# Ruin sports by changing the regulations **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [August 28, 2021, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-sports-by-changing-the-regulations/949691 "2021-08-28T20:44:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2022, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-sports-by-changing-the-regulations/949691/81 "2022-01-06T18:33:18Z")
So, makes it kind of like polo, except no riders? I’d watch it at least once. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2022, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-sports-by-changing-the-regulations/949691/82 "2022-01-06T19:19:57Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > Hockey will henceforth be played with crampons on players’ boots, instead of blades. No other changes. One other change. There will have to be a three-hour break between periods to resurface the ice. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2022, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-sports-by-changing-the-regulations/949691/83 "2022-01-10T16:47:58Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > resurface the ice. Forget the crampons, damages the ice. All participants shall wear leather soled dress shoes. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2022, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-sports-by-changing-the-regulations/949691/84 "2022-01-10T16:59:10Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Forget the crampons, damages the ice. All participants shall wear leather soled dress shoes. And rather than a small, rubber puck, the game shall be played with a 42-pound piece of polished granite. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2022, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-sports-by-changing-the-regulations/949691/85 "2022-01-10T17:00:11Z")
Football, baseball, basketball, hockey,…would all be played while the players are riding or at least seated on horses. Horse racing and polo on the other hand… Basketball: The nets would be moved up to 40’. And no backboards. The court length would be increased to one mile. Any sport: At least half of the team on the field at any time would have to be people from the stands, picked from the crowd at random. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2022, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-sports-by-changing-the-regulations/949691/86 "2022-01-10T17:04:28Z")
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > Football, baseball, basketball, hockey,…would all be played while the players are riding or at least seated on horses Horse feces are too much a nuisance. I suggest _unicycles_! A player is out of bounds whenever any part of the body is touching the ground. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2022, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-sports-by-changing-the-regulations/949691/87 "2022-01-10T17:07:04Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Forget the crampons, damages the ice. All participants shall wear leather soled dress shoes. The ice hellscape is part of the appeal. 😉 If we’re going with smooth-bottomed leather shoes, I recommend replacing the ice with polished concrete covered by 1-mm layer of mineral oil. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2022, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-sports-by-changing-the-regulations/949691/88 "2022-01-10T21:41:23Z")
Football - In order to prevent CTE all NFL football is now to be played with flag football rules. Except for the Super Bowl, that goes back to normal NFL rules because that’s the only game that matters. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-sports-by-changing-the-regulations/949691/89 "2022-01-11T02:28:29Z")
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > Basketball: The nets would be moved up to 40’. And no backboards. The court length would be increased to one mile. But to make it fair, we need to increase the range for a 3-point. I suggest half-court. Exactly half-court, no more, no less. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-sports-by-changing-the-regulations/949691/90 "2022-01-11T12:43:19Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > rather than a small, rubber puck, the game shall be played with a 42-pound piece of polished granite We can also get rid of that silly goal and replace it with a target on the ice. Hold on, I thought we were supposed to be ruining the game, not making it _better_. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-sports-by-changing-the-regulations/949691/91 "2022-01-11T13:09:39Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > > [@Cheesesteak](#): > > > > Forget the crampons, damages the ice. All participants shall wear leather soled dress shoes. > > And rather than a small, rubber puck, the game shall be played with a 42-pound piece of polished granite. Curling could be improved by banning those silly brooms and instead have teams move the rock with small explosive devices. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-sports-by-changing-the-regulations/949691/92 "2022-01-11T14:21:03Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > small explosive devices Bottle rockets? ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2022, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-sports-by-changing-the-regulations/949691/93 "2022-01-24T14:42:07Z")
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > Football, baseball, basketball, hockey,…would all be played while the players are riding or at least seated on horses. Horse racing and polo on the other hand… Used to actually be a thing. Growing up in small-town Minnesota in the 1960s-1970s, there would be the occasional donkey basketball game, sponsored as I recall by the local Lions club. 10 donkeys, a referee (I don’t think he was mounted) and some local popular guy with a broom and shovel on clean up duty in the high school gym. May have been a baseball/softball version also. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2022, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-sports-by-changing-the-regulations/949691/94 "2022-01-24T16:18:50Z")
And to think that we weren’t even allowed to wear street shoes in the gym for fear of marking up the floor. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2022, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-sports-by-changing-the-regulations/949691/95 "2022-01-24T16:39:01Z")
It is apparently still a [thing you can do](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG0HrX_Z4D0). ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2022, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-sports-by-changing-the-regulations/949691/96 "2022-03-27T16:50:42Z")
Once again I got to listen to my 92 year old father in law\* rant this weekend about how a slam-dunk in basketball should only be one point, because “there’s no skill involved.” 🙄 Which got me to taking it a step further - there should be multiple arcs on the basketball court. One would line up with the free throw line - anything inside that arc only counts for one. Between that line and the three point line is two. Then there should be another line halfway between the three point line and half court, which counts for four. Since free throws are behind the one point line, they’d count for two. And finally, if you make a basket from behind the half court line you automatically win the game. \* This is the same guy who thinks a home run in baseball should be an out. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2022, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-sports-by-changing-the-regulations/949691/97 "2022-03-28T00:31:09Z")
The problem I have with basketball is that fouls are an accepted part of the game in the last minute or so of a close game. I’d fix that by introducing the penalty box from hockey. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2022, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-sports-by-changing-the-regulations/949691/98 "2022-03-28T01:33:09Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > a home run in baseball should be an out. You know, I’m not sure that would be so bad. Certainly change the game dramatically, but would still make for a very playable and watchable sport. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2022, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-sports-by-changing-the-regulations/949691/99 "2022-04-02T17:29:46Z")
There is another thread here about changes to the NFL overtime rules, but my idea is better suited to this thread. I would like NFL ties to go straight to a shootout. Five attempts for a field goal from the twenty yard line. No defenders. Only the holder and kicker on the field. Oh, and only linemen can kick. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2022, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-sports-by-changing-the-regulations/949691/100 "2022-04-03T04:02:47Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > Oh, and only linemen can kick. Have to get a rejuvenated Lou Groza. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-sports-by-changing-the-regulations/949691.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-sports-by-changing-the-regulations/949691.md?page=6)