Re: Can the "nature" of the game be changed?
That's fair enough. I can agree with that.
It really can't work in that way. Of course that's my opinion bc we can't know for sure without trying, but what if a "touch" foul effects a play? Barely touching an elbow can throw off a shot or pass. Barely going over someone's back can give a bigger guy an unfair advantage. As for replacing them, I've just had too much personal experience with referees on college, high school and club levels and have called a few games on my own. It's harder than some might think, and I don't see any performing at a high level anywhere to just say these guys can be replaced. I agree with fishing out a few known (or suspected) bad seeds, but for the ones that are just "bad at their job" we may just have to accept that they are the best of the bad. If we're talking about rewriting the rule book (and it would literally be rewriting the book), that's a different discussion but if we're just focused on the people enforcing it, I'm not sure it can get much better.
I don't think the game is flawed because no sport is perfect. In football you just have to accept that holding happens but won't be called on every play. In baseball you have to accept that the strike zone is different from ump to ump. In hockey, there are judgement calls similar to the NBA. There is a bit of accepting it as part of the game that we have to do. I think this discussion is more about how much of that is acceptable.
Players are too fast and strong today. Adjusting would mean moving out of the way in many cases. And even then, some players could alter their path into defenders to create calls. They do that already, it would just be increased. People complain about the hand check rule and it's not even called as much as it could be. Honestly, I don't think many of us would enjoy basketball to the letter of the book (myself included). It's an art form that flows and allows for a lot of creativity. It would become stiffer with less momentum, and we wouldn't be able to get around more trips to the foul line (and more star players fouling out).
That's fair enough. I can agree with that.
It really can't work in that way. Of course that's my opinion bc we can't know for sure without trying, but what if a "touch" foul effects a play? Barely touching an elbow can throw off a shot or pass. Barely going over someone's back can give a bigger guy an unfair advantage. As for replacing them, I've just had too much personal experience with referees on college, high school and club levels and have called a few games on my own. It's harder than some might think, and I don't see any performing at a high level anywhere to just say these guys can be replaced. I agree with fishing out a few known (or suspected) bad seeds, but for the ones that are just "bad at their job" we may just have to accept that they are the best of the bad. If we're talking about rewriting the rule book (and it would literally be rewriting the book), that's a different discussion but if we're just focused on the people enforcing it, I'm not sure it can get much better.
I don't think the game is flawed because no sport is perfect. In football you just have to accept that holding happens but won't be called on every play. In baseball you have to accept that the strike zone is different from ump to ump. In hockey, there are judgement calls similar to the NBA. There is a bit of accepting it as part of the game that we have to do. I think this discussion is more about how much of that is acceptable.
Players are too fast and strong today. Adjusting would mean moving out of the way in many cases. And even then, some players could alter their path into defenders to create calls. They do that already, it would just be increased. People complain about the hand check rule and it's not even called as much as it could be. Honestly, I don't think many of us would enjoy basketball to the letter of the book (myself included). It's an art form that flows and allows for a lot of creativity. It would become stiffer with less momentum, and we wouldn't be able to get around more trips to the foul line (and more star players fouling out).
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