Drawing the line on 'contact'???

[Maverick]

Assuming again that the ball was knocked away cleanly, you know have two players with an equal right to a loose ball. If they are both running directly toward the ball (not into the other player) and not putting an arm out to hold/slow down the other player, I've got no call. There will almost certainly be contact considering they're both running to the same place but not necessarily a foul. I've tried to get out of the habit of still thinking that the only foul can be on the defense. Often, I find that the defender is moving faster so it is usually the offense that pushes/runs into the defense once the ball becomes loose so the foul can often go the other way.