A member of the AFLs laws of the game committee believes umpires made a bad error in awarding a costly 50m penalty against Sydney that gifted Hawthorn a goal in their five-point win.Swans captain Kieren Jack was controversially penalised for entering the protected zone of Hawk Jonathan ORourke right on three-quarter time at the SCG on Thursday night, allowing the visitors to slot a crucial major.Former Collingwood premiership player Michael Christian, who is on the AFLs laws committee, said it was a mistake to penalise Jack because he had already been in the protected zone when ORourke marked.You have to get out of the area immediately but you dont have to run sideways nor on an angle, Christian told radio station RSN on Friday morning.The rule is designed if youre outside the protected zone and you run into the protected zone, 50 straight away.But when youre already in there youve got to give time to the player to run out.I think it was a mistake by the umpire because he was already in there.He ran out immediately. He didnt sprint, but he was going quickly enough to get out of the area, realised he was in there and the whistle blew.Bad error, I reckon.It was one of two late 50m penalties against the Swans and preceded another given against Ben McGlynn, who was deemed to have entered the protected zone in a dramatic final quarter, leading Jonathon Ceglar to score.The Twitter hashtag #FreeKickHawthorn went viral as Swans fans vented their frustrations, but AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan reckoned the penalties were both clearly there.I dont think anyones disputing the 50s were there, McLachlan told 3AW.Sydney coach John Longmire wasnt sure whether the interpretation of the 50m rule had changed, but didnt intend to seek clarification from the AFLs umpiring department.I dont know, ask the umpires, I really dont know to be honest, Longmire said.A miffed Longmire did question the games uneven free-kick count, which finished at 15-9 to the Hawks but had been more lopsided earlier.Obviously we were undisciplined because the free-kick count was 3-13 at three-quarter time, Longmire said.I dont think Ive seen a differential like that for quite a while.Well have to get better at our discipline, clearly, because thats a big differential.Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson found the umpiring to be pretty strong but observed the obvious challenge with the 50m rule lay in the consistency of its interpretation. Vans Shoes Sale . The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling "puts an end to my dreams of being a top player," the 27-year-old Troicki said in a statement. "I worked my entire life for it, and it has been taken away from me in one afternoon by a doctor I didnt know," said Troicki, whose ranking peaked at No. Discount Vans Shoes . Instead of dwelling on the negative, Oates focused on what was good about the clubs recent play. It worked. http://www.vansoutletsale.com/ . PETERSBURG, Fla. Cheap Vans Shoes . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. Vans Shoes Clearance . Cuban testified Thursday that he was upset when the companys CEO told him news that would reduce the value of his shares, for which hed paid $7.5 million. But he said he did nothing improper when he sold those shares over the next two days.You can debate long and hard over whether the Toronto Blue Jays top priority in the offseason should be a catcher, a second baseman, a top of the rotation pitcher or all of the above. But for now, lets just look at how difficult it is to get a top-notch pitcher. When the Blue Jays aquired the likes of Jack Morris, Dave Stewart, Roger Clemens and even Doyle Alexander, it was through free agency. In the case of Morris and Stewart - besides the lure of big money contracts - it was the ability of Paul Beeston and Pat Gillick to convince them the Jays were on the verge of winning a World Series. It was somewhat the same with Clemens when he joined the team in 1997, though at the time there were those in the game who believed he had pitched his best years in Boston and was starting to slip. Alexander was a struggling Yankees castoff who seemed to be near the end of the line. A.J Burnett was also a free agent. Last winter, Alex Anthopoulos stunned the baseball world by trading for three quality starters in 2 deals, getting Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle from the Marlins and R.A. Dickey from the Mets. Although those deals havent exactly panned out, you still cant understate how incredible a feat it was to aquire three starters with such resumes in one offseason. If you look back though over the Blue Jays history, there arent too many other top-end starters the team has been able to trade for. When they landed David Wells from the Yankees in the spring of 1999, it was Clemens himself who exercised a side deal with the Jays to force a trade. It was quality for quality. The Blue Jays picked up Juan Guzman from the Dodgers in 1987 for second baseman Mike Sharperson. At the time of that deal though, Guzman was a month from turning 22 and didnt actually crack the Blue Jays roster until 1991. David Cone is the only top notch starter the Jays traded for twice. In August of 1992, they got him from the Mets for Jeff Kent - who would later blossom into a star with the Giants - and outfielder Ryan Thompson. Cone left for Kansas City as a free agent after the Blue Jays won their first World Series, but the Jays got him back again in 1995 for David Sinnes, Tony Medrano and Chris Stynes - who never came close to what Cone was worth. The Blue Jays 1995 season crumbled despite all thhe springtime promise and the team shipped Cone to the Yankees in July for Jason Jarvis, Mike Gordon and Marty Janzen - three pitchers who didnt exactly have distinguished big league careers.dddddddddddd The point is that the Blue Jays have probably traded away more quality pitching than they have aquired through deals, including Guzman, Clemens and Roy Halladay. If the Blue Jays go the free agent route in the offseason, the pickings are pretty slim. The Royals James Shields, whos only 6-8 this season but still eats a lot of innings, is out there. But the team has a contract option for next season worth $12 million. The best of the rest include the Rangers Matt Garza, the Yankees Hiroki Kuroda (whos closing in on 40), the Reds Bronson Arroyo and of course, A.J. Burnett - who opted out of his contract the first time he was with the Jays to sign with the Yankees. Id never bet against Alex Anthopoulos based on what he did last winter, but its going to be a lot more difficult to get the pitcher the Blue Jays need this time around. Elsewhere, catcher Travis DArnaud - one of the top prospects the Jays gave up to the Mets for Dickey - could play his first big league game for New York as soon as this weekend. Catcher John Buck, who also went to the Mets in that deal, and his wife are expecting a child any day now. DArnaud was promoted to Triple-A Las Vegas this week in part so he would be in close proximity to Phoenix where the Mets are playing this weekend. Yankee Stadium is the place to be Friday night and the whole weekend. Alex Rodriguez is playing in his first home series since returning to the lineup, and hes doing it against the team that knocked the Yankees out of the ALCS last fall. Not only that, the Tigers have won 12 straight and are pulling away in the American League Central. The Yankees are on the verge of falling right out of the Wild Card chase, having dropped 14 of their last 20. How can you feel sorry for a team thats made it to the postseason in 17 of the last 18 seasons and had won at least 90 games in all but two of those campaigns? The Yankees fans figure to be in a foul mood, especially with New York Post headlines suggesting after just one bad season, New York is on the verge of becoming a Mets town again. Cmon. ' ' '