings just yet! Djokovic still holds a huge lead over Nadal.

The Serb’s loss to the Spaniard came just three days after the death of Djokovic’s grandfather and an indication of how close the pair were has been demonstrated by the player’s decision not to play in next week’s Serbia Open.

The Djokovic family organise the tournament in Belgrade and Novak – emotionally drained and unable to summon the mental strength since his grandfather’s death – has described missing the event as “one of the most difficult decisions in my career, but it is impossible for me to play and think about tennis”.

Good idea to keep hawk eye on AFL's video reviews

AT TIMES, the Gaelic Athletic Association has seemed to move with all the speed of a procrastinating dinosaur when questions of video technology and such like arise. Perhaps, after all, such wariness in moving too fast is warranted, if all of the debate currently under way among the association’s closest international sporting cousins – Australian Rules – is anything to go by.

Only last month, the AFL made the move to incorporate video reviews to assist officials after a number of bloopers where goals were incorrectly awarded in two of the last three Grand Finals.

The goal-umpiring mistakes seemed to make their reluctance to embrace such technology incomprehensible. If it worked in rugby, the argument went, why not Aussie Rules?

So, after a short pre-season trial period in cup competitions, those tasked with governing Aussie Rules swiftly adopted the use of the “score review system” which it believed would put an end to poor decision-making by using video replays – a la the TMO in rugby union – to eradicate wrong calls.

Where the naked eye had to make a split second and instant decision that was prone to error, surely slow-motion HD reviews would prove the answer to all ills? Surely it would take human error out of any equation?

It hasn’t proven to be so simple, as the ANZAC day match in midweek – the Aussie Rules equivalent of American Football’s big day out at Thanksgiving – only served to highlight the fact that even high definition images aren’t always what they seem.

The game in question, Collingwood against Essendon at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, attracted an attendance in excess of 82,000 and a national television audience.

It was the first real test case for the new video system and, as perhaps was to be expected, the two incidents sent for review proved controversial: in one case, a “goal” from Collingwood’s Tyson Goldsak wasn’t awarded; and, then, at the death, a soccer-style goal from the same team’s Jarryd Blair was given, despite the video evidence suggesting the ball bounced up and hit his hand before crossing the line.

The subsequent fall-out from the video reviews prompted Richmond’s coach Damien Hardwick – whose team wasn’t involved in the match – to urge the AFL to “just let the bloody umpires do their job.”

The common theme from various coaches has been the video referrals are causing more confusion than they’ve been worth, both in terms of the stoppages – affecting the momentum of games – and the fact that, even after reviews, decisions have proven inconclusive.

It must be said, clubs were forewarned that no system was perfect. The AFL’s operations manager Adrian Anderson – before its introduction – claimed: “I think you have to acknowledge that you’re not going to eradicate errors . . . . the idea is to reduce (errors) as much as possible without slowing the game down.”

Of course, the debate about using video technology – with the GAA preferring to go down the route of experimentation in championship matches at Croke Park with the Hawk Eye system used in tennis – is a worldwide one and mostly rears its ugly head in relation to its lack of use by soccer’s governing bodies, with Fifa president Sepp Blatter once arguing that refereeing mistakes added to the “fascination and popularity” of the sport.

Blatter has changed his tune on the issue in recent months, advocating that goal-line technology – not TMOs – could be in use in time for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. No fewer than 10 different systems have been tested in the past year by Fifa and further tests are being held on the two deemed to be the most impressive systems.

The GAA – like Blatter’s game – has fascinated its followers with human errors by referees.

Joe Sheridan’s goal for Meath against Louth in the Leinster final two years ago; Benny Coulter’s goal for Down against Cork in the 2010 All-Ireland semi-final; the controversy in the Wexford-Limerick football qualifier last year. All of which combined to prompt the GAA into the planned experimentation with Hawk Eye for this year’s championship matches at Croke Park.

Events Down Under this week, however, will probably make the powerbrokers in the GAA think they’ve made the right decision to test the waters with Hawk Eye rather than experiment with the use of TMOs.

