NEW YORK, N.Y. - The officials huddled to sort out the close call, so the TV broadcast showed the clip over and over, the announcers declaring a definite touchdown.Standard fare today — but not so 35 years ago. Mike Renfro, whose lunging catch in the back of the end zone was eventually ruled incomplete, suspects thats why so many fans remember — and rue — the play from the 1979 AFC championship game.Viewers across America took in that moment and fumed, Its clear here in my den, Renfro says.Now fans think that at least a few times per game. Other sports joined the NFL in instituting video reviews, and viewers at home can follow along as their own replay officials.They can watch more and better camera angles in high-definition super slow motion. Rewind the play on their DVRs. Instantly look up analysis and images on social media. Rehash the decision on 24/7 sports television.Officiating is better than its ever been, Mike Pereira insists. But people dont think that.Pereira used to be in charge of ensuring the NFL got calls right. These days, he lets millions of fans know if a call is wrong.After retiring as the leagues officiating chief in 2010, Pereira joined Fox in a newly created role as a rules analyst. The concept proved so popular that other networks hired their own.Hes become such a part of the fabric of watching the game, says John Entz, Foxs executive producer for NFL coverage.Lead announcer Joe Buck used to espouse a less is more philosophy in analyzing questionable calls, not wanting to be burned by his lack of expertise. Then the network added what Buck calls the the greatest gift weve been given: the ability to bring in Pereira to offer an instant, definitive assessment.Fox has leaned on him heavily on critical rulings the last two Sundays.Pereira asserted that pass interference should have been called against the Cowboys in their wild-card win over the Lions. A week later, he correctly predicted that a Dallas catch would be overturned at Green Bay.Buck is no Luddite when it comes to instant replay. Yet he acknowledges he went to sleep two straight Sunday nights feeling a bit conflicted about the thrilling games he had just called: The disputed officiating decisions had overshadowed everything else.The innocence of that is gone, he says.While working the baseball playoffs last fall, Buck happened to catch an old Yankees-Dodgers World Series on MLB Network. There was a close play at first base, and Buck realized he was conditioned to expect nine replays. Instead, the announcers briefly noted it was tough to tell if the runner was safe or out, then moved on.Major League Baseball instituted video reviews for many on-field calls last season after Commissioner Bud Selig long argued human error was part of the game. The NBA has gradually expanded the scope of replay since adopting it in 2002. The NHL started reviewing goals in 1991, with ongoing discussions about widening the use of video.The NFL first tried instant replay from 1986-91 and introduced the current system in 1999.Those advances allow officials to get more and more calls right. They also may make fans, players and coaches less and less tolerant when mistakes are made.Theres more pressure than ever to get it right, Entz says.But some calls will always be wrong, no matter how much replay is expanded in the future.Of the more than 40,000 plays that took place in the 2014 regular season, NFL spokesman Michael Signora says, officials were graded as correct nearly 96 per cent of the time and averaged fewer than one incorrect call per game.NBA referees are correct at a similar rate when they blow their whistles, says Rod Thorn, the leagues president of basketball operations. But when the accuracy of the calls they dont make is factored in, the percentage dips. Thats one of many pieces of data the NBA is now tracking, to try to keep up with the ever-more-demanding expectations of fans who get to dissect slow-motion, HD replays.The standard has been raised because everybody sees these things now, says Thorn, who has been involved with the league in some fashion since 1963.Watch video of old NFL games, Pereira says, and its conspicuous how many mistakes were made. Pereira wonders if the surging popularity of the sport, not to mention the rise of gambling and fantasy football, leaves fans more invested — and accordingly more infuriated at missed calls.Renfro agrees. He refuses to lament that instant replay wasnt available back in January 1980. In fact, he was ambivalent about the NFL instituting it, describing himself as old school.But as the game — and the money involved — got bigger, he came around to the idea. And he figures the most memorable play of his 10-year career probably had something to do with the policy.Fans who list the non-catch as one of the most notable botched calls in NFL history may not recall this: Had the upstart Houston Oilers been awarded the touchdown against the reigning Super Bowl champion Steelers, it merely would have tied the score late in the third quarter. Pittsburgh went on to win 27-13.What sticks in peoples minds is the loop of Renfros feet touching inbounds while NBCs Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen proclaim a touchdown.In Sundays conference championship games, Pereira and CBSs Mike Carey will be on hand for instant analysis. Pereira believes the NFL benefits from educating fans, and hes careful to disagree with a ruling, not criticize a ref.Still, he knows the scrutiny on each call will be relentless. For officials today, he says, the only acceptable level of performance is perfection.