# Sports Rules You'd Like to See Implemented **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 7, 2006, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-rules-youd-like-to-see-implemented/359754 "2006-06-07T16:07:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-rules-youd-like-to-see-implemented/359754/81 "2006-06-08T16:04:35Z")
[QUOTE=Capa84] Oh I have another NFL rule…this new crap where the defense can “draw” the offense offsides…THE OL KNOWS THE SNAP COUNT!!! How can a DL getting antsy and jumping offside entice you to jump? To make it worse, a defender can jump across the neutral zone, providing they don’t touch anyone, no one reacts, and they get back before the snap…so why is it a violation if an OL freaks out and moves? It should either be a violation EVERY time they get into the neutral zone, or ONLY if they get caught in there on the snap, or make contact. [/QUOTE] I agree with this one, too. The neutal zone should be like the one in Star Trek: nobody is allowed to go into it, ever. 😃 I think it should also be allowed for DL players to try to draw the OL guys offsides. If you can’t pay attention to the snap count, then you suck and should be cut. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-rules-youd-like-to-see-implemented/359754/82 "2006-06-08T16:07:21Z")
[QUOTE=zamboniracer] Global warming is going to screw up this theory. According to Al Gore’s new movie you won’t be able to play hockey at the north pole pretty soon. 😉 [/QUOTE] Yes, but then I’ll be enjoying the tropical breezes of Lake Ontario, and won’t care one whit. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Clam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3bc359/32.png) [@Happy\_Clam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Clam)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-rules-youd-like-to-see-implemented/359754/83 "2006-06-08T16:18:08Z")
[QUOTE=vetbridge] Wouldn’t that put an end to heading the ball? [/QUOTE] Oh no, it would simply make it a much more interesting process. Plus, the match highlights would be _hilarious_. (I mean, come on, the average footballer is not known for his mental prowess. “David, there’s a slight chance you could die on the field today, but we’re paying you £50,000 a week.” “Duh…okay.”) ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-rules-youd-like-to-see-implemented/359754/84 "2006-06-08T17:04:45Z")
[QUOTE=Rysto] Or, you know, plays where Wade Redden has the puck in the defensive zone, Martin Havlat flies the zone and Redden hits him with a long bomb. Your rule would make transition hockey nearly impossible. Without the threat of a player out-skating the defence, the defence can come in tight on the puck carrier and give him few options. As it is currently, some of the defenders have to back off to cover the wingers, which opens up holes in the defence. [/QUOTE] No, you can’t be offsides in your own half of the field (ice), so no problem with Havlat outskating the defenders as long as Redden has half-a-brain. If you really want, extend the can’t-be-offsides area to the blue line and you’ll pretty much have the existing rule without the annoying blue-line convention slowing down the game because the puck went a foot over the line. ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-rules-youd-like-to-see-implemented/359754/85 "2006-06-08T17:17:58Z")
[QUOTE=zamboniracer] Most teams don’t use the DH that way. DHs are frequently position players returning from injuries or very good power guys who would otherwise be playing 1b, such as Cleveland’s Hafner. Hafner is not an old broken down player by any stretch of the imagination. [/QUOTE] Matt Stairs, Tim Salmon, Frank Thomas, Carl “I Don’t Believe in No Dinosaurs” Everett. And those are just the current ones (and I didn’t include Giambi.) If you go back a few years, there’s Cecil Fielder, Eddie Murray, Harold Baines, Jose Canseco and David Justice, all of whom were at least in their mid-30s and in the twilight of their careers. Are there a few guys who are young full-time DHs? Sure. ---
**Author:** ![BabaBooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dfb087/32.png) [@BabaBooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BabaBooey)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-rules-youd-like-to-see-implemented/359754/86 "2006-06-08T17:20:45Z")
Football: Whoever scores the TD kicks the PAT. Wouldn’t you watch the PAT much more intently if Moss or Sapp were kicking it than Seabass? ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-rules-youd-like-to-see-implemented/359754/87 "2006-06-08T18:10:26Z")
[QUOTE=duality72] Football: option 1- Get rid of field goals and extra points; no one except the kicker’s mom watches football for the kicking game. Punts can go or not. [/QUOTE] I would keep the kicking games, but I’d make a rule that says that the kicker must be someone that was on the field for the previous play. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-rules-youd-like-to-see-implemented/359754/88 "2006-06-08T18:14:32Z")
[QUOTE=Don Logan] Is this some silly holdover from the player-manager days? Who was the last player-manager, Ty Cobb in 1926? [/QUOTE] Pete Rose '84-'86. I believe there was a little publicity about his managing and betting. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-rules-youd-like-to-see-implemented/359754/89 "2006-06-08T18:24:36Z")
