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CHICAGO -- A ballgame that produced exactly one run lasted 3 hours, 33 minutes.Compared to some of the commercial-packed, long-on ceremony-and-celebrity marathons that have clocked in at four hours and beyond this postseason, Clevelands 1-0 win over the Chicago Cubs in Game 4 of the World series felt like a sprint.But there were five minutes we could have done without.No, not comedian Bill Murrays drawn-out, Daffy Duck-inspired rendition of Take Me Out to the Ball Game. At least there was some comic reliefWhat we had in mind instead were the three instant-replay reviews. An overwhelming majority of fans believe the only thing that matters is to get every call right, even though thats impossible -- and never mind that it both changes and hurts the very games its supposed to improve. More on that in a moment.The only one of the three replay reviews that resulted in the original call being overturned happened in the first inning, when Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks picked Francisco Lindor off first base. The two calls that stood both came in the seventh.The first happened when Cubs catcher Willson Contreras threw to third trying to pick off pinch-runner Michael Martinez, who was called safe (both times) and scored soon after when Coco Crisp followed with the tiebreaking single. The second happened when the next Cleveland batter, Jason Kipnis, hit a grounder to the right side, dove into first base and was called out (both times).The call on Kipnis looked just plain wrong. His arm clearly hits the base before the ball nestles in Cubs pitcher Mike Montgomerys glove. But thats the problem when humans make the first and last decision, no matter how many camera angles are viewed in between.Of course, Ive been on the losing side of this debate for years -- in every sport -- and so it went again Friday night when I asked Cleveland manager Terry Francona whether hed like to see more or less instant replay.Thats the question after a 1-0 World Series win? Francona answered with a question of his own.Well, yes.I think theyve done a great job with replay. I mean, we all know what it is, and I think its made the game better, he said.Joe Maddon, his Cubs counterpart, was an even bigger booster.It definitely helps preventing the spike in the blood pressure, because youre just able to ask them to replay it as opposed to running out there and arguing. So I like that component of it, he began.There are certain parts about it that I think need to be addressed. For example, like when hovering over a bag and all of a sudden you say the guy came off the bag, something like that or the hand was above home plate ... Id like to see some adjustments, but I think overall its wonderful.Furthermore, I would imagine eventually YOURE GOING TO SEE IT CALL BALLS AND STRIKES (emphasis mine).Let that settle in for a moment.Umpires were already in danger of becoming figureheads, stuck behind the plate to lend an air of authority more imagined than real, like the Queen of England at events of state, minus the tiara and jewelry. Count on it happening sooner rather than later.Replay began in baseball in 2008, employed strictly at first to decide home runs. It was expanded significantly in 2014 to include plays at the bases, trapped balls and just about everything else, save balls and strikes.While the average time it takes to review a call has varied -- 1:46 during the 2014 regular season, then 1:51 in 2015 and 1:36 in 2016 -- the number of calls overturned on replay have creeped up each year, from 47.3 percent in 14 to 50.4 percent this past season.Theres any number of theories about that incremental rise, and much of it centers on more and better slow-motion cameras at most ballparks and managers willingness to use every challenge available to them. But theres no doubt its led to a change in both the spirit of the game and how its played; nearly every fielder now holds his glove with the ball on the baserunners body for as long as possible, in the hope that at some point in the slide the camera will show the runner has lost contact with the base.Thats been happening for as long as the games been played. But its only now, because of advances in technology, that it can be spotted.As much as its not my favorite play ... its really hard for me to say its OK to be safe if youre not on the bag and the glove is tagging, MLB exec Joe Torre, whose duties include overseeing umpires, said at the last winter meetings.Well continue to have that conversation, he added.Good luck.Major League Baseball is already wrestling with the pace-of-play issue and the guess here is that what Maddon called the hovering play is only the first of many unforeseen consequences.Instant replay has already made the NFL and college football nearly unwatchable, and its made holding your breath at the last-minute plays nearly a requirement of being a football fan.Try that for nine innings when a robot is calling balls and strikes.