I was thinking about the NFL rules the other day, especially the NFL Challenge (Review) system. You always see how when a team makes a suspect catch they always run to the line and attempt to get a play off quickly, so no one can throw a flag or the booth cannot call down for a review.

Well, I have contacted a few coaches and relayed a message to them: Don't line everyone up. Simply throw the center out there and have him snap it to anyone. A flag will be thrown for illegal formation, the play would have been run, and no review would be allowed.

Isn't a long yardage gain worth a five yard penalty?

We'll see today, or in the last two weeks of the regular season, if one of the coaches I have mentioned this to go ahead and try it!

Does anyone remember what happened back in November at Heinz Field when Troy Polamalu returned a ball for an initially called touchdown? Lots of chaos would be a good answer.  The play, which was totally irrelevant to the game since it was scored with no time on the clock, was reviewed by officials before the extra point was attempted.  In the end, the touchdown was overturned and we never heard the end of it from the gambling industry.  Many people asked why such an irrelevant play, with the Steelers already leading, would be reviewed. The NFL simply said it's policy and of course never even mentioned the gambling aspect.

Well, maybe I was the only one that noticed something in last night's Monday Night Football game at Carolina.  The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were losing 38-23 with just over a minute to go. Tampa Bay had a 4th down from their own 47-yard line. Garcia dropped back to pass and threw it pretty much into the arms of the falling Carolina Panthers Dante Wesley.  The ruling on the field was an incomplete pass. If you look at the replays, it was an extremely close play. It could have easily been looked at and possibly called an interception. Close enough to where replay should have been brought in.  Wait a moment though. It was fourth down for Tampa Bay. An interception and down by contact or an incomplete pass is pretty much the same thing. Carolina would have obtained the ball like they did, regardless. It had absolutely no impact on the game. Did Troy Polamalu's interception for a touchdown have an impact on the game? No. Was it reviewed? Yes. Amazingly, Polamalu's interception return also had an impact on the betting outcome!

So, the NFL can't possibly say this play wasn't reviewed last night because it was meaningless, right? I contacted Greg Aiello, spokesperson for the NFL. After quickly receiving a reply back from him, I was given an answer from Randall Liu, also an NFL spokesperson. "There was no replay given that clearly showed the ball was caught." Liu said. Is it just me or isn't that why the NFL goes to the actual replay? To indeed determine whether or not there is a clear angle. If it was always determined something was or wasn't clear before review, then why do we have long stoppages where the referee goes and looks into the monitor? Futhermore, I am told something that goes exactly against what happened in the Pittsburgh Steelers game with Polamalu. "This play had no direct competitive impact on the game since it was a fourth down play and Carolina would get the ball either way," Liu said in his email. "So it was not necessary to stop the game to review this."

Maybe it should be said since it had no gambling impact we decided not to stop the game.

Andy Slater is on an-air host for 640AM WFTL Fox Sports in South Florida. His website can be found at  theslatershow.com

The Miami Killian football team hasn't played in a game this big since 2004. That was the state championship. Friday night  they'll be playing the team which has won the last two state championship titles. Miami Northwestern.

Northwestern is a powerhouse in Miami-Dade County football. They have won 41 of their last 42 games and are looking for their third straight state title. The question is, though, will they look ahead and be caught facing a team that is looking directly at them. The Cougars from Miami Killian have defeated Miami Sunset and Miami Palmetto the previous two weeks to put themselves in this position for the Friday night "under the lights" matchup at FIU Stadium. 

Last week they were led by star running back Lamar Miller who ran for 202 yards on 24 carries.  Miller told me he sat out of practice on Tuesday, but he looked to be in normal shape practicing on Wednesday and is ready to go on Friday. "I will be practicing hard and come gametime I'll just go out and play as hard as I can," Miller said. "I like that there will be a lot of people there so I can show my talent, it'll get me going." Miller was referring to the expected large crowd at FIU Stadium for this Regional Final.

Killian also has the ability to throw the ball thanks to talented quarterback Ricky Rowe. It's not everyday in high school football where you can have a great running back and a go-to quarterback when called upon. Rowe shows a type of leadership on the field and while speaking to him off the field that is different from many others. "I have to thank my great offensive line, first and foremost," Rowe said. "They block for me and the receivers get open and I just throw the ball out there."

Head coach Steve Smith had the team out there on the practice field knowing what they were about to go up against.  Not only is coach Smith ready for this game, it sounded like his kids were too. "The kids know where they are at, they know what the goal was at the beginning of the year," Smith said. "They were to make it to the state championship and they know they're only two games away from doing it."

Friday night's game may not be a low scoring affair. Northwestern is known for putting points up on the board. Last week they scored 38 against Central. Will Killian be able to withstand a power house offense? "We've got enough athletes on our team," Smith stated. "Whatever we have to do, we're going to lay it all out on the line."

Even though Killian has made it this far and they are playing real well, it seems the consensus is that people are not giving them a shot to beat Northwestern. "The (students) want to come out and see a good game," Rowe said. "Some of them don't count on us to win, but this team is just out to prove everybody wrong."

