rules Page 6 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Looking back at the best and worst of 2020’s pandemic-inspired rule changes in each sport
Sports have looked a little different this year, and that’s not entirely a bad thing. Across the board, sports have had to adapt to this pandemic-induced state of “normal” that we find ourselves in. Some leagues left their sport alone, while others took the opportunity to throw some spice into the r...
White Fragility Alert: They Only Hate Fernando Tatis Jr. Because He’s So Good
Fernando Tatis Jr. is an MVP candidate at the age of 21, leading the National League in home runs nearly halfway through this abbreviated season while sparking the San Diego Padres into contention for what would be their first playoff appearance since 2006....
If You Can Hit a Grand Slam, Do It
Last week, The Associated Press ran a feature on Fernando Tatis Jr., the 21-year-old San Diego Padres shortstop who is living up to the hype as baseball’s best prospect....
It’s Not a Real Season, So Don’t Lose Your Mud About Rule Changes
MLB and its players finally came to an agreement this afternoon, ending one of the more tedious and frustrating processes in modern sports history....
Baseball's Unwritten Rules Are A National Plague Unto Themselves
Since retaliation has always been allowed whenever one of baseball’s unwritten rules are broken, the Houston Astros should be bracing themselves for whatever punishment opposing teams decide to hand out this season....
Uluru Climbers Thwarted by Strong Winds and Changing Rules
Climbers can no longer scale Uluru, the monolithic rock in central Australia once known as Ayers Rock, that is scared to the Anangu people....
Washington Dealt Unsportsmanlike Conduct Penalty For Attempted Camouflage
No. 25 Washington tried something a little bit too cool at home against No. 12 Oregon Saturday afternoon. On a kickoff return after Oregon scored, Washington stashed purple-clad wide receiver Chico McClatcher in the end zone, where he laid down on the field in an attempt to blend in with the purple ...
Why NFL Officiating Is Such A Shitshow Right Now
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the NFL is having officiating problems. This year’s crop of rules controversies has a little bit of everything, from inscrutable procedures and points of emphasis that seem to change on a whim to inexperience within the ranks to the role of technology and the...
As Expected, The NFL's Pass Interference Replay Rule Has Been A Huge Mess
What you see above looks like a textbook pass interference penalty. Patriots cornerback Jonathan Jones pretty clearly hooked the arm of Giants wideout Golden Tate before the ball arrived. No flag was thrown. Yet even after Giants head coach Pat Shurmur challenged the non-call—as the rules permit coa...
The NBA's Traveling Rule Tweak Doesn't Fix Its Real Traveling Problem
The NBA Board of Governors tweaked the rule book last week in order to, among other things, “help eliminate the gap between the [traveling] rule as written and how it has been applied in NBA games,” according to a summary distributed by the league. The tweak defines the concept of the gather, which ...
Referee Clock Boner Very Nearly Screws Saints In Monday Night Thriller
Monday night’s Texans-Saints game ended with two incredible late drives and a dramatic walk-off 58-yard field goal to put the home team over the top, 30–28. However you feel about the Saints and their fans, one positive takeaway from their victory is it managed to wipe out a pretty significant refer...
Annoying, Obscure Rule Punishes Cool Play, Puts Winning Run Across For Athletics
An obscure and confusing rule sent the game-winning run across for the Athletics in their 9–8 win over the Kansas City Royals Thursday afternoon. I hate this rule. It punishes the defense for making a cool play when a thing that baseball can’t possibly want to discourage right now is cool plays....
Making Pass Interference Reviewable Isn't Going To Make It Any Clearer
The play above was flagged. If you didn’t watch—and, dear reader, I sincerely hope you had something better to do last night than watch a Bengals-Skins preseason game into the fourth quarter—can you guess what the call was? Can you guess which player was flagged? More to the point, can you guess wha...
NCAA Suspends BYU Forward Nine Games Next Season For Not Filing Proper Paperwork
BYU star forward Yoeli Childs has been suspended nine games for this upcoming season because the NCAA determined that the player had hired an agent before filing the proper paperwork with the association. The announcement came on Friday and Childs addressed a group of local media members in Provo, U...
The WNBA All-Star Game Will Include One Really Dumb Rule Change
This is apparently the summer of zany, experimental All-Star games. The WNBA will use its showcase Saturday afternoon to experiment with a couple rule tweaks, one of which is straight out of left field—or, well, straight out of hockey, the most dreaded sport of all....
Pirates Broadcasters Load Up Their Diapers Over Dumb Unwritten Rules Violation
The Pirates got pounded to hell by the dreaded Cardinals Wednesday night, eventually losing by the score of 14–8. The score manages to misrepresent just how lopsided the game was—the Cardinals scored nine runs in the second inning and chased two Pirates pitchers before the end of the fourth inning. ...
The NFL Plans To Actually Enforce The Helmet Rule This Year
Soon after the NFL rolled out its controversial new helmet rule last year—which aims to penalize lowering the head to initiate contact on avoidable hits—the league realized it needed more time to figure out how to implement it, and for players, coaches, and officials to adjust to it....
Rays Put Pitcher At First Base, Nearly Destroy The Tender Fabrics That Hold Together The Game Of Baseball
A crucial AL East game between the Rays and the Red Sox ground to a screeching halt in the eighth inning on Wednesday afternoon after the Rays pulled some lineup shenanigans with their relief pitchers. Lefty Adam Kolarek got the first out in the inning, at which point the Rays brought in right-hande...
Measured By Length Of Suspension, A Reckless Beaning Is Worse Than Trucking A Catcher
Angels pitcher Noé Ramirez was suspended by Major League Baseball for three games for plunking Astros outfielder Jake Marisnick Tuesday night. This is MLB determining that the beaning was intentional and, notably, hitting Ramirez with a longer suspension than the one given to Marisnick for bulldozin...
FIFA Puts An End To The Scourge Of Amazing, Impossible Goalkeeper Goals
Goalkeepers occasionally score goals. Some turn it into an art form; Brazil’s Rogério Ceni scored 131 times. Still, a game where a goalkeeper scores is rare. Even rarer still: a goalkeeper throwing the ball into the other team’s net for a goal....