Time out or foul?

[mbyron]

This question opens something of a can of worms around here. My opinion is that "granting a time out" is a mental event that is subsequently signaled by hitting the whistle and stopping the clock. Hopefully, these events are nearly simultaneous, but there is necessarily some lag time.

So an official can grant a time out just before a foul, violation, held ball, etc. You did fine, and the coach should let it go once you've explained.