[JeffTheRef]

Life is complicated. Basketball is complicated, too - perhaps somewhat unnecessarily so because the rules are not well written.

Of course that's easy for me to say. The weight of what is is a hell of a burden. To fix it, or scrap it and start over? That is the 'to be or not be' of engineering - whether of bridges, software, or rule-based systems.

That being said, some rules are excellent, some are mediocre - and judicious application can be useful.

"If they took a punch at someone,what would you call then? A backcourt violation?"

Nicely rhetorical. Of course not. I'd toss 'im. It isn't the rule governing fighting, or its application, that's at issue.

In some game, somewhere, some guy is right on the edge. Were the elbows exactly traveling faster than the waist? Is the action truly a reflection of 'criminal' emotion, or is he blowing off steam? You might warn him. Or you might - well, you might have, since because it was such a bad rule its no longer an issue, the penalty is changed - call him for traveling and smile when he protests and the coach tells him to be quiet.

Professional driver, closed course.