a sexual assault allegation involving defensive lineman

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The NFL officiating department will help referees rule on instant replay reviews starting next season. League owners passed a rule Tuesday allowing referees to consult with director of officiating Dean Blandino and his staff to help determine whether a call should be upheld or overturned. NFL officials said the change should speed up the process. Blandino and other staff will be monitoring the games from league offices in New York, and they will immediately begin reviewing challenges before the referee even gets to his monitor. They can make recommendations on what replays to look at, but the referee still will make the final decision. Rich McKay, Falcons president and co-chairman of the influential competition committee, called it "kind of a proof of concept to see how this works. We feel pretty comfortable with it, though." "What we do like is we take the true experts in replay, those in New York, to be able to communicate with the referees who have the ultimate decision," McKay said. "We just think we get a more consistent decision-making process." Blandino said the new process will be faster and make more eyes available to help in the reviews. "Well be reviewing all the angles the network is providing, in essence finding what is the best reviewable aspect, and getting a baseline for the referee," he said. "Then we will begin the communication process with the referee once he is done speaking to the coach and announcing the challenge. "Consistency is what we are striving for in officiating and this will definitely help us in that area." One coach, Cincinnatis Marvin Lewis, a member of the competition committee, believes the entire procedure has been upgraded. "By consulting with New York, they can speed up the review process while they talk to the referee," Lewis said. "They can tell the referee: Here are the shots all set for you to look at." Blandino wasnt sure this change would lead to more challenges, noting that coaches will still lose a timeout for an incorrect challenge. Players no longer will be allowed to dunk the football over the crossbar of the goalposts in celebration. Blandino said the NFL is making a clarification of the rules for mutual respect and sportsmanship. "We put a rule in several years ago about not using props on the football field: the football, the pylon," he said. "This is just expanding upon that rule to include the crossbar of the goalpost. We had the situation with (Saints tight end) Jimmy Graham knocking the uprights off kilter last season and it delayed the game. "We have a potential rule change where we could raise the uprights, so you may have more issues with that if guys are dunking." The owners also banned roll-up blocks to the side of a player. In the past, the rule only barred such blocks from behind. "We saw some plays on tape that we just felt like we needed to expand that protection," McKay said. Commissioner Roger Goodell believes small changes like that one, along with other recent rule changes, have made the game safer. "We went through that (data) in greater detail with the outside firm thats been tracking that for us and its very clear that the rule changes we have made had the positive impact that we intended," Goodell said Monday. "While there are some that say it has had a negative (impact) -- as an example, ACL injuries being up -- thats not the case. What weve seen is that players have adjusted to the rules and they are finding that target zone and it is a safer, better game because of it." A dozen other proposals for rules or bylaw changes were being considered by the owners, with votes on them expected Wednesday. Chris Bassitt Jersey . - Mike Zimmer has brought a demanding style to the Minnesota Vikings. Fake Athletics Jerseys . -- Jerome Williams glanced at Philadelphias schedule and realized he would be facing the Oakland Athletics yet again, with another new team. https://www.cheapathleticsonline.com/ .C. -- Kurt Busch put his chances at "70 per cent" at running the Indianapolis 500 this year because of recent developments that have pushed a potential program along. Athletics Jerseys 2019 . - A retired Indiana school principal who was NASCAR star Jeff Gordons drivers education teacher was killed with his wife in a Tennessee crash while returning from watching Gordon race. Custom Oakland Athletics Jerseys . -- Syracuse was dangerously close to letting another less talented opponent pull off the upset when C.NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee Titans say they are aware police are investigating a sexual assault allegation involving defensive lineman Sammie Hill.We will let the police investigate the allegation, and we will provide any assistance they need, the Titans said in a statement Monday. We have discussed the matter with Sammie, and we will continue to gather facts.Atlanta Police Department spokesman John Chaffee wrote in an email that a woman told police she had been sexually assaulted by Hill and they are working with the woman for more information.TThe woman apparently contacted Houston police first.dddddddddddd Spokesman Victor Senties confirmed to The Associated Press that Houston police took a report Friday from a woman alleging she had been sexually assaulted in Atlanta and forwarded that to police there.Hill, who played at Stillman and a West Blocton, Alabama, native, is a six-year veteran in the second year of a three-year deal with Tennessee. The 6-foot-4, 328-pound Hill has started 12 games this season.___Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '