chewybrian 

I found a new worst today in the NFL. Baltimore kicked off and the ball settled down all on its own at about the two yard line, about 3 feet from the sideline. It looked like a perfect kick. The Cleveland special teams guy came over to down the ball, stuck his feet out of bounds and then fell on the ball (which was in bounds, not moving!). I thought this was going to be a penalty on the Browns for claiming possession after stepping out of bounds, 1/2 the distance to the goal, but not so much.

They ruled that since the receiving team was out of bounds when they downed the ball, the ball was therefore out of bounds! Kicking off out of bounds put the ball all the way back to the forty (even though punting out of bounds is just a round of high fives for a job well done!).

Who writes these rules?!?

Hondo Gravel

Over zealous calls for targeting.

Joe Bikerider

I have this theory that every sport needs a rule just to allow for argumentation. Although this has been reduced thanks to cameras etc. For example Soccer has offsides. Few fans know the actual rule but everyone can yell about it. Did you see the finish of the F1 race today? Lots of chance for argument there, like for years to come. Pouring rain just now in my home town, but I got out for a short ride around noon without much damage. Whoo hoo.

canklecat

My vote for worst rule in sports is the standing eight count in boxing. It's well meaning and wrongheaded. It enables fighters to recover just enough to absorb more punishment and potential brain damage, but not always enough time to show they're fully recovered.

I prefer the pre-standing eight count era. If a boxer was knocked down he knew he had up to a count of nine to start to rise. If he's alert and coordinated enough to do that, he's probably recovered enough to continue. A savvy referee will watch carefully and stop the fight if the boxer isn't safely recovered.

I'm not a fan of the three-knockdown automatic stoppage rule either. Sometimes refs call it a knockdown when a fighter slips, trips or is shoved down by an opponent. Or a really savvy, experienced fighter might voluntarily take a knee to recover from a body blow or being stunned, then rise and continue safely. Counting those situations as knockdowns toward an arbitrary three-knockdown limit per round deprives boxers of opportunities to recover and continue.

A related pet peeve is referees who give a fighter a standing eight count, then takes another two seconds to wipe the gloves, another two or three seconds to tell the fighter to walk forward while the referee evaluates his balance, then another second or two to separate the boxers when the opponent rushes in to finish off the boxer who was knocked down. Effectively, some referees give fighters up to a 20-count instead of an 8 or 10 count. It robs the opponent the opportunity to finish the stoppage.

I believe these practices, among others, contribute to chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Other questionable practices include padded gloves that protect the hands so effectively that boxers can deliver punches that would not be possible with older style gloves or bare knuckle matches. For example, those brutal uppercuts to the jaw would be rare without modern padded gloves. With older style minimalist gloves and bare knuckles, the puncher's hands would be injured.

Another problem is referees who don't permit any form of clinching, grappling or even non-holding use of forearms, etc. While some boxing fans prefer artless, brutal, rock 'em sock 'em robot punchouts, they're missing out of the art of defense that old school boxers mastered. To me it's no different from the jiu-jitsu practitioners who've mastered grappling as part of the overall MMA game. While some inexperienced fans criticize boxers like Floyd Mayweather Jr, Andre Ward, Bernard Hopkins or Muhammad Ali for clinching and holding, those boxers were far more active punchers than the old school masters like Joe Gans and Jack Johnson. Prohibiting non-punching tactics turns boxing into either Olympic style fist-fencing, or artless slugfests.

Granted, this introduces an element of gaming to the sport. But if the boxer isn't savvy enough or oriented enough to use these tactics, the fight should be stopped.

Hondo Gravel

Just watched the Grey Cup the Canadian championship in football and I notice they allow more trash talking and aggression after a play within reason. Where in the NFL it would surely draw a penalty. Anyways Winnipeg 33 Hamilton 25 in OT. It was a great game.

ooga-booga

the buster posey rule...taking away the play at the plate.

rwh 

The Tommy Bolt rule, two stroke penalty for throwing golf clubs in anger

ridelikeaturtle

Do you mean a protest process? I'd agree that every sport should have a procedure to allow for protest of the interpretation of any rule.

About that F1 race: the regulation covering the race director to be able to effectively do whatever they want, is a stupid rule as it makes a mockery of all the other rules, and this final race where the race director changed his mind to create a final lap race - which was unfair as it disadvantaged one driver / favoured one driver over the other - is the perfect example of how it all goes wrong. The concept of "discretion", selectiving ignoring one or more rules, should not exist.

indyfabz

No hands in soccer.

cb400bill

Ending soccer matches with PK's.

Ending hockey games with Penalty Shots.

boozergut

Offsides in soccer and hockey. At least suspend it for the last ten minutes of the match.

Joe Bikerider

Sometimes you got to have a result. One side needs ti be the winner. Soccer allows for ties all through the season but when it comes to the championship it can’t be a tie. In that case penalty kicks are fine with me.

ClydeClydeson

Style points in ski jumping. If you can make your skiis fly further than the other competitors and land on your feet, then you win - who cares if you flap your arms or land with one foot slightly ahead of the other or whatever... all that matters is how far can you GD jump???!

skijor

No beer sales at NFL night games.

j/k That's a good one.

Riveting

No gambling allowed in the Las Vegas Raiders stadium.

tyrion

Penalizing headshots in dodgeball.

skijor

Two men enter, one man leaves.

indyfabz

Curling.

skijor

What about it?
The tiny brooms?

indyfabz

Everything.

chewybrian 

That's a big can o' worms, there. For the Olympics, I don't think there should be events where the points are subjective. It should be about scoring the most points, getting the longest distance, fastest time or the highest jump and such. The judge should tell you if you crossed the line or violated a rule, but not that you did it 'prettier' than the other competitors.

p.s. I actually like curling

Wildwood

Caught cheating in the winning of the World Series - but no team penalties.
Why is Altuve even allowed to play?


Personally, I think of all the professional American athletic teams as Entertainment, not Sport. There is no sporting aspect when the rules violations go unpunished, or individuals are shielded by their union.

Mad Honk 

I was on staff with Tommy at Razor golf when he was a spokesperson for the brand. His comments to me on the subject was that: If they are going to make a rule against me, then I will be the first one to break it! So on the first tee at the next tournament he threw his driver down the fairway and got the penalty. He said after that he was careful to throw it down the fairway so he could pick it up on the way to the green. He was a lot of fun to be around and work with. Smiles, MH

Dave Mayer

Ha! Indeed. If soccer was played on ice using skates, it would speed the play considerably. Enclose the pitch with boards so the ball wasn't always going off the field. Then, replace the ball with a small hard object to be hit with sticks. Result: a sport that is watchable.

indyfabz

Isn’t that curling?

Seriously…It’s not watchable if you live in Philly. The Flyers suck. At least they have the best hockey mascot. “Hit of meth, anyone?”