So, how'd you like a game to start like THIS?
 

Got this email from a friend this morning:

I was at work today chatting with a co-worker whom has a son on a local JV team. After the JV game they stayed and watched the varsity game. The last that starting player that was announced in the pre-game intros pulled a LeBron James and throws a hand full of powder into the air. They tried to clean the floor but the powder created a slippery mess and for safety reasons the game was moved to a different court.

Was the kid penalized?

My friend had a similar situation, but it was from the V team's fans. They did the "LeBron" thing and the dust got onto the floor on one end. The game was delayed 25 minutes to clean up the floor.

No one they could penalize.

Imitation is the best form of a lack of imagination.......

Why would you state that there is no one to penalize?

Either team can be penalized with a team technical foul for delaying the start of either half by a full minute.

If the followers of one team are clearly the guilty party, then that is the proper team to penalize.

WHACK!

While I understand your logic, I'm not sure it can be fully supported by rule. In Rich's scenario, it was clearly one of the last players introduced. However, (I'm assuming) the team was on the floor, ready to play; it's just that the custodians were holding the game up trying to clean the floor. So, it is more similar to the scenario of holding up play while wiping up spilled water after a TO. I know the warning for delay clearly states it is to be recorded after a TO, and this is the start of the game. But I would think putting the warning for delay in the book is the better route to go. This way, ANY delay from here on out by the same team will result in the T.

You can whack still. Put it on the bench. He isn't a player yet. Still bench personnel. Unsporting could be an option. He is bringing the attention to himself.

Last resort, complain to espn or someone and they will fine him for pregame celebration, similar to the super bowl and post touchdown celebration.

But did any of the players do the crab walk? :rolleyes:

I don't see that this meets the requirements for the T or the delay warning. Somebody spell it out for me.

R-u-l-e 10 - 3 - 5 - a . . . . . d-e-l-a-y t-h-e g-a-m-e b-y p-r-e-v-e-n-t-i-n-g t-h-e b-a-l-l f-r-o-m b-e-i-n-g m-a-d-e l-i-v-e o-r f-r-o-m b-e-i-n-g p-u-t i-n p-l-a-y.


O-K ?

So whack the custodians. :D

But seriously: would they be delaying the game if not for the kid's antics? The kid clearly caused the cause of the delay, and thus caused the delay. ;)

I'd lose no sleep over a T here.

So, do the mops shoot the FT's? And which bucket do they shoot at? :confused:

Anyway, while I may not lose much sleep if you were to call the T, I would try to talk you out of it initially and try to talk you into a delay warning instead. How is it significantly different than delaying the game because they had to wipe up spilled water off the floor? Sure, you can say it took significantly longer to wipe up the powder, but I don't see any time limit in the delay provisions that say after a certain amount of time for cleanup, go directly to a T rather than giving the warning.

The advantage to the warning is now that team will get the T for any other delay for the rest of the game.

The action did cause a delay - but not a minute or two to towel up some water - they actually had to move to a different court. Not the same thing IMHO. WHACK!!!! As stated before they did it to draw attention to themselves and get a "yay John" from the fans. It was unsporting.

Alright, let me ask you this - let's say the floor has a new finish put on it, and there are specific instructions to keep water off the floor until it has finished curing. Then, during a TO, A1 spills some water on the floor that causes the finish to become sticky at that spot. It takes more than a minute or two to try and dry it up, but they figure it's safer to move the game to a different court. Is that also a T, instead of a warning? If so, is it Team Technical, or is it charged to the individual? Is it an indirect to the head coach?

I guess I'm only arguing the reason for the T. If you say the T is because the game was delayed excessively, I would argue against that because there is no time limit mentioned in the rules. If you want to give the T directly to the player for unsporting conduct, I would feel more comfortable with that solution.

my initial judgement was that the action was unsporting. But I would T in either case (delay or sporting) The last scenario you posted with new finish and water is not the same. One is accidental - the other was done on purpose - knowing there would need to be a clean up.