---Jim Litke is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitke(at)ap.org and https://Twitter.com/JimLitke . Yeezy 350 On Sale . It might not have mattered. 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LOUIS -- Cardinals cleanup hitter Allen Craig says hes recovered from a foot injury and ready to be put on St. CHICAGO -- It wasnt that they finally lost a road game and had their shot at a record dashed.No, what bothered the San Antonio Spurs was the disturbingly slow start.Dwyane Wade scored 20 points and the Chicago Bulls handed the Spurs their first road loss after a 13-0 start, hanging for a 95-91 victory on Thursday night.San Antonio fell one win shy of matching the NBAs best road start set by the Golden State Warriors last season. The Spurs cut an 18-point deficit midway through the third quarter to four in the closing minutes, only to come up short.Streaks are a good sign when theyre positive and theyre a bad sign when theyre negative, but at the end of the day, it doesnt give you anything else, said Pau Gasol, the former Bull.Hes more concerned that the Spurs keep struggling early in games. It could be San Antonio is still adjusting after a busy offseason that included the retirement of Tim Duncan and the addition of several new faces to complement Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge. Even so, the Spurs need that to change.Our opponents have outplayed us physically and execute-wise in most first halves for most of the season, and somehow we pull it together in the second half and play harder and smarter than we did in the first half, coach Gregg Popovich said. We got it to four, then some execution mistakes. Thats the disappointing part, that were not a very consistent team and we havent learned as a group the game is 48 minutes.Leonard scored 24 for San Antonio. Patty Mills added 16 points, hitting 4 of 6 3-pointers. Gasol had 13 points and 10 rebounds in his first game in Chicago since signing with San Antonio in the summer, but the Spurs lost a road game for the first time since Oklahoma City knocked them out in the Western Conference semifinals last season.Jimmy Butler scored all of his 13 points for Chicago in the second half. Rajon Rondo added 12 points, nine assists and 10 rebounds, and Chicago picked up the win after dropping three in a row and six of nine.The Bulls have beaten two of the NBAs best teams in the past week in the Spurs and defending champion Cleveland. But they also lost to Denver, the Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas and Detroit during this slump.dddddddddddd.Its a long season, Wade said. We have time to fix it. We could play with good teams in this league home or road, but we still have time to fix that. As long as we understand what we need to do, what we have 60 games left, whatever it is, we have a lot of games to fix that so hopefully we can.STREAK ENDSThe Spurs had won 14 straight regular season road games since Denver beat them on April 8. But after a big push down the stretch, they couldnt pull out this one.The Bulls led 65-47 midway through the third following a surge by Butler, who scored seven in a 54-second span after missing his first six shots. But the Spurs jumped back into it in the closing minutes of the quarter.They went on an 11-2 run that Mills finished with a 3 to cut it to 72-66 just under a minute into the fourth.Things got real tight when Gasol nailed a 3 to pull San Antonio within 88-84 with 3:24 left. Doug McDermott then hit three free throws after being fouled by Tony Parker, and the Bulls hung on.WELCOME BACKGasol spent two seasons with Chicago and forgot for a moment where to go when he arrived at the United Center. The six-time All-Star was halfway to the Chicago locker room when he realized his mistake and turned around. The Bulls showed a video tribute to Gasol during a timeout midway through the first quarter.TIP-INSSpurs: Parker had eight points and five assists after missing a game because of a bruised left knee. ... For the second straight game, the Spurs set a season low for first-quarter scoring. They had 17 points after managing 19 at Minnesota on Tuesday night.Bulls: McDermott scored eight points after being sidelined because of a concussion since Nov. 12. ... Butler had scored 20 or more in 15 consecutive games, the longest streak by a Bulls player since Michael Jordan did it in 24 straight during the 1995-96 season.UP NEXTSpurs: Host Brooklyn on Saturday night.Bulls: Host Miami on Saturday night. ' ' '