Observations From the Cheap Seats
A different kind of sports blog. Intriguing and subtle questions about about the state of sports in America.
August 2024 – Blog Series 1: Rules for Fools
Rules, penalties and regulations. They change sometimes…or not. There are forward thinkers in the sports hierarchy, and traditionalists. There are new rules or modifications that change the very nature of how the sport is played (the 3 point basket), or how a team is formed (free agency, NIL). There are changes that seems significant, but end up not. I’m halfway in-between: sometimes a traditionalist, but sometimes I think changes must be made to keep the sport fresh, or to keep up with the modern athlete.
But are there rules that make you scratch your head? Make you wonder what “they” were thinking ? Are there adjustments that could maybe make the game better or fairer (for both fan and player)? So, here’s my take on the most questionable rules in sports, for 6 of my favorite sports in this country. I’ll start with Basketball, then follow with Football, Soccer, Baseball, Golf, and Ice Hockey.
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Blog Series 1: Rules Episode 5 – Golf
Time to switch to a more personal sports experience: golf. This is a sport I have personally played for many years. Though not for everyone, it’s extremely popular. According to the National Golf Foundation, 25.1 million Americans played golf on a course in 2021, and a total of 36.9 million Americans played golf either on a…
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Blog Series 1: Rules Episode 4 – Baseball
Did you know that in the official rules of Major League Baseball, the “swing” is not defined? That’s right, one of the basic tenants of the game is basically left unexplained. I’ll borrow a 2019 quote from Matt Snyder of CBS sports: “Now, for decades and decades, fans, players, media, umpires alike have come to…
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Blog Series 1: Rules Episode 3 – Soccer
One of the world’s oldest organized team sports, and perhaps the world’s most popular, is soccer, or football, or futbol as it is called elsewhere. To Americans, it does have one rather odd rule, regarding how the games are timed. I refer specially to “Added Time”. “Added Time” or “Injury Time” or “Stoppage Time” – …
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Blog series 1: Rules Episode 2 – Football
An admission: I love football. It is undoubtably my favorite. My Dad played Div 1 college football, and we watched and were taught the game when we were very young. I remember being mesmerized, watching whole games start to finish, when I was 5. It is also a very complex sport, with many rules and…
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Blog series 1: Rules Episode 1 – Basketball
Fresh off watching the excellent basketball at the Paris Olympics, it was interesting to see some of the rule changes in international basketball from the NBA and NCAA. No goal tending after the ball touches the rim, the lack of the defensive 3 second rule, different game lengths, foul limits, ball size, and 3 point…