Some complained about the officiating in the NHl, which I agree with. But what really gets me is that it is expected in the NBA that the home team will get the benefit of the doubt on all the calls. I understand all sports leagues have some hometown bias in the officiating, but none more so than the NBA that it is actually expected and accepted.
My opinion on the bunt/no-hitter. The dude should be a hero, not a ridiculed. I mean Schilling was pitching lights out and nobody was getting on base, yet this guy figured out a way. That is not bad baseball, that is freaking genius baseball.
Well, I’m not too surprised that they wouldn’t do it on the radio, what with Ron Santo being one of the announcers…
But, unless Joe Carter has beaten Chip up over talking about no-hitters, Chip does it all the time. Sometimes as early as the fourth inning. The guy’s a total schmuck, though…
I played basketball in high school. Every time I TOUCHED an opponent I was called for it, yet when I had the ball I could get form-tackled by Chuck Howley and the refs didn’t seem to notice. Could someone explain that?
Also, in the NBA I frequently see players travelling. Especially near the hoop. Status privilage? Any insites?
Please! They might as well take travelling out of the rule book. As much as I loved him, Michael Jordan basically ran down the court with the ball in his hand.
people are so focused on fantastical slam dunks that the fundamentals of basketball don’t even matter anymore. Getting a beautiful layup doesn’t garner a fourth of the crowd noise of a crushing slam, even though they count for the same amount of points.
I can’t believe it made two pages before someone mentioned the Jordan rules. Jordan gets away with anything he wants to get away with. Thus are the Jordan rules.
I do think he should keep his ass retired, though.
I remember Vin Scully once telling a story wherein he was announcing a Sandy Koufax no-hitter on the radio and, following the old superstition, didn’t mention it was a no-hitter. Sometime afterwards he met a man who complained that he’d tuned in halfway through and, since nobody said a no-hitter was going on, hadn’t listened to the rest of the game. Scully decided from then on in that the superstition was silly for announcers to follow, since they have a job to do and NOT telling the audience what’s going on is the opposite of that job.
Yes, in the NBA veteran franchise players are routinely given breaks for “fundamentals penalties”. You will rarely see one get called for traveling, palming, double dribble, or up and down, and they greatly abuse it. It is routine for announcers to talk about how rookies have to “earn their calls” before they can get away with the superstar tactics of taking five steps and jump-spin shots.
Charles Barkely was the most notorious abuser of “up and down”. He would post up, stop, then jump, bounce the ball high to get a couple extra steps, grab the ball, then take more steps on his way to the hoop. Shaq also will take a jump, then another immediate jump while shooting. Illegal, but he will never get called for it.
It is also an unwritten rule for any NBA vet that is in a come back game (Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johson) or on a streak to play them loose and let them showboat. Someone (can’t remember who) was trying his hardest to shut down Michael (and succeeding) during one of his comebacks. Michael and the rest of the team were quite insulted.
As an NCAA umpire, I can tell you where “the tie goes to the runner” comes from. The rule book says [in summary] that on a force out, the runner will be called out if the fielder has control/posession of the ball before the runner touches the base. If you break this down into boolean thinking you have three states:
Fielder has posession before runner gets to base
Runner beats Fielder in posession of the ball
Runner and Fielder tie.
The rule only specifies case number 1. Therefore cases 2 and 3 (hence a tie going to the runner) would have to be ruled safe.
In baseball: If a long time star is taking his last at bat before retiring, the pitcher should set him up with meatballs so he can end his career with a hit.
In bowling: If someone has a turkey (three strikes in a row) you don’t write down the score until the bowler breaks the string with a spare or miss.
In high-school sports: In JV games, all players should be given significant playing time, and playing to win by putting the best players on the floor for the majority of the game is considered uncouth.
When one team has an insurmountable lead, it is the team that is behind that should put in scrubs first, thus “conceding” the game and signalling to the leading team that they should put in their scrubs also.
In basketball: If a player is charged with a technical foul, he/she gets a certain amount of “bitch time” during which he/she will not be charged with a technical for anything short of assaulting the ref. The amount of “bitch time” is directly proportionate to the prestige of the player called for the technical.
And as for the reference to professional wrestling: Aren’t all rules in professional wrestling unwritten rules?
I don’t know who said it in a previous post in this thread, but I’ll agree… If a catcher takes a hard foul shot, or a short hop from the pitcher that bounces odd… I’ll clean off the plate or some other such nonsense to give the catcher some time to shake it off. That’s a courtesy I’ll give in the 10 & Unders all the way up to NCAA. Also, if I get get with a ball (mostly in youth) I’ll do what I can to shake it off without rubbing it or saying anything. Last thing you want to do is make some kid feel guilty for letting a ball get past them. In more than one youth game, I’ve had partners who have really put on a show after getting hit with the ball. He’ll thow his mask, take a knee. Just look like a wimpy jerk.
In football, no matter how far you are ahead in the game, only the offense lets up. The most the defense lets up is to go into a prevent defense and still give 100%.
In baseball: When a player is on a streak or nearing a record, you don’t pitch around him or, God forbid, intentionally walk him.
Unless you’re the Japanese single-season home run record holder, and an American is about to break your record.
Sadaharu Oh was the Japanese record holder with 55 home runs in a single season. In 1985, he was the manager of the Giants, and in the last two games of the season, faced off agains the Tigers, whose star player was American Randy Bass.
Randy Bass, a below-average player in the major leagues who managed to hit a total of 9 home runs in 6 or 7 seasons in the majors, was the best player in Japanese professional baseball, with 54 home runs going into the last game of the season.
Oh’s pitchers walked Bass every time he came up during that final game.
Bunting to break up a no-hitter? Small potatoes when it comes to poor sportsmanship.
Hmm. Any time I’ve asked an umpire about this, the answer was “there’s no such thing as a tie” - said either with authoritative pomposity or a grin and and wink!
More baseball, and I apologize if this was mentioned already, it’s a long thread:
-If you are ahead by a substantial lead, and it’s late in the game, you don’t try and knock a 3-0 pitch out of the ballpark (I think Barry Bonds got some grief for this one).
-Again, when blowing out the other team, you shouldn’t try and steal a base.
I’m gonna side with jarbabyj on this one, as I’ve never heard a Cardinals broadcaster ever mention a no-hitter in progress. (Of course Jack Buck, is what, 134 now? Damn near as old as the game itself and Al Hrobosky is a former pitcher. My point is, they don’t mention it.)
Ok, let me ask you the same question the other way around. At point point should the other team stop trying? When the pitcher has a no-hitter into the 5th inning, the 6th? Or is the 7th inning the magical inning when the other team should start letting the other pitcher beat them?
A team is never under any obligation to respect the opposing team’s ho-hitter. They are, however, under an obligation to try to get hits and win the game.
I see nothing wrong in expecting the pitcher to field his position.
