Folks were discussing the NFL. One reason for its success is better officiating and better rules.
1. When NFL officials make a mistake, the league admits it.
2. Players and coaches aren't automatically fined for criticizing the officials.
3. There is liberal use of instant replay, with the help of a 3rd guy in the booth.
4. Coaches can challenge bad calls.
5. Better thought-out rules (with some glaring exceptions like the tuck rule).
Contrast the NBA:
1. Stern's gestapo fines anyone who criticizes the officials.
2. The league never admits an officiating mistake.
3. Almost no use of instant replay.
4. Coaches cannot challenge.
5. The defensive 3 second rule is dumb. The fans don't understand it, and play is stopped every two minutes or so for the free throw. Let them play full zones, like every other league in the world, including the NCAA and Euroleague. Full zones haven't detracted from the popularity of those leagues. And those offensive 3 second calls slow the game down alot more than challenges would slow it down. And the lack of challenges creates technical fouls that slow it down even more. Let the coaches challenge instead of forcing them to work the officials verbally and throw tantrums on the sidelines.
6. In what other league would officials refuse to disallow a score when a team had too many men on the field? That result, which was so dumb that even the NBA had to change the rule, is symptiomatic of the league's stupidity when it comes to rulemaking.
7. The 24 second buzzer should not stop play unless the offending team clearly has possession of the ball. How many legitimate baskets get taken away because the refs stop play?
8. The rules are inconsistently applied with a good deal of bias against certain players. Rookies get called for travelling and palming, veterans are rarely called and stars are almost never called. The flagrant foul rules are inconsistently applied against certain players with "reputations."
9. The 4-ft. circle is really dumb. A charge is a charge, a block is a block. If a guy charges after the ball leaves his hand, the basket is good (if it goes in) but he's charged with a foul and if his team is over the limit, shoot at the other end.
10. Hand checking should be allowed.
It's no wonder that crooked refs like Donaghy could go undetected for so long in such a sloppy environment, and it's no wonder that certain officials have become martinets with the power to take over games and ruin the quality of play, as happened in Utah two nights ago.