[QUOTE=bouv] OK, so I’m seeing a few people say that hate interleague play. Can I ask why? Is it just the DH rule, and that because of it, it’s unfair to whatever team is visiting? Or is it just a, “It’s always been two leagues, they only play each other if both get in the world series! That’s the way it’s always been, and always shall be, dag-nabbit!” mentality? [/QUOTE] I think the teams that you’re ranked against in the standings should be the teams you play. I don’t like the divisions we have in American sports either. They’re just artificial ways to make more teams seem competitive. I’d like to see promotion/relegation. I’d like to see salary caps get dumped. Oh, and there’s nothing wrong with calling it “soccer”. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-rules-youd-like-to-see-implemented/359754/90 "2006-06-08T19:08:31Z")
[QUOTE=don’t ask] Pete Rose '84-'86. I believe there was a little publicity about his managing and betting. [/QUOTE] Interesting bit of trivia: two of the last three player-managers in baseball are still managing this season. Joe Torre (currently Yankees, player-manager for the Mets) and Frank Robinson (currently: Nationals, player-manager for the Indians) were the last two before Rose I think there are major issues with interleague play: only a handful of matchups are interesting to the fans (Mets-Yankees, Cubs-White Sox and one or two others) and it leads to imbalances. I’d prefer they go back to where the teams meet only in the World Series. It also would be interesting to go back to limited interleague trading. There used to be specific periods where you could trade a player across leagues (the winter was something like the end of the World Series to December, and there was another in the spring). ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-rules-youd-like-to-see-implemented/359754/91 "2006-06-08T20:09:09Z")
Don Kessinger was a player-manager for the White Sox between Torre and Rose. ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-rules-youd-like-to-see-implemented/359754/92 "2006-06-08T20:16:35Z")
[QUOTE=jsgoddess] If a batter gets struck with the pitched ball on any body part covered in armor excluding the head, the pitch is a ball. A pitcher who strikes a batter on the head is ejected, no matter the intention. [/quote] I think this is brilliant. > [@](#): > > Catchers who block the plate while not in possession of the ball will be ejected. I’m not sure this is workable with close plays at the plate. If the catcher has to wait until he has the ball to set up, there are going to be a lot fewer putouts at home. As it is, a lot of these plays come down to the runner racing the throw to the plate; if the throw is in time, the catcher has to catch it, tag the runner, and protect the ball. This rule would make a very difficult defensive play all but impossible. On the other hand, I think catchers who block the plate without the ball and then whine about being run over should be forced to wear the uniforms from _A League of Their Own_. Stuffing the jersey is optional. The rule I’d like to see (it was first broached by my dad a few years ago) is applicable to most sports, but it would be especially effective in (American) football and hockey. If a player commits an unsportsmanlike act (a late hit or horse collar tackle, for example) and injures another player, the player who committed the foul is not allowed to return to the field until the injured player does. If the injured guy is out ten minutes, fine; if he’s out for a month, the guilty player sits out that month. This rule would require some kind of league standards to determine when a player is medically eligible to return, but I think it would cut down unnecessary injuries. ---
**Author:** ![borschevsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@borschevsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/borschevsky)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-rules-youd-like-to-see-implemented/359754/93 "2006-06-08T20:46:56Z")
[QUOTE=Enginerd] The rule I’d like to see (it was first broached by my dad a few years ago) is applicable to most sports, but it would be especially effective in (American) football and hockey. If a player commits an unsportsmanlike act (a late hit or horse collar tackle, for example) and injures another player, the player who committed the foul is not allowed to return to the field until the injured player does. If the injured guy is out ten minutes, fine; if he’s out for a month, the guilty player sits out that month. This rule would require some kind of league standards to determine when a player is medically eligible to return, but I think it would cut down unnecessary injuries. [/QUOTE] I think Dr. Z from Sports Illustrated wants this rule as well, but I don’t think it’s a good rule. I don’t think the severity of the injury should have much impact at all, if any, on a suspension. For his sucker punch, Todd Bertuzzi deserved to be suspended for a long time. If somebody tomorrow sucker punches a guy in the same way, but the guy happens to not be injured by it, the suspension should still be the same. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-rules-youd-like-to-see-implemented/359754/94 "2006-06-08T21:02:11Z")
