Basketball

Thus begins the rant of the day:

Welcome to my blog. I am beginning my barrage on the world by speaking of basketball, be it high school, college, pro, or any other incarnation of the sport. The first question that I pose is simple: when did travelling suddenly become acceptable in the rule books? Does ANYONE notice the fact that the "jump-step" is travelling? How about the fact that a pivot-foot is actually supposed to be established BEFORE the dribble ceases?

It amazes me that refs are now either trained to overlook these rules violations, or just choose to ignore them. If this is going to be the case, REMOVE THE RULE! While it is exciting to see Lebron, Kobe, Chauncy Billups, and the like cut to the hoop and force their way into the land of the giants, it drives me INSANE to see them take several steps before releasing the ball! CALL THE TRAVEL for goodness sake!!

While we are talking out rules that are ignored, what ever happened to the palming rule? I know I am starting to sound like Adolph Rupp or Bob Knight, but I am a purist, and if they are going to HAVE to darn rules.....ENFORCE THEM! I am all for removing the rules and having a much more fast-paced game, but this is much like the antiquated laws that cities still carry on their books (such as it being illegal to eat ice cream while walking down a town's streets during the summertime...yes, this is a real law in some cities), if they are outdated or just silly, get rid of the rules. If you are going to continue to carry them, ENFORCE THEM! You cannot have it both ways!

Ok, this concludes my rant for the day. Look for more rants to come!