[JRutledge]

In football (in my state) we have a 40 point "mercy rule" in place. What happens in football, officials do everything in their power to make this happen. I know many officials that spend more time worried about the running clock and debating over what can and cannot be done during this time, they stop officiating like normal. You have more guys trying to get out of there, than just calling what happens. And it totally seems to influence how you call the game with holding penalties (that are very warranted btw) and other things that could potentially stop the clock. Now in football someone can get hurt because of the type of collisions that can continue when the game is in play. Basketball does not have that problem. All that can be hurt for the most part are egos. And if that is all, that can be delt with considering that the clock runs most of the time anyway. You are not in a major threat of having a kid taken out on a stretcher worrying about whether he can walk again. That does happen in football and the "mercy rule" has it's place in that game. But in basketball, I see no purpose for it. And if all we are worried about is embarrassment and egos, then the kids should not be playing sports or anything competitive to begin with.