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFLWholesale Shoes From China . It all would have been for naught, however, had it not been for some clutch shooting in the fourth quarter by Kobe Bryant and a couple of equally critical hustle plays by Derek Fisher and Pau Gasol in the final minutes. Wholesale Shoes Website . CEO Steve Koonin on Tuesday told the Hawks flagship radio station that he made the decision to discipline Ferry but allowed him to keep his job managing the team. He did not say what the punishment was, but noted that he relied on a law firms three-month investigation of Ferry and him describing Deng as someone who has a little African in him. https://www.wholesaleshoesforcheap.com/ . -- Jake Paterson made 39 saves as the Saginaw Spirit halted the Guelph Storms seven-game win streak with a 6-3 victory on Sunday in Ontario Hockey League action. Wholesale Shoes Cheap .ca. The NHL Play of the Year showdown kicks off with some slick moves going head-to-head with a combination of soft hands and endless patience. Fake Wholesale Shoes BOSTON -- The Boston Bruins own the NHLs best home record. Now they know theyll have home-ice advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs. Johnny Boychuk scored the tiebreaking goal with 6:06 left in the third period, Milan Lucic had two goals and the Bruins clinched the conferences best record with a 5-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday afternoon. With four games remaining on their schedule, the Bruins have 50 regulation and overtime wins -- the leagues first tiebreaker. Second-place Pittsburgh has 44 and cant catch Boston if it wins the rest of its games. "You work so hard for that all season, its nice we could do it here," Lucic said. It was Bostons league-leading 30th home victory. The win also moved Boston two points ahead of St. Louis for the NHLs best record. The Blues lost to Colorado on Saturday. "With the win today we clinched (the conference), and its good for our team," Boston defenceman Torey Krug said. "Were excited about having home ice now." Boston coach Claude Julien knows its been a good season. "You just have to look at our record," he said. "Were at 113 (points). I think that shows you overall weve been a pretty good team. Weve had struggles at times, but I dont think theres an area Id consider a weakness on the team." David Krejci also scored for the Bruins and Patrice Bergeron extended his consecutive point streak to 11 games, setting up Boychuks go-ahead score. Wayne Simmonds and Jay Rosehill scored for the Flyers, who are in a tight race with a group of teams for a playoff spot. "Every game is a must-win," Flyers captain Claude Giroux said. "There are a lot of teams behind us trying to make the playoffs. We have played good enough to be in the position we are right now and we cant forget that. We have to remember that we are a good team and we are in this position because we did a lot of good things this year." Tuukka Rask stopped 24 shots for the Bruins, who had lost their past two games. Ray Emery made 37 saves for the Flyers. Philadelphia has lost three straight. Emery hopes the Flyers can turn thiings around quickly.dddddddddddd "The playoffs come fast and if youre not playing well, normally you see yourselves out pretty quick," he said. "So we definitely want to be sharp going in." Bergeron won a faceoff cleanly back to Boychuk, who fired a slap shot past Emerys glove for the go-ahead goal. Lucic scored less than a minute later and Chris Kelly added an empty-netter with 21 seconds to play. The teams were tied 2-2 entering the third period after the Flyers came back twice. Trailing 1-0, the Flyers snapped a lengthy scoreless stretch on Simmonds power-play goal 14:36 into the second when he gained possession of a shot off the back boards and slipped a backhand behind Rask. Philadelphia was shut out in its past two games, and it halted the scoreless stretch at 165:01. But Boston regained the lead 19 seconds later when Krejci circled the net and fed Lucic, who one-timed a shot past Emery from the slot. Philadelphia then tied it at 2 when Rosehill collected Michael Raffls pass alone at the bottom of the right circle, spun quickly and beat Rask inside the far post at 16:21. Krejcis goal 15:56 into the first period gave Boston a 1-0 lead. He scored off the rebound of Loui Erikssons shot, collecting the puck and shifting to his right before firing a wrist shot into the open side of the net. NOTES: Boston F Jarome Iginla was sidelined for the second time in three games, moving Eriksson to the top line. The team said the first one was because of a lower body injury, but didnt have injury details of this one before the game. "Its very minor," Julien said. "More of a maintenance day." ... Bruins D Kevan Miller was also scratched with an unspecified injury. ... The Flyers host Buffalo on Sunday before three straight road games. ... Boston is off until it opens a two-game road trip at Minnesota on Tuesday. The Bruins are at Winnipeg on Thursday. ... Boston F Reilly Smith was presented the teams Seventh Player Award before the game. The award is voted by the fans for the player that performs "above and beyond" expectations. ... It was the Flyers only regular season visit to Boston. ' ' '