On this weeks TSNFC podcast we spent a long time discussing the handball decision that effectively ended Vancouver Whitecaps season. Air Force 1 España Baratas . Much has been said and written about whether or not World Cup referee Mark Geiger made the right call to penalize Kendall Waston in last weeks playoff match at Dallas, with many differing opinions on the matter. There doesnt seem to be a consensus, although Geigers boss - referees chief Peter Walton - said it was the correct decision and a standard call. As a veteran Premier League referee who now runs the Professional Referees Organization in North America, Waltons opinion should be respected, but the controversy surrounding the decision - and many other handball decisions we see all over the world each week - could easily be avoided if there were a change to the law. In my view, there are two things wrong with the current law. Firstly, the punishment doesnt fairly reflect the size of the crime. Secondly, there is too much room for interpretation of the referee which makes consistency of decisions almost impossible. Here are the main points of the current FIFA Law: Handling the ball involves a deliberate act of a player making contact with the ball with his hand or arm. The referee must take the following into consideration: ? the movement of the hand towards the ball (not the ball towards the hand) ? the distance between the opponent and the ball (unexpected ball) ? the position of the hand does not necessarily mean that there is an infringement Deliberate - done consciously and intentionally I dont think Kendall Waston made a conscious and intentional decision to handle the ball inside the penalty area in the last 10 minutes of a playoff match. In my mind it was a momentary lapse in concentration from the towering defender rather than a deliberate act. In relation to this law, it seems deliberate can also mean a player didnt react quickly enough to move his hand/arm out of the way of the ball. But the fact the law allows such ambiguity means officials are in the spotlight more than necessary whether or not they get the decision right. There must be a better way. Although video replays will certainly assist officials decision making in other areas, in the instance of Waston it wouldnt have made much difference because even with review, the decision would have been made depending on the officials interpretation of the law. One suggestion I have seen is to award a penalty anytime the ball hits a hand or arm inside the area whether it is intentional or not. A clear rule - it doesnt matter how it happens, if the ball strikes the hand, it is a penalty. Theres very little room for argument and interpretation there, but I think it would lead to far too many penalties and also an excessive number of game changing moments. Again, the punishment wouldnt match the offence. New Law So how about this. In order to provide clarity, I would be in favour of a rule change along the following lines: Anytime a player makes contact with the ball inside the penalty area with his hand or arm, an indirect free kick will be given. There is no room for interpretation - if it hits the arm or hand whether deliberate or not, it is an indirect free kick. There is one exception. If a player handles the ball to prevent a goal or an obvious goal scoring opportunity, a penalty is given. With this rule applied, Kendall Wastons handball would have been penalized with an indirect free kick, still giving the opposing team the benefit of a set piece close to goal but eliminating the need for a referee to award a penalty for an incident that was not going to end in a goal. For me, that far better reflects the size of the infringement and also would remove much of the debate surrounding penalty kicks awarded for handball. Im not na?ve enough to expect that changing the law would eliminate all problems. Im sure in some instances there would still be controversy and debate surrounding what is or isnt an obvious goal scoring opportunity. But I believe it would drastically decrease the amount of times a game is decided by a referees decision and therefore lead to more post-game talk about players instead of officiating – and that can only be a good thing. Air Force 1 Baratas . Booth picked up 65 caps after making her national team debut in 2002 at the age of 17. She most recently played for Sky Blue FC of the National Womens Soccer League. "It just felt like it was my time to move on," she said in a phone interview from her hometown of Burlington, Ont. Air Force 1 Baratas España . Pierre last November, only to watch St. Pierre leave the UFC octagon with his welterweight title belt and a split-decision victory. http://www.airforce1baratas.es/ .Y. -- Major League Soccer has agreed to new measures to protect gay players from discrimination and harassment as a result of meetings with New Yorks attorney general.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Pittsburgh Penguins hope to rebound from a loss in the opener of the Eastern Conference second round series when they host the rival New York Rangers in Sundays Game 2 from CONSOL Energy Center. New York placed second in the Metropolitan Division this season, finishing 13 points behind the Penguins, but the Rangers were able to strike first in this best-of-seven set, taking Game 1 by a 3-2 score in overtime. Derick Brassard scored at 3:06 of the extra session to lift the Rangers to victory, although the end of the game was far from conventional. Brassard knew he scored off a feed from Benoit Pouliot, but the game went on. Seconds later, with the Penguins still scrambling around in their zone, Brassard set up Pouliot for what appeared to be the winning goal. However, the original shot by Brassard was reviewed and showed the puck clearly going underneath the crossbar and inside the left post. Because the puck sprung back out so quickly, it wasnt evident that it was a good goal and play continued, albeit momentarily. "It was all (Pouliots) play," Brassard said. "First of all, he cut (off) the pass behind the net and right away he found me in front of the net. At first, I thought it went in. I thought it went under the bar and the ref said it wasnt in. The puck came back to me and (Pouliot) was open. It was a great feeling." New York opened a playoff series with an OT win for the first time since Game 1 of the Patrick Division Finals on Apr. 17, 1986 at Washington . The Blueshirts have won eight of the last 10 playoff series in which they won Game 1, including four of the last six playoff series in which they won Game 1 on the road. Henrik Lundqvist made 34 saves for the Rangers, including one on Lee Stempniak in the final 11 seconds of regulation. New York won a Game 7 at home against Philadelphia on Wednesday to advance to the second round for the third consecutive year. Air Force 1 España. The Flyers and Rangers had played Game 6 in Philly on Tuesday, so Fridays tilt was New Yorks third test in three different cities over the span of four days. When the Rangers host Pittsburgh in Game 3 on Monday it will mark five games in seven days for New York. Despite New Yorks recent workload and the fact that the Penguins had three days off ahead of Fridays opener, the home club was the team that looked flat for large stretches of Game 1. "For whatever reason, we didnt come out hard enough," said Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby. "I thought those goals in the second definitely gave us a boost. I thought from there on we had some good chances. Pretty even after that." Stempniak and James Neal scored second-period goals for Pittsburgh, which outshot the visitors by a 36-27 margin in the loss. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 24-of-27 shots for the Pens after struggling at times during his teams first- round win over Columbus. "They got the first one tonight. Its disappointing, but (we) got to have a short memory," said Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma. Both teams were 0-for-4 on the power play. The Rangers have failed to score 25 straight times with the man advantage dating back to its first-round series against Philadelphia. The Penguins have won all four previous playoff series with the Rangers. After Fridays loss, Pittsburgh fell to 16-5 all-time against New York in the postseason. Pittsburgh defenceman Brooks Orpik missed Game 1 with an undisclosed injury and he is questionable for Game 2. Orpik also sat out Game 6 against Columbus and Robert Bortuzzo could fill in for him on Sunday for a third straight game. ' ' '