There are two rule violations in the NFL that often seemingly go uncalled. The first is that oftentimes, on a touchdown play (i.e., punt return for a TD,), players from the scoring team’s sidelines will step out on to the field in celebration before the ballcarrier has crossed the goal line. Technically, that’s too many men on the field.
The second is that on Hail Mary plays, often in the jostle and crowd of players in the end zone trying to deflect or catch the ball, there will be illegal contact or pass interference that goes uncalled. Refs for some reason seem to treat the rules much more loosely in Hail Mary situations than on “normal passing plays.”
Any other obscure rule violations - in any sport - that ought to be called more often?
If it’s totally unrelated to the action (ie, not potentially interfering with a runner or defensive back) and not blatantly unsportsmanlike, then calling it would be ridiculous. No one wants to see TDs called back for something like that.
And they should. I mean, its unfortunate that you cfan get away wioth a lot more DPI (and OPI!) on Hail Mary plays, but calling DPI there means the team gets to move to the 1 yard line and try again. Is that really how you want every single one score game to come down to? As it is, both teams are committing offsetting penalties as long as they aren’t too egregious, and that’s probably the best possible outcome in this situation.
I do not want either of these to be called more often.
Agreed. In football, a penalty could conceivably be called on almost every play. I think the NFL does a good job in calling blatant penalties while letting minor infractions go.
There is a rule in the MLB book that requires the pitcher to throw a pitch within 12 seconds if the bases are unoccupied or else the umpire will call a ball. You rarely see this delay of game called, usually only if the pitcher takes 30+ seconds. The last time I actually saw a ball called for pitcher delay was on Rafael Betancourt at least 7 or 8 years ago. Steven Trachsel was also notorious for taking forever between pitches, but I don’t know that he ever got called for it.
Base coaches in baseball, too, though I’m honestly not sure that there’s any rule requiring them to stay in their boxes as long as they don’t interfere with any live play.
I’m actually really happy that MLB has decided to start ruling runners safe on the ‘neighborhood’ play. That used to drive me crazy.
The 12 seconds only start after the pitcher has the ball and the batter is ready in the batter’s box. The actual average time between pitches (not the time referred to in the 12 second rule) for the same batter and ignoring things like fouls and pickoffs has been:
Double-A and Triple-A started using pitch clocks last year. I saw games at both those levels in person last season, along with a few major league games and several at the short-season level, and it was noticeable how much more quickly the AA and AAA games seemed to move along. Excellent addition, in my opinion.
Not sure how many second were on the clock or exactly when it began ticking.
Don’t know if it’s obscure but it’s almost never enforced.
Ditto 12 second rule in baseball along with 504(b) which governs the batter staying in the batter’s box.
As for the coach’s box rule, there are exceptions during play but the reason it is never enforced is because the opposing manager has to complain first.
I think this one is a little overblown. Hail Mary’s aren’t that common, and there isn’t pass interference on nearly as many plays as people think. Defensive players make contact, but in most cases its when going for the ball which is typically considered incidental. Offensive players tend to be more guilty here while establishing position or preventing someone from jumping.
I think a few far more common and inconsistently enforced penalties in football are illegal hands to the face, which happens almost every snap on the line, and illegal contact with the receiver after 5 yards, which is super common, and probably the most common is the pick play with receivers blocking down field.
Golf and Tennis - enforce the time limits, strictly. Countdown clock on show and if you run out of time you lose the point or are penalised a stroke. For golf you’d have to have the official applying some discretion regarding when the time starts (the greens up ahead might be crowded etc)
Football - Give penalties for the wrestling and holding in the box on corners. Anywhere else on the pitch they’d be given as free-kicks.
Football: Arguing with the referee should be a carded offense with much greater frequency, and in particular teams like Barcelona drive me insane with their incessant and unsportsmanlike ref-badgering - never mind the fact that it’s blatant hypocrisy given how often fouls that simply are not get called in favour of Barcelona when other teams choose to make of the game what it is: a contact sport.
Quite frankly, accosting the referee in any way should be a direct red offense. It compromises the integrity and purity of the game and it needs to fucking stop.
On the other hand, idiotic referees need to stop calling fouls on perfectly legal, clean shoulder tackles. It’s a contact sport. If Per Mertesacker barrels into David Silva, shoulder first, in a perfectly legal fashion, and Silva gets taken off his feet because he’s simply a smaller man, that’s a sign that David Silva should perhaps spend more time in the weight room, not a goddamn foul.
A LOT of what you are describing would eliminated with automatic red cards for making deliberate contact with the referee. MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL if you put your hands on an official, your outta there, no exceptions, no question.
