The LASIK Blog

Umpires Again in Rare Form in World Series: Forget Instant Replay, "It's LASIK time!!"

Check out our LASIK the Refs caps

Well, I made it to Yankee Stadium last night to watch game 2 with my daughter.  It was a great game, won by the Yankees 3-1.  Once again the umpires reconfirmed their need for LASIK!  Lucikily the 2 bad, offsetting calls by 1st base umpire, Brian Gorman, did not affect the outcome of the game.

Reported in the New York Times:

The first disputed play occurred with the Yankees batting in the seventh. Ahead, 3-1, the Yankees had Melky Cabrera at second and Jorge Posada at first with one out. Johnny Damon pulled a low line drive to first. Howard scooped the ball with his glove on the ground and Gorman ruled an out. The Yankees thought the ball hit the ground.

Howard immediately threw to second base, where shortstop Jimmy Rollins applied the tag while Posada was standing on the base, and Posada was ruled out.

When asked about the play, Howard was evasive. “Did I catch it?” he asked. “Well, they called him out.”

Yankees Manager Joe Girardi argued vehemently and told his players not to take the field while the umpires conferred between innings, but none of the umpires saw the play differently, so the ruling stood.

I must have received 10 phone calls and texts from friends at home, watching on TV fuming over this call.  Unfortunately, they must have a policy in Yankee Stadium of not showing the instant replay of close calls.  This is probably wise, as there might have been a riot.

With all the bad calls this post season there has been a renewed interest in instant replay.  According to ESPN.com:

MLB commissioner Bud Selig said he has been soliciting outside opinion from managers and general managers the past few weeks and said no one offered a good explanation why the umpiring was so bad in the first rounds of the postseason.

"The more baseball people I talk to, there is a lot of trepidation about it and I think their trepidation is fair," Selig told reporters before Game 2 of the World Series on Thursday. "I've spent a lot of time [on this] over the past month and will spend a lot of time in the ensuing months as well. I don't want to overreact. You can make light of that but when you start to think you're going to have more intrusions -- and even if their good intrusions -- it's something that you have to be very careful about. Affecting the game on the field is not something I really want to do."

Personally, I don't think instant replay is the answer, sometimes the umps still get it wrong after a review:

“We looked at the replay and it looks like a catch,” said the crew chief Gerry Davis, who was the right-field umpire for Game 2.

Obviously the entire umpire crew got it wrong, both during the game and after the game as well!  I again make my offer to MLB:  Send your umps to me at the conclusion of the season, I will be happy to provide LASIK to them, free of charge..  anything to improve the officiating.  CALL ME!

Its off to Philly tomorrow nite, I will hopefully score some tickets, watch a better officiated game, and a Yankees win!

Free LASIK Again Offered to Major League Umpires

Three bad calls in Game 3 and several in Game 4 of the ALCS between the Yankees and Angels have again brought attention to the inconsistent officiating in baseball.  Hats off to third base umpire, Tim McClelland, who admitted to his bad calls  in a post game interview.  "After looking at replays..  obviously there were two missed calls, not obviously, there were two missed calls...  I'm out there trying to do my job the best that I can.."  Once again EyeCare 20/20 is offering to aid the umpires in doing their job better.  Forget instant replay.  Tim McClelland, or any major league umpire, give us a call.  We would be happy to improve your vision free of charge with LASIK! 

This is what our LASIK the Refs program is all about.  Here is a copy of a recent press release:

LASIK THE REFS!

EAST HANOVER, NJ - Due to the spate of recent blown calls in professional sporting events, including last night’s American League Championship Series, local ophthalmologist Dr. Cary Silverman is offering free LASIK surgery to any major league umpire or referee.  As Medical Director of EyeCare 20/20, Cary M. Silverman, M.D., oversees one of the premier vision care facilities in the tri-state area, and the first practice in New Jersey to offer treatment using custom wavefront LASIK with the ALLEGRETTO WAVE® laser.

