Since I don’t watch sports for the purpose of seeing one player touch another, I never fully understand the matter… What I’d like to know is:
Football: Does the quarterback touch the center before the snap?
Baseball: Does an infielder just have to touch a baserunner and the base before the BR touches the base, to put the BR out? What about rundowns and assisted/unassisted double/triple plays?
Hockey: In “checking,” how far do the rules allow the checking player to go when blocking the “checkee”?
Basketball: Do the rules absolutely forbid a player to touch an opponent (one about to shoot, for example)?
Yes, there is some contact, unless the quarterback is in the shotgun position.
If a runner is off the base and tagged by a fielder with the ball (or usually the ball in a glove) the runner is out. There are times (called a force) when all that is needed is for a player with the ball to tag the base. For example, when you hit the ball and run to first, if the ball gets to the first baseman before the runner, the runner is out.
But say a runner rounds second and heads for third. The ball is thrown to the third baseman, but there is no “force”. The runner is free to go back to second so he’s not out unless he is tagged.
Boxing: In modern boxing you aren’t allowed to punch at the back of the neck evenwhile in a clinch, this is called a “rabbit punch”. I beleive it was banned because it causes a pre-mature knockout. (Not in boxing, but in a martial arts class, I was thrown onto my neck at that exact spot, and I was knocked out cold for about a minute and had a concussion…)
Basketball: Do the rules absolutely forbid a player to touch an opponent (one about to shoot, for example)?QUOTE]
Definitly not, its hard to explain, but your allowed to use reasonable contact with your body to stop a player from moving to the basket.
You cant ‘hit’ players or slap at the ball (unless your good enough to get all ball and avoid the player), however you can hold your arms out and use your chest to bounce a player trying to get past.
Cheap slaps usually result in a foul.
While shooting, your allowed to put your arms straight up in the air, and not impede the progress but you are allowed to stand your ground. A good guide a referee friend of mine told me is to think of the defending player as being in a cylinder. They can move up and down within the cylinder with out causing a foul, however if they move outside of the cylinder (eg reach for the player shooting), they may cause a foul. When defending, hands straight up in the air with no reaching will avoid you a foul.
In addition to incidental contact, a quarterback will sometimes “goose” the center to signal a surprise sneak play. I trust we are all mature enough to avoid making any suggestive remarks about this practice.
In addition to the rabbit punch being illegal, as pointed out by conczepts, the kidney punch (lower back), low blows (below the belt), and head butts are all illegal. Also, any blow when the opponent is down, fully or partially, is illegal.
In baseball a runner is out if a fielder touches the base with the ball in his hand or glove if it is a force play. If the runner is not forced (i.e., does not have to move up one base) then the runner must be tagged with the ball or the glove with the ball in it before he gets to a base before he is called out.
Unassisted triple plays usually happen when there are runners on 1st and 2nd with no one out and a line drive is hit to a middle infielder. The line drive is out number one. The fielder then steps on second base to force out the runner on second who has run too far and then tags the runner from first who is running toward second.
Technically, the second out is an appeal play, not a force play. A force out is possible only on the batter-runner or a runner who is forced to go to the next base because the bases behind him are occupied. The difference is not important in this case, but it can be important in other cases. For example, suppose there are runners on second and third with one out. The batter hits a fly ball to the outfield. Both runners tag up to run when the ball is caught. The outfielder makes the catch for the second out, then throws home to try to nail the runner from third. The throw is late and the runner is safe at home, scoring a run. However, the catcher has noticed that the runner from second left the base early (before the ball was caught). The catcher throws to the second baseman who steps on second. The runner is called out on appeal.
Here’s where the distinction is important: the run counts. If it were a force play, the run wouldn’t count because no run can score on a play where the third out is a force play.
Jeff, that kind of reminds me of the Brooklyn Dodgers’ “three-men-on-third-base” situation, in a game they played against the Boston Braves in 1926:
One out. Chick Fewster on first; Dazzy Vance (pitcher) on second; Hank DeBerry on third. Floyd “Babe” Herman at bat. He hits a long drive that lands in the outfield. DeBerry scores. Vance runs from second and stops at third. Fewster runs to second and third but knows he’s out if he passes Vance. Babe Herman runs and touches first and second, then slides into third. Three men on third base!!
Braves’ third baseman Doc Gautreau finishes the play–a double play that ends the inning. But DeBerry scored, winning the game for the “Daffy Dodgers.” Umpire Quigley had to puzzle this one out, presumably with his colleagues. Babe Herman doubled into a double play!
In hockey, there is also a lot of pushing and shoving, especially in the corners and in front of the net. By a strict reading of the rulebook a lot of that would be illegal. For instance, defensemen (who, me?) will bother opposing forwards when they are standing near the front of the net, and often that bothering could be done with the stick (cross-checking) or arm (holding), and it is usually done when the opponent doesn’t have the puck (interference).
Different refs will call the game differently (or even the same refs, on different nights), but basically if you just push people around and bother them its not a penalty, but if you flatten them or send them flying it is a penalty. If you knock one flying and the flyer knocs down another forward, you get bonus points
