Minor things that annoy you-sports edition

[thspfc]

I don't watch it much, but what annoys me about college basketball is the intentional fouls at the end of close games. Besides making the last minute of game time take forever, the fact that getting a foul is advantageous is ridiculous. The point of a foul is that it's a punishment for breaking the rules of the game. If that punishment is putting your team in a better position, clearly something should be changed. But nobody seems bothered by this and it's just "part of the game".

All levels of basketball are like this, including Pro and HS as well.

There is something inherently wrong with this.  Football has it to a minor extent that only works occasionally, and there are rules in place to make sure a team can't do this multiple times to their advantage.  Baseball, same thing, especially in terms of a intentional walk.

Here's an idea that could work for both football and basketball: eliminate the game clock. Take the average number of possessions per game and award each team that number of possessions, regardless of how long it takes. Keep the play/shot clocks to prevent the individual possessions from becoming too long.

Ick. That would ruin the game.

[1995hoo]

I don't watch it much, but what annoys me about college basketball is the intentional fouls at the end of close games. Besides making the last minute of game time take forever, the fact that getting a foul is advantageous is ridiculous. The point of a foul is that it's a punishment for breaking the rules of the game. If that punishment is putting your team in a better position, clearly something should be changed. But nobody seems bothered by this and it's just "part of the game".

What I really hate is when the trailing team does that even when they're way behind and have no hope of catching up. Not all coaches will have their teams do it in that situation, but some will, and it's infuriating that it takes 20 minutes to play 90 seconds of basketball.

[Alps]

I don't watch it much, but what annoys me about college basketball is the intentional fouls at the end of close games. Besides making the last minute of game time take forever, the fact that getting a foul is advantageous is ridiculous. The point of a foul is that it's a punishment for breaking the rules of the game. If that punishment is putting your team in a better position, clearly something should be changed. But nobody seems bothered by this and it's just "part of the game".

All levels of basketball are like this, including Pro and HS as well.

There is something inherently wrong with this.  Football has it to a minor extent that only works occasionally, and there are rules in place to make sure a team can't do this multiple times to their advantage.  Baseball, same thing, especially in terms of a intentional walk.

My take, which another friend one mentioned to me, is that you should get a foul shot and then retain possession. The incentive for fouling goes away if you don't get the ball.

[wanderer2575]

Football players pointing in their offensive direction after a fumble and a pileup.  Yeah, no kidding, you think you recovered.  How about we hear it from the refs?

[CoreySamson]

I had a really simple idea to make basketball's fouling a bit more tolerable; simply give the fouled team one point and one free throw on a shooting foul. That would still incorporate free throws, but it would make the game a lot faster, especially near the end of the game. It might also cut down on Hack-A-Shaq strategies.

[mgk920]

I don't watch it much, but what annoys me about college basketball is the intentional fouls at the end of close games. Besides making the last minute of game time take forever, the fact that getting a foul is advantageous is ridiculous. The point of a foul is that it's a punishment for breaking the rules of the game. If that punishment is putting your team in a better position, clearly something should be changed. But nobody seems bothered by this and it's just "part of the game".

All levels of basketball are like this, including Pro and HS as well.

There is something inherently wrong with this.  Football has it to a minor extent that only works occasionally, and there are rules in place to make sure a team can't do this multiple times to their advantage.  Baseball, same thing, especially in terms of a intentional walk.

My take, which another friend one mentioned to me, is that you should get a foul shot and then retain possession. The incentive for fouling goes away if you don't get the ball.

Howabout the team of the fouled player having the choice of taking the ball out of bounds from the sideline spot closest to the spot of the foul or shooting free throws from the choice of either the free throw line or the spot of the foul?

Mike

[texaskdog]

I don't watch it much, but what annoys me about college basketball is the intentional fouls at the end of close games. Besides making the last minute of game time take forever, the fact that getting a foul is advantageous is ridiculous. The point of a foul is that it's a punishment for breaking the rules of the game. If that punishment is putting your team in a better position, clearly something should be changed. But nobody seems bothered by this and it's just "part of the game".

What I really hate is when the trailing team does that even when they're way behind and have no hope of catching up. Not all coaches will have their teams do it in that situation, but some will, and it's infuriating that it takes 20 minutes to play 90 seconds of basketball.

