The La-Z-Boy, beer and the remote control: all great inventions that have enhanced the leisure of sports watching.

But in recent memory, outside of the creation of football’s yellow first down line, there has been no greater creation than the DVR, or digital video recorder. The device has become commonplace for digital cable subscribers in the last few years.

For those who haven’t heard of or used the DVR when watching sports, you’re missing out. The recorder works like a VCR, but it’s much easier, has better quality, and well, you can amazingly rewind and pause live TV.

So, you have a hot date during a baseball game? Record it, be a gentleman, come back and watch the game in a wonderful few minutes instead of a few hours. The decrepit VCR can do that-just not with the same quality.

But what the recorder really separates itself with is the ability to fiddle with live TV. The genius of the DVR is that it’s always recording what you’re watching. So when there’s a must-see play and you yell, ‘You’ve got to see this,’ you can show it to your buddy who’s stuck in the bathroom. It’s a beautiful invention. You can re-run Chad Johnson’s touchdown celebration 10 times instead of watching commercials, and then skip ahead back to live TV and not miss a minute of the game.

This may be a little old to some of you who’ve had TiVo for years. But for me, it’s quite new. I’ve never had any other recording device outside a VCR. In fact, my family only got cable television when I was in high school, after my brother and I pestered my parents for years.

Let’s go back a little further. For some reason, my parents held a hatred for television for the first 15 or so years of my life. They even had my grandpa rig up a lock for the TV when I was in middle school. My three other siblings and I were baffled; we didn’t even watch that much TV. But yes, at times, I was desperate, and stupid. Sometime around fifth or sixth grade I tried picking the lock. After being slightly electrocuted, I decided The Simpsons could wait.

So you could understand how the miracles of the DVR would amaze me. I don’t know what I’ll do when I return home and can’t pause a game when I need to grab a drink, or rewind when a fan or a Syracuse player gets caught by ESPN flipping the bird.

This weekend was full of ‘Did you see that?’ moments that were seemingly the exact reason the DVR was produced. Penn State head coach Joe Paterno got his 79-year-old knee slammed into by a Wisconsin linebacker, bending it back in a gross manner.

TV replays showed it a few times, but it was a play that needed to be watched over and over on the DVR to explain how he was still miraculously standing on the sidelines. Turns out the poor guy broke his left leg and tore two ligaments-and he’s still talking about coaching this week.

Sunday was even better. When watching the Pittsburgh Steelers play the Denver Broncos, I could have sworn I heard Broncos QB Jake Plummer curse after a touchdown. Thanks to the DVR, I hit rewind and heard it loud and clear. Turns out they weren’t done. I caught three more explicit remarks before the end of the first half. That’s what’s great about the device. It allows you to watch replays television doesn’t want to show.

Janet Jackson’s nipply adventure at Super Bowl XXXVIII was the most replayed moment in TiVo history as of late 2004, according to an article on CNN.com. I’m not sure if another event has surpassed it. It’s tough to top the raw shock of that moment. But with DVR and YouTube.com, it’s going to be hard for us fans to miss a beat, which is wonderful.

The DVR is helpful in rewinding outrageous moments, but it’s also just a beautiful tool. Sick of John Cougar Mellencamp singing ‘This Is Our Country,’ over a Chevrolet commercial? Rewind and break down the last play, then snap back to live TV and save yourself from the worst, most overplayed song and commercial of all time.

With so many wonderful features, if the DVR isn’t a brilliant invention, I don’t know what is. Even Albert Einstein could appreciate the DVR, especially with a cold beer, a seat on a La-Z-Boy and some indecency on the television.