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JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- Several legal groups in South Africa have expressed concern about threats and harsh criticism of the judge who found Oscar Pistorius guilty of culpable homicide, but not guilty of the more serious charge of murder. Some South Africans said they were surprised and even shocked when Judge Thokozile Masipa ruled last week that the Paralympic champion was negligent but did not intend to kill when he fatally shot girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp through a closed toilet door. Pistorius said he thought a dangerous intruder was in his house; prosecutors alleged he intentionally killed Steenkamp after an argument. Police protection for Masipa has been stepped up since the verdict Friday in the sensational case, South African media reported. The case will return to the global spotlight when Pistorius, who is free on bail, appears before the judge for a sentencing hearing on Oct. 13. In a statement, three legal groups described a "wave of criticism" directed at Masipa that in some cases could border on hate speech, defamation and contempt of court. The comments include allegations that the judge is corrupt, as well as attacks on her race and gender. "In judging, theres a lot of analysis of the information before the court and applying the law to what is before you," Thabang Pooe, a researcher at legal group SECTION27, said Tuesday. "Attacking the judges integrity and making insinuations of bribery or that shes not fit because shes a woman, or that shes black, means that youre breaking down the belief in the law." Masipa, 66, is a former social worker and journalist who became one of the first black female judges in South Africa, which shed white racist rule in 1994. Her supporters have described her as a symbol of accomplishment in a country where poverty and unemployment remain obstacles for many people. The legal groups, including SECTION27, the Legal Resources Centre and the Centre for Child Law, said people are entitled to disagree with the verdict and that the prosecution can appeal. Prosecutors have said they will decide whether to appeal after sentencing. The sentence for a culpable homicide conviction is at the judges discretion and can range from a suspended sentence and a fine to as much as 15 years in prison. Legal experts have cited five years as a guideline. Meanwhile, South African sports officials have said Pistorius can compete for South Africa again, as long as his running doesnt go against the ruling of the judge. Many legal analysts agreed with the judges ruling that Pistorius could not be found guilty of premeditated murder. But some believe the law supported a conviction on a lesser murder charge on the grounds that Pistorius knew someone -- in his version, a perceived intruder-- was behind the toilet door and also knew that firing four bullets into the door could cause that persons death. James Grant, an associate professor of law at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, said in an online analysis that "there appear to be errors of law" in Masipas judgment. "The effect is that, if the state does appeal, and one may well expect that it will, Pistorius continues to face the prospect of a murder conviction," Grant wrote. Malik Monk Jersey . You can listen to the game live on TSN Radio 690 in Montreal or on TSN.ca/Montreal. Also, TSN.ca features live streaming of the post-game news conferences from the Bell Centre. The Rangers grabbed a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference Final after Sundays 3-2 overtime victory against the visiting Habs. Jeremy Lamb Jersey . CSKA received the heavier punishment of playing its next European home game behind closed doors, after its supporters displayed racist and far-right symbols in the Czech Republic during a 2-1 loss to Viktoria Plzen on Dec. http://www.basketballhornetsauthority.c ... mized-c-1/. The 23-year-old restricted free agent appeared in all 48 games last season, finishing second among all Sabres skaters with 15 goals and 34 points. Marvin Williams Jersey .A. Happs hold on a spot in the Blue Jays starting rotation is in question. Alonzo Mourning Jersey . Behind the talents of rookie Johnny Gaudreau, the Flames will look to keep pace Thursday night when they face the Minnesota Wild in the second of a six-game homestand. 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 rreferee: Here are the shots all set for you to look at.dddddddddddd" 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. 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