GET OUTTA MY WAY--IT'S APRIL FOOLS' DAY !!

Basketball Rules

Charging fouls are too prevalent, and inhibit the smooth flow of the game. They penalize the
player who drives to the basket--reducing point totals. It’s not fair for a player to make a strong move to the net only to have it ruined by someone who jumps in front--like a street bum hopping in front of a car for a payoff--it’s demeaning.


And how is the driver/shooter supposed to avoid contact? The rule should be modified so that once the player with the ball en route to the basket leaves his feet you cannot get a charge call for defenders who are not already in place. If a defender is set in the path of the driver before he takes off it could be an offensive foul if contact occurs while the driver is ascending, and a no-call if contact occurs while the driver is descending. But defenders who pop out in front of the basket while the driver is in the air deserve to be mowed down like bowling pins.



What’s a guy supposed to do when he’s flying in the air and some hotshot moron steps onto his landing strip? A collision is unavoidable, and it’s the defender’s fault. It isn’t good athleticism to hamstring great leapers.


Addendum 4/6/13


Undercutting the Game

I’m not going to say “I told you so”, but the bad charging call by an NCAA official in the closing seconds of tonight’s basketball game between Syracuse and Michigan likely cost Syracuse a berth in the championship game. These charging fouls are having way too much influence on the outcomes of big games! The whole spectacle of defenders “taking the charge” and dramatically flopping about is a perversion of good sportsmanship! Hey, if you can’t take the heat of the game inside the lane, you can just stick to the perimeter!



Many years ago, it took a Final Four travesty display by North Carolina’s team--of stalling the game once they got ahead--to compel the insertion of the shot clock. Hopefully there will be a reform of the charge call now, too.