Quote:
In another major change, the exact time observed by the referee
may be placed back on the clock when an obvious mistake is made by the
timer in starting or stopping the clock.
"With this change in Rule 5-10-1, it eliminates the lag
time/reaction time of the clock operator," Struckhoff said. "If the
referee observes the time on the clock when an error occurs, the exact
time will be able to be put back on the clock."
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Being focused on the team control mechanic, I missed this the first time. It is an extremely BAD idea for a few reasons. First, while I realize what's written here is not the complete rule, it seems to only apply in cases where the official is actually looking at the clock when he or she blows the whistle. How many times does this actually happen, even late in the game? For me, not very many.
Second, it encourages coaches to nitpik this to their advantage, stressing the officials should put up time even when it isn't warranted. This, along with the tap/try rule with less than half a second could be crucial. The coaches aren't going to care 1)what the rule actually says and 2)what the facts actually are. They are going to have heard this was a rule change and attempt to use it to their advantage. More grief we don't need.
Third, I've witnessed the wrong time being put on the scoreboard, and on many clocks, there isn't a way to set hundreths of a second. Say you blow (and see the clock at) 3.7 left and it stops at 3.3, and the clock can't be reset except to either 3 or 4. What are you going to do?
Finally, while I haven't tested this and would certainly be willing to try and potentially be proven wrong, I have serious doubts that anyone can precisely see when exactly what the clock had when they blew their whistle. Remember, there is SOME time that went off the clock between the time the event that led to the whistle being blown and the actual blowing of the whistle (not to mention the sound waves traveling, but that's likely trivial enough to ignore). Why not correct back to that time, if the official has definite knowledge?
I absolutely hate it when officials start monkeying around with the clock. I know in certain situations it needs to be done, but this rule will cause nothing but trouble.