FOOTBALL

REPLAY NOW PERMANENT IN NFL

Replay is here to stay in the NFL.

Or at least as permanently as any rule can be in pro football.

League owners voted 30–2 yesterday to make the video replay system a permanent officiating tool. All but three stadiums will be equipped with high-definition equipment and will be recabled before the upcoming season, at a cost of as much as $300,000 per club. The stadiums being replaced in Irving, Texas, Indianapolis and East Rutherford, N.J., will not get the updates.

“It’s a long time coming,” said Atlanta Falcons general manager Rich McKay, co-chairman of the competition committee that recommended the change. “It made sense to us this year to do it. Instant replay is an accepted part of the game. It’s what we are. There was not really much discussion about it.”

BASEBALL

PETTITTE FEELS NO DISCOMFORT AFTER BULLPEN SESSION

Yankees left-hander Andy Pettitte reported no problems one day after throwing 25 pitches in his first bullpen session since being sidelined by back spasms.

Pettitte will have a full mound session today and might pitch in a minor league game Friday or Saturday.

“Definitely didn’t go backwards at all,” Pettitte said yesterday.

When asked if the back discomfort had completely disappeared, Pettitte only said “I’m feeling better. A lot better.”

The Yankees are hopeful Pettitte will be ready to make his first regular-season start.

“I think he will, but comfort is the most important thing to me,” Yankees manager Joe Torre said. “So if he doesn’t, it’s no big deal. That’s the way I feel.”