NFL owners showed a lot of wisdom in bringing back instant replay. I can’t figure out what kept the owners from allowing it in the early 1990s.

There were still some hard-headed individuals who obviously have never had a bad call keep them out of the playoffs.

”Human nature doesn’t change, and it’s humans who run these machines,” said Cincinnati’s Mike Brown, one of three who voted against the replay.

Then again, when is the last time a Bengal coach’s job has been on the line in a crucial game.

I must admit I do like the newest format where coaches challenge the call and get hit with a time out if the play stands.

A replay judge determines which plays are reviewed by the referee in the final two minutes of each half.

While owners showed wisdom there, I’m not so sure about the new rule mandating fines for celebrations by two or more players.

The vote on that was 30-0 with one abstention – the St. Louis Rams, whose players pioneered the ”bob and weave” celebration en route to their Super Bowl victory.

The competition committee voted 7-0 to recommend a ban after viewing tapes of NFL games, then seeing many of the elaborate celebrations on another film of high school games.

Are they watching the same high school games played around the country on Friday nights? If that’s the case then they need to ban pro wrestling.

Minnesota Vikings coach Dennis Green, co-chairman of the competition committee said there is nothing wrong with enthusiasm. But it’s more than it used to be. There’s more publicity and the chance to be on the evening news, and maybe a guy makes the Pro Bowl if what he does is showing over and over every half hour.

Huh?

I didn’t know the celebration dance played that big a role in the Pro Bowl voting.

I admit the celebrating can be taken too far when it comes to taunting or some gestures players use. But coaches should be required to police that part of the game.

A player missing a dunk in basketball is usually sitting near the coach at the next time out.

Some guy celebrates too long or foolishly, put him on the bench for the next two series. Then he surely won’t be on Sports Center.

It will be interesting to see how the NFL reacts to the XFL, which signed a contract with NBC on Wednesday.

The TV network said it is joining with the World Wrestling Federation to launch a no-holds-barred ”extreme” football league.

The WWF announced plans for the eight-team XFL league last month, but investors shunned the idea, sending the company’s stock plummeting.

NBC’s announcement that it plans to televise the XFL’s games and make a major investment in the league gave the WWF’s shares a boost Wednesday.

The companies insist that the league will be a real sport, not entertainment programming like WWF wrestling.

The league’s games are to begin next February, after the NFL’s Super Bowl and will air on Saturdays.

There will be several changes to traditional football to soup up the game, however, including eliminating the ”fair catch” rule, shortening halftime to 10 minutes, and placing microphones in huddles, in locker rooms and on the sidelines.

And I bet there will be a lot of celebrating after big plays.

I wonder if Stone Cold will sing the National Anthem.

Joey Martin is sports editor of The Democrat. He can be reached by calling 446-5172 ext. 232 or at joey.martin@natchezdemocrat.com.