After all, if Aussie Rules is the closest thing to Gaelic football, it would make perfect sense to sit back and watch how their counterparts in the AFL deal with such issues as balls crossing the line or going between the posts with their video review system.

What’s the rush?

On this occasion, as far as TMOs are concerned, the GAA may be right to sit on the fence.

Why not let the AFL do all the guinea pig work and then decide if it is worth pursuing the TMO option to go with the Hawk Eye technology? All in it’s own good time.

Fury throwing the right shapes

ONLY time will tell if Tyson Fury will work his way into our sporting consciousness.

The son of Gypsy John, a bare-knuckle fighter from Galway, Fury – in case you missed it – is the newest Irish professional heavyweight boxing champion and, if that simple fact will hardly have the Klitschko brothers shaking in their boots, there is no harm in opting for sporting romance and hoping that some day he will step into the ring in a quest for the world title.

Why not dream?

Anyway, Fury – who beat Martin Rogan in the Odyssey in Belfast a fortnight ago to claim the Irish belt – left a positive impression when chatting with Ryan Tubridy on last week’s Late, Late Show and came across as a likeable if not so gentle giant.

The guy stands six-feet nine-inches and weighs in at over 18-stones, which is quite a contrast to the one pound he weighed when born two months prematurely and fit neatly in to the palm of his father’s hand.

Fury, born in Cheshire, previously held the British and Commonwealth champion (he beat Dereck Chisora to win both of those titles) until he vacated them and has no difficulty wearing the dual badges of representing both nationalities and, although only 23, Fury seems to be throwing the right shapes in turning himself into a marketable boxer and a potential challenger to either Wladimir or Vitali in time.

One thing in Fury’s favour as he continues to build up a reputation is the beleaguered heavyweight division is crying out for genuine contenders, especially given how the Klitschkos – who own all the world belts – have consistently dealt with potential challengers in recent years.

While Fury’s journey to heavyweight contender has a way to go yet (he is currently 16th in the heavyweight rankings), a more immediate indicator of new blood will come in Germany next week where Bulgaria’s Kubrat Pulev takes on Ukrainian-born German Alexander Dimitrenko.

The winner of the fight is expected to become the next in line to challenge one of the Klitschkos.

Down the road, the name of Tyson Fury will eventually figure.

Just as his father believed when inflicting the name Tyson on him at a time when the medical staff worked their own wonders on the premature infant all those years ago.

Novel pitch for a prom date

LEXI Thompson, the US teenager who has already won on both the European Ladies Tour and the LPGA Tour, has come up with a rather novel method to find a date for her school prom next month: she has asked US military personnel – aged between 18 and 20 and preferably over six feet tall – to apply on her Facebook page.

Potential dates have been asked to submit a photograph with a caption explaining why they should be the one to accompany Thompson to the prom.

The decision on who will be by her side for the night out at Pier 66 will be made by a online vote, which will be a 25 per cent determining factor.

Naturally, Lexi’s own choice of date will be the real factor.

Her’s accounts for 75 per cent of the decision!

Chelsea final numbers add up in the end

YOU don’t have to be a Chelsea fan to be still pinching yourself over the team’s two-legged 3-2 aggregate win over Barcelona in the Champions League.

Anyone who watched Chelsea’s performance in the Camp Nou the other night had to be left in a state of incredulity, but especially so when you analyse the statistics from the 2-2 draw: Barcelona had 72 per cent of possession and put together a mind-blowing 660 passes to 117 for Chelsea over the 90 minutes.

The Catalans also had 10 corners – to Chelsea’s one – and Barcelona had no fewer than 17 shots on goal as against Chelsea’s seven. Let’s not mention the fact Barcelona also had a numerical advantage for the majority of the match after John Terry’s idiotic knee into Sanchez’s back.

Pointedly, as that saying about “lies, damn lies and statistics” reminds us, there is only one statistic that matters in a sport: the result.

So, while Chelsea might have only had the ball 28 per cent of the time, the overall score – 3-2 in their favour – is the only statistic that is relevant.