 “This is maddening,” Silverman said, “These are the greatest athletes on the biggest stage in the world and they deserve to have the games officiated correctly.  Frankly, so many of the errors from this baseball post-season and the NFL regular season could have been avoided if the officials had better eyesight.  LASIK is the best way to achieve that and I make an open offer to any official from the major league sports to utilize our service, for the good of the game.”

There have been several calls in the Twins/Yankees and Angels/Yankees playoff series that officials admitted were incorrect after viewing replays post-game.

LASIK uses a computer-controlled laser to reshape the cornea and correct refractive errors such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. Dr. Silverman employs the latest advances in LASIK surgery to provide patients with the highest level of vision correction possible. With the ALLEGRETTO WAVE® laser technology, he is able to customize the LASIK procedure to the vision needs of each individual patient.

Silverman was recently in the news for providing free LASIK to eight current members of several United States Olympic teams, including medal contending speedskaters Chad Hedrick and Katherine Reutter.  For more information on Dr. Silverman’s Olympic initiative, go to: www.lasikforthegold.com.  For more about EyeCare 20/20, go to: www.eyecare2020.com. For more information on recent blown calls and the LASIK THE REFS program, go to: http://facebook.com/lasiktherefs.

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LASIK the Refs: Thank-you Phil Cuzzi!

Mark Teixeira's walk off home run in the 11th inning ended one of the most exciting baseball games this long time Yankees fan has seen in a while.  This game will more likely remembered for another blown call.  In the top of the 11th, Umpire Phil Cuzzi called a ball hit by the Twins' Joe Mauer foul.  Replays show that the ball landed in fair territory, costing Mauer a double.  He ended up with a single instead.  The Twins did end up loading the bases with no outs and still failed to score a run, so who knows if this bad call really made any difference in the game's outcome.

There is an excellent article in today's Star Ledger, "An ump's life means living on a fine line".  This article discusses Cuzzi's journey to become a MLB ump.  What I like about Cuzzi is that he is a stand up guy who admitted his mistake Friday night. 

"There is no excuse.  I missed the play.  It's a terrible feeling.  As badly as everyone on that field may have felt, I don't think any of them had a worse night's sleep than me."

It turns out that Cuzzi is a Jersey guy.  He lives in Nutley, no more that 20 minutes from EyeCare 20/20!  Once more extend my offer to a ref in need.  If Phil Cuzzi wears glasses or contact lenses, and if LASIK could improve his performance on the field, I would be more than happy to provide the LASIK free of charge.  Even if that call did benefit my Yankees!

LASIK the Lineswoman!

This years US Open was very entertaining...  I will start this post by saying that there was no excuse for Serena William's outburst that ended her semifinal match with Kim Clijsters at the US Open this weekend.  Although she has since publicly apologized for her actions, there is very little discussion about the call itself. WIth the score 15-30 at a critical moment in the set, how could the unnamed lines-woman make a foot fault call unless it was blatant?  Video review has shown that it was a blown call, there was no foot fault!

According to Geoff MacDonald in his blog, Straight sets:

A foot fault occurs when the server touches the baseline or the court with either foot. Sometimes a player’s foot slides forward and touches the line inadvertently, and, because a player can’t see the rule violation, the foot-fault call provokes a lot of anger. Often the players’ frustration with themselves is then directed at the line official. For Serena Williams, who has been called for foot faults throughout her career, the call came at a critical moment in the match. Down by a set and serving at 5-6 and 15-30, the call on her second serve gave Kim Clijsters two match points.

Carol Cox, a veteran tennis official who evaluates line officials and referees for the United States Tennis Association, said there were two schools of thought on making a foot-fault call at a critical juncture in the match. “One philosophy is that it is a rule, and you call it when you see it,” Cox said. “The second way of thinking is more in line with a good N.B.A. official: You don’t make a call that can decide a match unless it’s flagrant.”

John McEnroe had a similar view to the N.B.A. comparison when he was commenting on the CBS broadcast on Saturday night. “You can’t call that there,” he said.