Friday night. Under the lights. FIU Stadium!

The Miami Killian Cougars took the field Thursday night facing a team they last saw in 2005. The Knights from Sunset Senior High. Unfortunately, for Sunset, it happened to be the same result. The Cougars, led by a Lamar Miller kickoff return and a decent passing game, will move onto the second round to face the winner of Miami Palmetto and Miami Southwest.

Killian coach Steve Smith knew very well that the Sunset Knights had only given up six points in the first quarter the entire season. He had his Cougars marching right down field in the 1st quarter, but they were denied inside the 10-yard line and turned the ball over on downs. "Our kids have to know how exactly where they need to get to in order to pick up that first down," Smith said. "Our focus wasn't there and we need to improve on that, plus the little things."

The scoring began when Sunset took a 7-0 lead on a one-yard touchdown run early in the 2nd quarter. On the ensuing kickoff, Miller turns on the afterburners and gave Killian their first score of the game with a 93-yard kickoff return. Killian has had kicking issues all year, and they continued as the extra point attempt faltered. "He's on and off, I am not quite sure what it is, but there isn't much we can do about it," coach Smith said in reference to his kicker. "We just have to deal with it."

The Sunset band showed up half way through the first half, but it didn't seem to help them much. Ricky Rowe, who finished the game with 157 passing yards, completed a touchdown pass, which should not have counted, to Jelani Berassa for the 11-yard score. The two-point conversion succeeded and Killian went into the half with a 14-7 lead.  Rowe's pass to Berassa in the corner of the endzone was a bit high. For those standing close enough to the field, it could clearly be seen that Berassa's feet were out of bounds before coming back into the endzone to make the catch. The referees clearly missed the call.

Early in the 3rd quarter, Sunset had a big 45-yard run on a fourth down situation which moved them into the redzone. It wasn't but two minutes later that the Knights found themselves on the 1-yard line looking to get in. A delayed call by the referees, which took every bit of 30 seconds, wound up tying the score and possibly making this a ballgame again.

Miami Killian answered back at the beginning of the fourth quarter with a 3-yard touchdown run which gave them the lead for good at 21-14. Sunset did have an opportunity to get in the endzone with 4:48 remaining but did not convert on a 4th-and-7 from Killian's 26-yard line.

After the game was finished, Lamar Miller huddled up with the rest of his teammates as coach Steve Smith let his team know that they "were not focused and thought (they) could just walk out on the field and win." Miller was seen with his left knee wrapped up while in the huddle. "He'll be fine. He'll be OK," coach Smith stated.

 I will be personally recapping the game during a segment on my show this Saturday at 11am on 640AM Fox Sports. For more information on the show, be sure to check out the show's website, www.theslatershow.com

It was a beautiful day in the Miami area. The shadows from the trees could almost be used as yard lines. Not only does Miami Killian High School want to get past today's shadows on the field, they want to get past their own from the previous two years.  It hasn't been since 2005 since the Cougars made it into the FHSAA Football playoffs. When they last did, they faced Sunset. When they take the field Thursday night at Tropical Park, they will see a Sunset team once again and will hope to have the same result as they did in 2005, even though only one player on this year's team can recall that game.

Lamar Miller, one of the nation's star running backs, was on that 2005 Miami Killian football team. He remembers what happened that night and is trying to feed that energy off to the rest of his teammates. Miller, who has verbally committed to join the University of Miami, took a few moments away from the practice field today to give us his thoughts on this upcoming game and his future.  "We've all just been working hard, along with Coach (Smith), in getting ready for this team and the playoffs," Miller said.  When asked about how Sunset can put up some points in the 4th quarter, as they have many times this year, Lamar simply said "we gotta hold them!"

Coach Steve Smith, who is in his 2nd year of coaching the team, seemed very relaxed and confident enough to know his team will get the job done come Thursday night. "Our goal for this year was to win the Championship," Smith said. "This game against Sunset will be no different than any other, we are just going to work a little harder."

The Killian High School football team has 31 seniors on its roster. Between those seniors and Coach Smith, work ethic is always put out to be the number one priority with the newcomers. "Our biggest reason for success this year is no doubt, our work ethic," coach Smith said.

Killian's quarterback, Senior, Ricky Rowe, feels comfortable out there and is definitely ready for this chance to be involved in a playoff game. "I know that I won't be throwing the ball as much as I'd like to, but we have a great running back with Lamar (Miller) and I am really excited about this game on Thursday," Rowe stated.

Rowe stands behind center at 6'1", 180 lbs. He is a lean machine and has clear cut mobility as seen at today's practice.

It may not take long to figure out the possibility of what direction this game may be headed. Killian scores most of their points in the first quarter, while Sunset has only given up six points all season long in the first. If the Cougars can come out firing and get past Sunset early, this could be a very fun night for Miami Killian.

When I handed Coach Smith a printout of a newspapers prediction of Thursday's game (Killian 35,  Sunset 7), Coach Smith said, "yeah, that's what I pretty much expect."

Also contributing to this report: Rich Green