[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

Let me put this another way: Every year there is a point of emphasis about rough play, especially in the lane. Why? Sir Issac Newton said in his Third Law of Motion: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. The Basketball Corollary to the Third Law of Motion states: That for every illegal push, which goes uncharged and penalized, the reactive push will be twice as hard.

People keep telling me that knowledge of mathematics and science is not important, but once again my education in sturctural engineering and engineering mechanics saves the day. Thank you, thank you. Just send money.

But getting back to the point at hand. Basketball is a non-contact sport, I did not say that all contact during a basketball game is not legal. It means that players are not to make contact with an opponent to gain an advantage. In the originally posted play, A2 pushed B2 in an effort to gain an advantage over B2 which is not allowed by the rules. Once again, remember basketball is not soccer, there is no advantage clause. Call the foul. Call it early and call it every time it happens. The coaches and players will soon realize that this kind of play will not be allowed and they will stop. If more officials took this approach we would not be having this discussion in the first place because players would now that it is illegal, and we would not have an annual point of emphasis about rough play.