The Lines-woman, who remains nameless, blew the call.  Maybe her glasses fogged up before the call, distorting her vision, maybe she needs a new refraction and pair of glasses.  Regardless of the reason, this cannot happen again, Linesman should not be involved in the outcome of a semifinal match at a Grand Slam Event!  I hereby extend our LASIK the Refs offer:   I invite the Linesman to contact me at EyeCare 20/20 and come in for free LASIK surgery, so that she can make a proper call ot non-call in the future.

LASIK the Refs!: Scott Cherrey Discusses his LASIK Experience

Professional Hockey Ref Scott Cherrey had his LASIK surgery yesterday.  Today, 1 day after the surgery his vision is already 20/15!  In this video, Scott discusses his experience at EyeCare 20/20.

LASIK the Refs!: Scott Cherrey 2nd to Get Free LASIK

Professional Hockey Ref Scott Cherrey flew down to New Jersey today to get his LASIK through EyeCare 20/20's "LASIK the Refs!". 

This program started Back in September, when Ed Hochuli blew a call that cost the San Diego Chargers the game.  At the time, I offered Hochuli a chance to make his job easier, free LASIK surgery.  He has yet to accept the offer!

Paul Stewart was the first ref to take advantage of EyeCare 20/20's "LASIK the Refs!" program back in March.  He has been encouraging several Professional Hockey Refs to take advantage of this program.  Scott Cherrey was the first to do so.

Today's surgery went perfectly!  in this video, Scott discusses what he thinks LASIK will do to help him in his officiating.

Paul Stewart LASIK a Success

As I mentioned  yesterday, Paul Stewart was the first ref to take advantage of EyeCare 20/20's "LASIK the Refs!" program.  One of the most successful and respected individuals in hockey, Paul Stewart has done it all.  Player, Referee, and now Coach as he is the ECAC Director of Officiating.  Paul Stewart may be the only person to ever make it on the Ice in the NHL twice.Paul had his surgery yesterday, and is already seeing 20/20!!  

Here Paul briefly discusses his LASIK experience at EyeCare 20/20.

Paul Stewart's LASIK Video Testimonial I

As I mentioned earlier today, Paul Stewart is the first ref to take advantage of EyeCare 20/20's "LASIK the Refs!" program.  Here Paul briefly discusses why he has decided to undergo LASIK.

Paul Stewart 1st to Get Free LASIK Thru "LASIK the Refs!" Offer

Back in September, Ed Hochuli blew a call that cost the San Diego Chargers the game.  At the time, I offered Hochuli a chance to make his job easier, free LASIK surgery.  He has yet to accept the offer! 

In October, I lamented about the rash of bad calls plaguing the World Series.  At this point I extended my free LASIK offer to any official or referee in any Major Professional sport.  Again, I had no takers... 

There have been many other bad calls made by the refs over th past few months, some I have written about, others I have ignored...  After each bad call I have reasserted my offer for free LASIK on any professional official.  Again I have had no takers, until today!!

Paul Stewart contacted us several months ago about our "LASIK the Refs!" program.  He was very interested in having LASIK and decided to take us up on our offer.  One of the most successful and respected individuals in hockey, Paul Stewart has done it all.  Player, Referee, and now Coach as he is the ECAC Director of Officiating.  Paul Stewart may be the only person to ever make it on the Ice in the NHL twice.

Well, Paul made it down to New Jersey today to have his LASIK!  All went well, and he is now sleeping it off.  He is due back in the office tomorrow for his post op check, I will keep you all abreast of how he is doing, along with some video testimonials from him.

LASIK the Refs: Can't See the Play Clock?! Cost the Titans..

Saturday's AFC Playoff game  had another controversial call during the Raven's game winning drive.  The Ravens were driving with a 3rd down and 2 to go on their own 32 yard line.  There was 2:52 to go in the game and the play clock expired.  The ball was snapped 1.32 seconds later and Joe Flacco hit Todd Heap with a pass to keep the drive alive.  No delay of game was called.  So instead of a 3rd and 7 there's a new 1st down and the Ravens go on to kick the game winning field goal!

 

Maybe the ref was unable to see the play clock clearly.  I said it before, and I'll say it again:  "Ref, get your eyes examined, if you are a good candidate for LASIK, come to me and I'll do it for free!!"