Astorian - You have a point, but I really don’t think that it’s that big a deal. If your team commits a penalty, you cannot benefit from the play. That’s just the way it is in the NFL. The fact that the other team was also penalized is immaterial. Unless the penalties are radically different, say, a 5-yarder and a personal foul (and there are rules to cover that), offsetting penalties is appropriate.
Everyone - I don’t claim to be a soccer purist. Heck, even when I was playing it, I wasn’t a purist. I do know that there are certainly things about it that can be improved and, even if I’m not completely on the mark, please, just read and consider.
IMHO the most important thing is to punish diving and fake injuries, which often lead to unfair cards or even ejections against the opposing team, which I find absolutely reprehensible. You say you want the refs to crack down on it more? Fine, a red card should suffice. I think they’ll get the message pretty quickly (and if they don’t, their coaches certainly will). As for long-ball goal hanging if offsides is repealed…hey, you want to score tons of goals at the cost of leaving your own net wide open, be my guest. I’m pretty sure that even the dimmest team would eventually see the folly of this strategy. If there should be any rule against a striker’s advance, it should be encroachment (i.e. cannot go into a certain part of the field without the ball unless a defender’s there), which is fairer and also easier to enforce.
And okay, maybe penalty kicks for yellows is a bit harsh, but it should definitely be more than just a free kick…say, a corner kick. That’s certainly workable, and corner kicks don’t always result in goals anyway.
And now, come to think of it, I have some baseball suggestions as well:
- Institute a pitch clock. Once the batter reaches the plate, the pitcher has a certain amount of time to get the ball over the plate; otherwise it’s a balk. Make it a nice, long time, say, 60 seconds, so the pitcher has time for a bunch of pickoff attempts before succumbing to the inevitable. “But Darrell, once the clock runs down the baserunner can steal with impunity because the pitcher can do any more pickoffs”…well then, don’t let the clock run all the way down. Seriously, what to incredibly protracted pickoff wars and eternities between actual pitches add to the game?
- By the same token, give the batter a limited amount of time to get up to bat, and once he’s in the batter’s box, if he leaves it for any reason he’s out. And yes, hogging the plate so closely his feet are over the line counts as leaving the box.
- The only thing more tiresome than an incredibly long pickoff war is an incredibly long foul ball war. How about this: If a batter fouls with a count of two strikes, he must bunt the next pitch. (If the bunt also goes foul, of course, then he’s out.) Too strict? All right, all right, four foul balls with a two-strike count. Whatever. Break up the stalemates, plus batters have to learn how to bunt again. What’s not to like?
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- DH mandated for both leagues 2. but cannot earn more than 2x the the league minimum. Both sides go home happy!
All right, now, you can inundate me with extremely virulent posts abot how the pure purity of the game must be preserved at all costs and slow play is always a good thing and I’m just a worthless Dreamcast addict who can’t see the necessity of pickoff wars and etc. etc. 
