New Rules Annonced

[stan-MI]

Originally posted by JRutledge

I sure as hell hope our state uses good wisdom and passes on this rule. If you need a rule like this to help game management, then you are not qualified in the first place.

Nothing good happens in a game where a team is winning by more than 40 at halftime. All you get is frustration on the part of the losing team, and the opportunity for hard fouls and poor sportsmanship. No one has any fun (winning team included), and no one learns anything from this type of mismatch. The positives for this rule have nothing to do with getting home early. They have everything to do with ending a bad situation before it gets worse.

[JRutledge]

Originally posted by stan-MI


Nothing good happens in a game where a team is winning by more than 40 at halftime. All you get is frustration on the part of the losing team, and the opportunity for hard fouls and poor sportsmanship. No one has any fun (winning team included), and no one learns anything from this type of mismatch. The positives for this rule have nothing to do with getting home early. They have everything to do with ending a bad situation before it gets worse.

Well Stan, you have a right to your opinion but I disagee with you. You say nothing good comes out of it, and that I totally disagree with. The kids that did not play before, get an opportunity to play the game they watch most of the time. The fouls are not always hard and poor sportsmanlike behavior is not inherient in blowout games. Honestly when the game is more in question, that is the times it can be harder to keep the emotions from getting out of hand. Or a big rivalry which can be that way in a blowout or if the game is nip and tuck. But then again, you live in a state that has this rule, I do not. I hope they keep things the way they are and let these kids play. In the other sports that I officiate that have a mercy rule of some kind is in place to keep kids from getting hurt or ending a game that does not have a time limit. Basketball is not that sport. Playing a little longer is not automatically going to get someone hurt. And if it is, you are not calling fouls are staying on top of possible hot situations.

I have had 20 point games that things were chippy and had 30 point games where everything went smooth and uneventful.

Peace

[stan-MI]

Originally posted by JRutledge

You say nothing good comes out of it, and that I totally disagree with. The kids that did not play before, get an opportunity to play the game they watch most of the time.

[/B][/QUOTE]

Rut,

You look at the faces of the children (yes, that's what high school students are) who are on the losing end of a 98-34 game (or 76-14, or 96-17, or 80-8, or 100-34, or 81-14, or 85-25, or 62-17, or 96-20, or 99-24), and you tell me whether they're enjoying the playing time. You don't have to be a mind reader to see from their facial expressions and body language that they're being embarrassed and can't wait for the game to end. By the way, these are actual Detroit Public School League scores from two weeks of girls games last year, the year after the mercy rule was taken away. FYI, the Michigan mercy rule took effect only when a team had a 40-point second half lead.

Not every game is going to be competitive, and lopsided games are inevitable, but at the high school level and below , if the winning coach is classless, the rules should try to minimize the embarassment and humiliation of the losers.

[JRutledge]

life is full of disappointment. If you do not want to be humiliated, do not play sports. Because if you play long enough, you will be humiliated on any playing field at one time or another. But you do not get better by ending a game quicker, you learn by still playing in a sport where serious injury is not a factor as it is in other sports. I am not buying your argument on the issue and I will never buy this argument.

It seems to me you have problems in your class system or who gets playoff games or not in your state. We have a 2 class system here and we do not nearly have the type of blowouts that you suggest. We even have Class A school in conferences with Class AA(Big Schools) and they get along fine. And when they happen, they happen on the girl's side. I personally do not think a situation that happens more on the girl's side of the ball is good for all HS sports in general. And we know they will never make a rule for just girl's basketball.

Peace

[Hawks Coach]

Originally posted by JRutledge
I personally do not think a situation that happens more on the girl's side of the ball is good for all HS sports in general. And we know they will never make a rule for just girl's basketball.

I think that there is precedent for carrying different rules when you consider that many states use NCAA women's shot clock rules for girls only. However, I would agree that a girls-only rule is less likely to occur for something like the mercy rule. However, if the 40 point blowouts are rarely happening in boys ball, it is rather a non-issue, wouldn't you agree. It is a de facto girls only rule, because girls ball seems to be having bigger disparities right now.

Don't want the rule, but 40 points seems a decent place to have it if you feel you need it. And it will not be used in the majority of games.

[Hoosier]

Does anyone know if they are going to make players stay in assigned spaces too? I couldn't really tell from the way the wording of the rule read, and we didn't get the official rule, all we got was the commentary on what the rule was going to be. In college women's ball, the second space can only be occupied by offense and the third can only be occupied by defender. I just wondered if Fed was going to make it 4 def. and 3 offense as well?