[QUOTE=DKW] Also, if the home team is ahead after 8 innings, it bats first in the 9th. There sometimes being a bottom of the 9th and sometimes not never made any sense to me. Eliminate any possible controversy about 8- or 9-inning complete games, no-hitters, etc. [/QUOTE] But… why? Complete games and no-hitters don’t really matter. And anyway, CGs and no-hitters are overwhelmingly performed by the winning team, who has to face the losing team nine times anyway. > [@bouv](#): > > “It’s always been two leagues, they only play each other if both get in the world series! That’s the way it’s always been, and always shall be, dag-nabbit!” mentality? Partially. I mean, for a Giants fan, the only thing more boring than playing the Brewers, say, would be playing the Indians. Who cares? Plus, I like the idea of the two leagues being these seperate rivals, facing each other only in the ultimate contest of the game. A Bay Bridge Series wouldn’t be as neat if we’d already played the A’s twice that year. > [@jsgoddess](#): > > Catchers who block the plate while not in possession of the ball will be ejected. As I understand it, if they don’t have the ball, they can’t block or hinder the runner in any way. They must have the ball upon contact with the runner, else the runner is safe. Here’s one for American football: Have the Superbowl in one of the cities _who are in the friggin Superbowl_! Why the hell should Green Bay enjoy a Superbowl when both teams in it are from a different time zone?! ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-rules-youd-like-to-see-implemented/359754/95 "2006-06-08T21:10:13Z")
[QUOTE=Troy McClure SF] They must have the ball upon contact with the runner, else the runner is safe. [/QUOTE] Well, duh. You can’t very well tag the guy out if you don’t have the ball. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-rules-youd-like-to-see-implemented/359754/96 "2006-06-08T21:13:07Z")
[QUOTE=Troy McClure SF] Here’s one for American football: Have the Superbowl in one of the cities _who are in the friggin Superbowl_! Why the hell should Green Bay enjoy a Superbowl when both teams in it are from a different time zone?! [/QUOTE] Green Bay won’t host a Super Bowl until a) they build a domed stadium (not bloody likely) or b) the NFL changes their rules about cold-weather cities hosting Super Bowls. There was a push to make this change after 9/11 so New York could host one, and Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City was tentatively awarded one, but I think that award was contingent upon having a new stadium with a retractable roof. KC recently withdrew that bid after some stadium financing fell through. More’s the pity. To me, football is a cold weather sport, and the Super Bowl should be no exception. I actually like the neutral site Super Bowl. Homefield can be a big advantage in football, and there’s no way to allocate it fairly to one of the two teams playing in the championship. ---
**Author:** ![aktep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@aktep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aktep)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-rules-youd-like-to-see-implemented/359754/97 "2006-06-08T21:29:12Z")
The NFL’s unofficial-official rule on Super Bowl locations seems to be: 1. Miami, New Orleans, and Phoenix are fun, warm, and have nice stadiums. Do the game there. 2. Houston and Atlanta are pretty good, too. Do the game there once in a while. 3. We should get a team in LA so we can have there game there, too. 4. If a city won’t pony up for a new stadium, we’ll offer them the game just this once as an incentive. Which means conference championships get played in blizzards, but the super bowl is played in “ideal” conditions. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-rules-youd-like-to-see-implemented/359754/98 "2006-06-08T22:09:01Z")
[QUOTE=DKW] Baseball - Something…ANYTHING…to elminate those soul-numbing failed pickoff wars. I defy anyone to explain to me what a 15 minute game of catch adds to the sport. My suggestion would be that a second failed pickoff attempt on the same at-bat results in all runners advancing, the same as a balk. [/QUOTE] A less radical, but effective, solution would be to say that the third (I’d rather go to three than two) pickoff attempt is a ball. It would make the tradeoff a reasonably interesting one. Giving the batter a free ball is a significant advantage, but in some cases a daring pitcher might try to fool someone. I’d support that rule. In hockey, I’d have some pretty radical ideas: 1. All players wear CSA or UL approved face masks, without any exception. We just eliminated all eye and facial injuries. That was easy, huh? 2. Contact between your stick and another player’s head or face, assuming that player is on his feet and standing upright, is an automatic minor irrespective of intent. A second such act by the same player is a major penalty and game misconduct. No exceptions, ever. 3. More than six minutes of penalties in a game is an automatic game misconduct. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-rules-youd-like-to-see-implemented/359754/99 "2006-06-08T22:18:00Z")
[QUOTE=Happy Clam] Allow rugby players to take weaponry onto the pitch. We’re halfway there already. Replace the football (it is **not** soccer! Go find your own name for your bastardised American sport! I suggest runny-throwy-sometimes-kicky ball.) [/QUOTE] Soccer’s a British word. [Cite](http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=6442) ---
**Author:** ![Capa84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8edcca/32.png) [@Capa84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capa84)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-rules-youd-like-to-see-implemented/359754/100 "2006-06-10T16:03:01Z")
I remembered another one of my NFL peeves…any player who gets (2) 15 yard penalties in one game(unsportsmanlike conduct, personal foul blocks, face masks, late hits) is suspended for the rest of the game. In the NBA, two flagrant fouls, or two technical fouls gets you an early shower…but in the NFL you can thug it up all game if you want to give up the yardage. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-rules-youd-like-to-see-implemented/359754.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-rules-youd-like-to-see-implemented/359754.md?page=6)