I like the idea of a free point.  or maybe they should be able to take a knee lol.

Fouling is as bad as icing the kicker.  There is no statistical difference, it just wastes a lot of time.

[texaskdog]

Football players pointing in their offensive direction after a fumble and a pileup.  Yeah, no kidding, you think you recovered.  How about we hear it from the refs?

yes but if more of your guys are pointing you get the ball

[tchafe1978]

Fouling at the end of a basketball game when your team is behind is not pointless. Yes, it makes the game drag on, but if you're only behind by a possession or two, it's how you stop the other team from simply running out the clock. The hope is the other team misses their free throws, thereby allowing your team a chance to come back. It's been a simple strategy in basketball for like forever. It's not going anywhere, no matter how many silly other ways we come up with to change the end strategies.

[1995hoo]

Fouling at the end of a basketball game when your team is behind is not pointless. Yes, it makes the game drag on, but if you're only behind by a possession or two, it's how you stop the other team from simply running out the clock. The hope is the other team misses their free throws, thereby allowing your team a chance to come back. It's been a simple strategy in basketball for like forever. It's not going anywhere, no matter how many silly other ways we come up with to change the end strategies.

Right, but....

What I really hate is when the trailing team does that even when they're way behind and have no hope of catching up. Not all coaches will have their teams do it in that situation, but some will, and it's infuriating that it takes 20 minutes to play 90 seconds of basketball.

[texaskdog]

make the shot clock shorter the last few minutes??

[epzik8]

I don't care about the expansion of the NFL playoffs to 14 teams, but did they have to add a week in the regular season. Now nobody can finish .500.

[NWI_Irish96]

I don't care about the expansion of the NFL playoffs to 14 teams, but did they have to add a week in the regular season. Now nobody can finish .500.

8-8-1

[jp the roadgeek]

NFL (and 1983-2004 NHL) final score listings where a game ends in a tie and you see (OT) after the listing.  OF COURSE IF IT ENDED IN A TIE THE GAME WENT TO OT. 

[hotdogPi]

NFL (and 1983-2004 NHL) final score listings where a game ends in a tie and you see (OT) after the listing.  OF COURSE IF IT ENDED IN A TIE THE GAME WENT TO OT.

Thunderstorms can't end games early?

[webny99]

NFL (and 1983-2004 NHL) final score listings where a game ends in a tie and you see (OT) after the listing.  OF COURSE IF IT ENDED IN A TIE THE GAME WENT TO OT.

On the other hand, (OT) is useful for games that didn't end up tied, and it's not worth specifically excluding the ties, since there's usually only one or two per year.

[texaskdog]

NFL (and 1983-2004 NHL) final score listings where a game ends in a tie and you see (OT) after the listing.  OF COURSE IF IT ENDED IN A TIE THE GAME WENT TO OT. 

Ugh the mythical non losses (overtime losses)

[jp the roadgeek]

NFL (and 1983-2004 NHL) final score listings where a game ends in a tie and you see (OT) after the listing.  OF COURSE IF IT ENDED IN A TIE THE GAME WENT TO OT.

Thunderstorms can't end games early?

Maybe in the preseason, but that would say SUSP.  In baseball, you'd see F/(# innings) if a game ends early, but tie games are now suspended and not replayed from scratch.  In the NFL, regular season games are suspended and picked up after the weather has passed or at a later date (or alternate venue) if necessary (such as in the case of a disaster like an earthquake, civil emergency, or a structure collapse/fire.)  Same could be said about the NBA and NHL (though weather is only a factor in outdoor NHL games; games PPD because of a blizzard are usually done so ahead of time).

[Alps]

NFL (and 1983-2004 NHL) final score listings where a game ends in a tie and you see (OT) after the listing.  OF COURSE IF IT ENDED IN A TIE THE GAME WENT TO OT. 

Ugh the mythical non losses (overtime losses)

I hate that there's a loser point without a balancing winner point. Two teams have an incentive to go to overtime if they both need a point for playoff standings and maybe knock out a more hated/dangerous rival. Should be 3-2-1-0 - 3 pt win in regulation.

