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Top 6 Worst Sports Rules

Rules and regulations are necessary in any athletic competition. They keep
things running smoothly, giving equal opportunity for ultimate success. Some
of our favorite international sports are based around some regulations that
just don’t make sense. With the growing success of sports in the world,
athletic achievement is idolized by millions of people. Here is a list of the
Top 6 Worst Sports Rules.

6. NBA Rule:

During the last two minutes of regulation or overtime, if a team requests
a timeout immediately after getting possession, they shall have the
option of putting the ball into play at midcourt.

This rule allows an NBA team to advance the ball the entire length of the
court without taking any time off the clock. It might be the biggest and
most influential difference between professional and college basketball.
Lately this rule has evolved and teams are inbounding the ball closer to the
basket, at the three-point line extended. In 2000, the rule was changed and
teams were allowed to advance the ball after any timeout, not just full
timeouts.

They also were given the option of entering the ball into the front or
backcourt, previously you had to inbound into the frontcourt. We have had
an increase in timeouts awarded in the last two minutes of the game and
television timeouts. This makes it hard for a team to be out of timeouts
before the end of the game. It feels like we are giving NBA teams too many
chances to win at the end of games.

5. NFL Rule:

Overtime will be decided by a sudden death 15 minute quarter. After a
coin toss to determine possession, the team to score first will be
pronounced the winner. If no team scores in the 15 minutes then the
game ends in a tie.

I really want to make this rule clear because it might be hard for some to understand. Just ask Eagles starting quarterback and 10-year NFL veteran Donavan McNabb and two-time Super Bowl champion Ben Roethlisberger, both of whom claimed to not know the specifics of the rule last season. Statistically there is a strong correlation towards the team who wins the coin toss eventually winning the game. It might not always be on the first possession, but your percentage of winning jumps a large amount when winning the flip.

This rule brings to mind the infamous Thanksgiving Day game between the Pittsburg Steelers and the Detroit Lions in the late 90’s. The game ended in a 16-16 tie and the team captains gathered at mid-field for the overtime flip. During the toss Steelers running back Jerome Bettis clearly calls “tails.” NFL ref Phil Luckett proclaimed that Bettis said “heads” as the coin fell to the ground. It landed as “tails” and Detroit was awarded the ball and won the game on the first possession of overtime. Video evidence clearly shows that Bettis called “tails” and was unfairly given “heads” by Luckett.

3. NFL Rule:

The blackout rule states that if an NFL game is not sold out within 72-hours of kickoff then it will not be shown on television in the immediate 75-mile radius of the stadium.

If you are from a big city with a successful sports franchise then you might not even know what the blackout rule is. If you live in a smaller market then you are all too familiar. There isn’t anything quite as terrible as not being able to watch your favorite team play football on Sundays. The NFL blackout rule has been detrimental to financially struggling teams. It causes them to lose potential revenue and new fans. With the economic troubles of late it would be nice if the NFL would let everybody enjoy their favorite NFL franchises.

1. College Football Rule:
A player is considered down by contact when any part of his body, other than his feet or hands touch the ground (from a tackle or otherwise). The sole exception to this rule is the holder of a field goal or extra point, who is often on one knee.

This might be the most ludicrous rule in college football. I really can’t see any negatives to adopting the NFL regulations on this matter. If your knee or elbow is down, but no opposing player has touched you, then you should be able to get up and run with the ball. Some other notable college football rules that need to be reexamined are the one foot in and one foot out completion rule and the BCS standings.

The BCS standings might be the most hated college football rule. It really takes away from the opportunity for the small market school to succeed and top the rankings. The discussions on this topic are endless, but I think adopting a playoff system would be the best thing for college football and its fans.

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4. NBA Rule:

The top 3 picks in the NBA draft will be determined by a lottery system.

In 1985, the NBA instituted the lottery, which originally was a first chance drawing for the top 7 picks in the draft. During the first lottery, the New York Knicks landed Patrick Ewing with the 1st pick and the Warriors received the 7th pick after having the worst record the previous season. In 1987, the process began to determine only the top three picks, making it so that the worst team in the league could draft no lower than 4th position. The team with the worst record for the season should automatically receive the 1st pick in the next year’s draft. This way the individual talent and marketing superstars are spread evenly throughout the league.

2. MLB Rule:

Major league baseball currently has no Salary Cap.

It is really quite perplexing that MLB does not have a league cap on the amount of money they pay their players. The salary cap is a method used to keep the leagues overall costs down and ensure parity between the teams. It is also designed to restrict inflation on the player’s salaries, which is ever constant in the MLB. Teams are signing players like Mike Hampton, who agreed to an 8-year 121 million dollar contract in 2000 and only lasted two years with the club. Just to give you an idea of the difference between team salaries in the MLB. The Yankees have the highest payroll, $209,081,579, and the Marlins have the lowest at $21,836,500. That is quite a big difference.

With a salary cap each club has roughly the same amount of economic power to attract players to their cities. It is the exact opposite in major league baseball with the Yankees landing any free agent they want. In the NFL, the salary cap is set to be 59.5% of the total projected league revenue for the year, $127 million for each team in 2009. So if the league profits gain then the players get paid more money. I think that is a fair system for all. The question of whether NFL players should receive more then 59.5% of the revenue is something else entirely. The NFL players union will be attacking this issue when their current contract with the league runs out.