Stoudemire, Diaw Suspensions Get The "Tuck Rule" Treatment
Published May 18, 2007
1. NBA Rule 12, Section VII, Article c.: During an altercation, all players not participating in the game must remain in the immediate vicinity of their bench. Violators will be suspended, without pay, for a minimum of one game and fined up to $35,000. The suspensions will commence prior to the start of their next game.
2. NFL Rule 3, Section 21, Article 2, Note 2: "When a Team A player is holding the ball to pass it forward, any intentional forward movement of his arm starts a forward pass, even if the player loses possession of the ball as he is attempting to tuck it back toward his body. Also, if the player has tucked the ball into his body and then loses possession, it is a fumble."
3. Spelling Bee Rule 5, Section B, Article 11: "Even if the pronouncer consistently mispronounces the word, it's still the kid's fault if he misspells the word."
The first rule was enforced this week after Phoenix Suns forwards Amare Stoudamire and Boris Diaw left the bench. They did so during a final-minute flagrant foul care of San Antonio Spurs forward Robert Horry on the Suns magical point guard Steve Nash. Stoudamire and Diaw stood up and crept toward the nearby scuffle, but were promptly ushered back by their assistant coaches. However, the damage was done. NBA commissioner David Stern suspended Stoudemire and Diaw one game apiece, while Horry was suspended two. And Wednesday night, with three fewer players in uniforms, the San Antonio Spurs won the crucial and suddenly-controversial game, 88-85.
The second rule is loathed by Oakland Raiders fans, for it is that damn "Tuck Rule." Its most notable enforcement was when an apparent Tom Brady fumble was called back because he was tucking it toward his body, which is different than holding onto it, or something. The fumble occurred in a playoff overtime game, and the Raiders would have likely moved down the field, kicked a field goal, and won the game. Instead, Brady's New England Patriots retained possession, made the FG, and won not only the game, but later the Super Bowl.
The third rule was me in eighth grade when the pronouncer said my word "indiscriminant" but meant "indiscriminate." (Hey, it's my op-ed article and I can cry if I want to.)
Matt Sussman is the sports editor of BC Magazine and also writes for Deadspin, SPORTSbyBROOKS, The Futon Report, and the Toledo Free Press. Catch him Mondays and Fridays at 8 p.m. ET with asst. sports editor Tuffy on Treehouse Fort, the official show of BC Sports. E-mail sports-related inquiries (or inquiry-related sports, such as full-contact Twenty Questions) to matt.sussman@blogcritics.org.
- Stoudemire, Diaw Suspensions Get The "Tuck Rule" Treatment
- Published: May 18, 2007
- Type: Opinion
- Section: Sports
- Filed Under: Sports: Basketball
- Part of a feature: 2007 NBA Playoffs
- Writer: Matthew T. Sussman
- Matthew T. Sussman's BC Writer page
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Comments on this articleComments
David, it's a shame the announcers don't acknowledge their ignorance more often. Instead, they're thrilled to jump right in and explain it all away with words stitched together to roughly resemble sentences.
However, I give credit to Bill Simmons for pointing out the flaw in both of these rules: they should not exist in this form or at all. There has been a decade's worth of chances to correct them.
Also, Bill Simmons would surely give Matt a hug and a lollipop for the whole spelling bee debacle, but he's saving this exposé for his new show this fall.
Were the NBA a government agency, in a month we'd get some whistleblower hold a tell-all press conference saying he told Stern all along they should have gotten rid of this rule.
A government agency ...or Jason Giambi.
Sorry, I'm all "hopped-up" on Winking Lizard mini-burgers and Blue Moon Summer Ale right now!
Hey, if I ever win one of them "Pulitzer Surprises" ...I'll 'fess up later.
Add your comment, speak your mind
(Or ping: http://blogcritics.org/mt/tb/64109)
I'm often reminded of how many rules I just don't know about. Usually during football (where I know very little) but also during basketball (where I know only slightly more). There are way too many for the armchair jockeys to keep track of and I try to keep a keen appreciation alive for how detailed and observant referees must be. As much as we all, myself included, bitch and moan about a ref missing a call, or missing the "heart" of a call, that's a tough job. And whatever team hat I happen to be wearing at the moment is off to them.
That said, I guess I don't see how this suspension is really any different from any other clutch-time call. It could be something as mundane as last possession on an out-of-bounds ball. But when the score is tied and there's only four seconds left in the game, it's a very big deal.
It's not the obscure rule that's the problem or even the issue. Like Matt said, it IS a rule, so there you have it. No, it's more our reaction during the adrenaline of playoff season.