An Informal Survey

[Freddy]

Originally Posted by BatteryPowered

Is that really true?

Just playing devil's advocate...if a game starts out "a little chippy" and you have tried talking post players out of bumping in/near the paint, a little hip (even if they are not trying to feed the post at that ecxact moment) in the first minute of Q2 may get a whistle and a soft comment "I tried to warn you" as you go to report. Fast forward to the last minute of a tied game...will that exact same little bump under the exact same circumstances get a whistle? My guess is for most officials the answer would be no.

Good point. Given the totality of whole game, that wouldn't be the same play due to the changed circumstances between the two sitches you state. Now, for the entire association or assigning pool to be trained to understand the distinction you make and judge accordingly and similarly in the same "whole game" situation(s) you cite, that's what I mean by it.
I am, however, reconsidering the phraseology of what I'm toying with due to your concern.