Took 7 months for me to ask??

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by Welpe

Well, like the death penalty, the PF penalty is not a deterrent but a punishment for a wrong doing.

No, that's ridiculous if you think about it. It applies to cases where an advantage is gained by means contravening the rules, provided the advantage can be negated by the penalty, but it would be silly to apply such a standard in a game for a safety issue alone. The penalty does nothing to help in the case a player's knee ligament is injured. It's not as if the penalized player has to kick in for the medical bill or something. When it comes to safety, the only reason for a penalty is as a deterrent.

Welpe's assertion would be even stranger as applied to the personal foul of butt blocking. The penalty is there as a deterrent against a player's endangering his own neck. What good would punishment do in such a case? It would only add insult to possible injury.

Robert in the Bronx