ABC's "Nightline" examines "worst calls ever" tonight

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by Smitty

Except the view of someone following the rules. It was the rule then, stupid or not, and they called it every time in the regular season. The guy could have his little toe in the crease and they called it no goal. In a Stanley Cup overtime game, you can't just abandon a rule you've been calling all year. His whole foot was in there. If I was from Dallas, I would be very happy, though.

Is this rule not unlike 3 seconds in the key? How would we view a game winning goal scored by a player who had one foot in the lane for 3 seconds before receiving a pass tha they turned around and scored as time expired?

[Scrapper1]

Originally Posted by Camron Rust

Is this rule not unlike 3 seconds in the key? How would we view a game winning goal scored by a player who had one foot in the lane for 3 seconds before receiving a pass tha they turned around and scored as time expired?

I honestly don't know. But would we view it differently if we'd been calling 3 seconds on the play for the last 5 months, and then ignored it in a playoff series? Even when we had the ability to look at it on video?

[Smitty]

Originally Posted by Camron Rust

Is this rule not unlike 3 seconds in the key? How would we view a game winning goal scored by a player who had one foot in the lane for 3 seconds before receiving a pass tha they turned around and scored as time expired?

I'm merely a hockey fan, not a hockey official, but I do know that a successful hockey goal is a much rarer occurrence than a successful basketball shot. I don't see it at all like the 3-second rule. I think (I really have no clue) that the foot in the crease rule was put in to protect the goalies - keep players away, but again I really have no idea. The point is, they called it to an excruciating extent in the regular season - seriously, the slightest bit of skate in that blue area and they'd disallow the goal. Plus they have the luxury of replay to use. The fact that this particular goal was in the 3rd overtime (I think) of a critical Stanley Cup Final game magnified it to certainly belong in the top 10 botched calls of all time. For a Buffalo fan anyway.