[texaskdog]

NFL (and 1983-2004 NHL) final score listings where a game ends in a tie and you see (OT) after the listing.  OF COURSE IF IT ENDED IN A TIE THE GAME WENT TO OT. 

Ugh the mythical non losses (overtime losses)

I hate that there's a loser point without a balancing winner point. Two teams have an incentive to go to overtime if they both need a point for playoff standings and maybe knock out a more hated/dangerous rival. Should be 3-2-1-0 - 3 pt win in regulation.

but then they'd always play for overtime.

whats wrong with W/L/T records with an overtime and no shootout?

[Alps]

NFL (and 1983-2004 NHL) final score listings where a game ends in a tie and you see (OT) after the listing.  OF COURSE IF IT ENDED IN A TIE THE GAME WENT TO OT. 

Ugh the mythical non losses (overtime losses)

I hate that there's a loser point without a balancing winner point. Two teams have an incentive to go to overtime if they both need a point for playoff standings and maybe knock out a more hated/dangerous rival. Should be 3-2-1-0 - 3 pt win in regulation.

but then they'd always play for overtime.

whats wrong with W/L/T records with an overtime and no shootout?

There is more incentive to win in regulation if it's worth an extra point.

[thspfc]

I would just get rid of regular season hockey overtime altogether. If it's a tie, it's a tie. Cuts down on injuries and makes regulation more exciting.

[HTM Duke]

I don't watch it much, but what annoys me about college basketball is the intentional fouls at the end of close games. Besides making the last minute of game time take forever, the fact that getting a foul is advantageous is ridiculous. The point of a foul is that it's a punishment for breaking the rules of the game. If that punishment is putting your team in a better position, clearly something should be changed. But nobody seems bothered by this and it's just "part of the game".

All levels of basketball are like this, including Pro and HS as well.

There is something inherently wrong with this.  Football has it to a minor extent that only works occasionally, and there are rules in place to make sure a team can't do this multiple times to their advantage.  Baseball, same thing, especially in terms of a intentional walk.

My take, which another friend one mentioned to me, is that you should get a foul shot and then retain possession. The incentive for fouling goes away if you don't get the ball.

Howabout the team of the fouled player having the choice of taking the ball out of bounds from the sideline spot closest to the spot of the foul or shooting free throws from the choice of either the free throw line or the spot of the foul?

Mike

I apologize for the bump, but the NCAA did actually experiment with this rule in one of the pre-season NIT tournaments years ago.  Once a team was in the double bonus (10+ fouls), they were allowed to either shoot two FT's or to just retain possession and pass the ball back in to resume play.  This was a one-time deal though, and the NCAA never tried out this rule change again.

[Alps]

I don't watch it much, but what annoys me about college basketball is the intentional fouls at the end of close games. Besides making the last minute of game time take forever, the fact that getting a foul is advantageous is ridiculous. The point of a foul is that it's a punishment for breaking the rules of the game. If that punishment is putting your team in a better position, clearly something should be changed. But nobody seems bothered by this and it's just "part of the game".

All levels of basketball are like this, including Pro and HS as well.

There is something inherently wrong with this.  Football has it to a minor extent that only works occasionally, and there are rules in place to make sure a team can't do this multiple times to their advantage.  Baseball, same thing, especially in terms of a intentional walk.

My take, which another friend one mentioned to me, is that you should get a foul shot and then retain possession. The incentive for fouling goes away if you don't get the ball.

Howabout the team of the fouled player having the choice of taking the ball out of bounds from the sideline spot closest to the spot of the foul or shooting free throws from the choice of either the free throw line or the spot of the foul?

Mike

I apologize for the bump, but the NCAA did actually experiment with this rule in one of the pre-season NIT tournaments years ago.  Once a team was in the double bonus (10+ fouls), they were allowed to either shoot two FT's or to just retain possession and pass the ball back in to resume play.  This was a one-time deal though, and the NCAA never tried out this rule change again.

I had no idea, but I love that concept. It eliminates the most annoying part of basketball toward the end - intentional fouling so that 2 minutes takes 30 minutes. You're 6 points behind, too bad. Shoulda played better.

[Roadgeekteen]

Timeouts and breaks in sports near the end of games- makes games last forever. (Mostly a problem in basketball)