Perhaps it's... wait for it, my favourite word... preventative. If it doesn't stop in the last minute, we'll have players crossing the end line grabbing their opponents to foul to try to stop the clock. That'll lead to more problems.

On the other hand, it could just be an attempt to make the game more exciting for fanboys.

HUH??? It DOESN'T stop in the last minute! And I haven't seen anyone cross the end line to grab the opponent!! Never in 8 years. So if it doesn't happen, it can't lead to more problems.

And how does it make it more exciting for fanboys to stop the clock after a made basket?

And if they do that, it's an <b>intentional</b> personal foul, which is 2 free throws <b>and</b> the ball. Iow, we already have a rule in place that is....wait for it.....<b>preventative</b>.

I hate to get in the middle of a good exchange of sarcasm, but if you call the intentional foul (which you would do after the defender reaches through the endline and grabs the inbounder), how is that preventative? :confused: You've assessed a penalty for the action, but you haven't prevented the action, have you?

The point, I take it, is that the existence of the penalty is in itself a deterrent to the penalized act and is thus "preventative."

You're right, though, that calling a foul does not prevent that instance of the foul.

It's a good thing we have a rule against traveling, then, to prevent that from happening!

No, but if the defensive team has any brains at all, calling it has <b>prevented</b> them from pulling that sh!t again.

Freaking volleyball officials.....:rolleyes:

OK, you tell me, Scappy......whatinthehell <b>is</b> preventive officiating then? Does it even exist if somebody has the option of ignoring an official's attempt at preventive officiating? According to your logic, preventive officiating can't exist.

JR, are you saying officiating isn't about being "preventative?"

Sorry, I'm off playing Air Force for a week, so my brain is a little slow today.

Nope, Skippy is. Ask him.

Preventive officiating is when you prevent a player from breaking the rules.

"Clear the lane!"
"Hands off!"
"Straight up, guys!"

There are penalties that you can enforce, if a player handchecks or dislodges a player in the low post or stays in the lane for 3 seconds. But with 2 or 3 words, the player doesn't actually commit the infraction. That's preventive. You've actually prevented the infraction. Hence the name "preventive officiating". See the connection now? :)

But your argument makes no sense. You cannot truly prevent a player from committing any infraction. How is telling someone "Hands off!" preventing the player from doing anything? If he continues to displace the opposing player, you haven't prevented anything, have you?

You can only try to help prevent players from committing infractions - you cannot prevent them from doing anything. Otherwise there would be no infractions. Your argument holds no water - it's no different than saying the penalty is preventative. You're essentially agreeing with JR here.

Sigh.....

And if they don't (1)clear the lane,(2)keep their hands off, or (3) don't go straight up, then howinthehell can you call it preventive officiating? You haven't prevented <b>anything</b>. All you're doing is telling a player <b>not</b> to break a specific rule.

Which was exactly my point......

The rule on intentional fouls for a defender going OOB and fouling an opponent on a throw-in is </b>preventive</b>! It was put into the book to stop defenders from pulling that nonsense. Aamof, you can also say that <b>every</b> rule in the book is preventive in nature. Whether it actually prevents what it was intended to prevent is irrelevant.

And further.... if stopping the clock in the last minute is supposedly "preventive", then what is preventing a defender from <b>STILL</b> going OOB and fouling the thrower, even though the clock is stopped?

Geeze, poor scimpy's getting an old fashioned beat down here.

http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscart.../ksmn1635l.jpg

He'd be better off sticking to volleyball.