Quote:
Originally Posted by Eastshire
I disagree. We all use the clock because this rule eliminated this bush-league crap. You can't change the start time to force a T on the visitors because the turn in time is based off the scheduled start time. If they meant 10 minutes before the start of the game, they wouldn't have said "scheduled." The rule is worded the way it is to particularly cut this crap off at the knees.
|
What exactly does "scheduled" mean? It can't possibly mean the "original" time noted in some obscure computer file. Schedules change all the time.
If the clock says 15:00, that's the schedule. Otherwise, as Bob noted, a team who shows up late is going to have a T. Or, conversely, if the game gets moved up a couple hours for any reason, then neither team would be bound by the rule for any real purpose. If the game is moved back for any reason, then you'll start with a double T and each team gets one step closer to the bonus.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eastshire
If you believe the rule means you have to go by the clock, you have no choice but to issue the T here. I think you'll agree the rule is not intended to allow the home team to have the ability to always start the game with a T on the visitors.
|
I absolutely have a choice. I'm not giving the home team an advantage not intented by the rules here. The scheduled time may have been moved up, but if I got so little notice as an official that I get on the court with 8:00 left rather than 15:00, I'm going to assume the coach got little notice as well and I'm going to give him a couple of minutes to adjust.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eastshire
What happens under your interpretation if I put 9:59 on the clock and just don't start it until under 10? For that matter, there is no requirement for the warm-up period to be timed at all. No, while the time on the clock is a useful tool, it is not actually determinative for this rule.
|
No big deal. I'd check with the table to see why it's not running (maybe they've moved the game back). If we're still on schedule, i'll check the book like normal. Again, my only accurate frame of reference on the court is that clock. Do you wear a watch on the court?
And the lack of requirement for the warm-up clock is precisely why the rule was written this way. And, as Bob noted, in case something screwy happens and the game has to be held off. If it was written to say "before the game starts" then you may have to retract some Ts.
1. You call a T with 9:00 left on the pregame clock for this.
2. With 1:00 on the pregame clock, the lights go out and it takes 15:00 to get started. The book was ready more than 10:00 before the game started, but not more than 10:00 before the scheduled start.