# Why complex plays and time-outs in timed sports when the clock's almost done?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-complex-plays-and-time-outs-in-timed-sports-when-the-clocks-almost-done/846238
**Category:** The Game Room
**Created:** [January 10, 2020, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-complex-plays-and-time-outs-in-timed-sports-when-the-clocks-almost-done/846238 "2020-01-10T18:26:20Z")
**Posts on this page:** 8
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)
#### Post date: [January 10, 2020, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-complex-plays-and-time-outs-in-timed-sports-when-the-clocks-almost-done/846238/21 "2020-01-10T23:21:46Z")
you know a college BB game is over when the team leading plays the guys at the end of the bench. That’s normally with around 2 or 3 minutes left in the game.
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### Author:  [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)
#### Post date: [January 10, 2020, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-complex-plays-and-time-outs-in-timed-sports-when-the-clocks-almost-done/846238/22 "2020-01-10T23:38:09Z")
I once saw a pre-season game, Eagles v. Giants where the game was telecast on a delay and I already knew that the Eagles had won 24-23. So when the Giants were ahead 23-10 with something like a minute to go, I was really scratching my head. But they scored twice. I don’t recall if there was an onside kick or just using timeouts. This would have been around 1963 or 1964.
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### Author:  [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)
#### Post date: [January 10, 2020, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-complex-plays-and-time-outs-in-timed-sports-when-the-clocks-almost-done/846238/23 "2020-01-10T23:41:34Z")
> [@Atamasama](#):
>
> Yup. It was one heck of an end of game goal line stand for both teams. Great if you love long play reviews. 😃
Looks like it aired here, which means YouTubeTV recorded it for me. So maybe I’ll check it out. Who doesn’t love a review that drags on forever?
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### Author:  [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2020, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-complex-plays-and-time-outs-in-timed-sports-when-the-clocks-almost-done/846238/24 "2020-01-11T15:02:47Z")
a high school football game in Texas had a big comeback late in the game, I think the team scored 3 TDs late to tie and won in OT.
The famous NFL Heidi game had the Raiders score 2 TDs in the final minute to win. East coast viewers did not see the comeback.
> **[Heidi Game](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidi_Game)**
>
> The Heidi Game or Heidi Bowl is the name given to a 1968 American Football League (AFL) game between the Oakland Raiders and the visiting New York Jets. The contest, held on November 17, 1968, was notable for its exciting finish, in which Oakland scored two touchdowns in the final minute to win the game 43–32. However, a decision by the game's television broadcaster NBC to break away from its coverage on the East Coast to broadcast the television film Heidi caused many viewers to miss the Raide...
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### Author:  [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2020, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-complex-plays-and-time-outs-in-timed-sports-when-the-clocks-almost-done/846238/25 "2020-01-11T19:29:05Z")
As a Pacers fan, I can’t let this go without mentioning Reggie Miller’s 8 points in 9 seconds.
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### Author:  [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2020, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-complex-plays-and-time-outs-in-timed-sports-when-the-clocks-almost-done/846238/26 "2020-01-11T19:48:21Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#):
>
> As a Pacers fan, I can’t let this go without mentioning Reggie Miller’s 8 points in 9 seconds.
Reggie was the definition of clutch. Wow was he awesome.
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### Author:  [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)
#### Post date: [January 13, 2020, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-complex-plays-and-time-outs-in-timed-sports-when-the-clocks-almost-done/846238/27 "2020-01-13T14:53:30Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#):
>
> a high school football game in Texas had a big comeback late in the game, I think the team scored 3 TDs late to tie and won in OT.
You might be thinking of the [Plano East vs. John Tyler](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHkABO0VwCg) playoff game in Texas from 1994. Plano East was down 41-17 with 3 minutes left. They scored four touchdowns by recovering three onside kicks. Then they kicked off with about 10 seconds left, which was returned for a touchdown.
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### Author:  [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)
#### Post date: [January 13, 2020, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-complex-plays-and-time-outs-in-timed-sports-when-the-clocks-almost-done/846238/28 "2020-01-13T20:21:17Z")
> [@ntcrawler](#):
>
> You’ve all probably seen it: Basketball, or Football. Less then a minute on a clock. 30 seconds even. The losing team is behind by at least 3 touchdowns, or 6-7 baskets. Yet the coaches keep calling time-outs, rotating players in and out, coming up with complex plays and movements on their market boards. Despite there being no possible way to really make up for the lost points. Is it just for dramatic effect? To stall? Drag the game out?
Practice, the league would probably be upset if a team was clearly making zero effort with more than a few seconds left, and most players do like to play so why not?
Sometime (this is most obvious in hockey, but in basketball and football, too), there’s a timespan where one team is behind and getting very short on time, so they’ll start making fast, high-risk plays (lots of quick three-pointers in basketball, pulling the goalie in hockey, etc.), but at somepoint they realize the deficit is too great and switch back to regular play – they know they won’t win, but would rather play out the end in a more normal way.
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