Things That Annoy Me

I wanted to get up a quick post regarding a few things that have really annoyed me in sports this fall:

• 4th Down Interceptions : Anyone who has even a basic knowledge of the game of football, knows that it often behooves the defensive team to knock down a pass on 4th down rather than intercept it. Unless there is a chance at a decent return of the interception, the defense will get better field position with an incomplete pass rather than an interception. This is not complex strategy yet I have seen numerous occasions during this football season, particularly in college football, where defensive backs intercept these 4th down passes down the field with very little chance at returning them past the line of scrimmage. I am not sure whether the reason for these 4th down interceptions is stupidity or selfishness, but it is very annoying to watch nonetheless. Equally irritating is the defensive back who gets his hands on a 4th down pass, does not come up with the interception, and then proceeds to react like he is so disappointed in himself for not securing the interception.


• Basketball fans who count down the final seconds of the shot clock/game clock too fast: I don’t understand why it is so difficult for fans to count down from 5 seconds to the buzzer at the correct pace, but I would guess that close to 90% of the time the crowd counts too quickly. I would estimate that the countdowns are usually anywhere from 0.5 to 1.0 seconds too fast, meaning that there is still at least a half second left when the fans reach the end of the countdown. Fans are often highly critical of players, yet they themselves can not even execute the simplest of tasks correctly.


• Basketball players who shoot desperation shots at the end of periods with time still left: Basketball players should have a mental clock in their head to know exactly how much time is left at the end of periods and exactly how far up the court they can go to get the best shot before time expires. Yet I so often see players bringing the ball up the court and chucking up a shot from halfcourt or beyond with plenty of time left to continue their dribble and get close to the 3-point line. Like the fans I described previously who count down too quickly, many players underestimate the length of a second. Coaches should be working on these end of game/period situations in practice, but it is obvious that some coaches do not spend time on this. Even great players are guilty of this offense; during last night’s Blazers-Knicks game Brandon Roy launched a shot from beyond 50 feet with around 3 seconds left on the clock at the end of the 3rd period when he easily could have reached the 3-point line to attempt a normal shot. Roy shot it so early that by the time his brick hit the backboard there was still time left on the clock. This is just a terrible basketball play.

• Teams wasting a foul to give at the end of a period: This is an NBA phenomenon that occurs when the defensive team hears they have a foul to give at the end of a period. Too many times in this situation the team just plainly gives up the foul without it serving any purpose. The foul is usually taken with at least around 3 to 5 seconds remaining with the offensive team in a non-threatening position. The offensive team still has plenty of time to get off a quality shot, but now the defensive team is susceptible to giving up a couple of free throws if they commit a non-shooting foul. The proper ways to use the foul to give are: play an aggressive defense and go for steals; or treat the foul as an insurance policy and only use it if your man has a step on you or beats you off the dribble or if the defense is in a compromising situation. Just because you have the foul to give does not mean you have to use it.
  

• The losing team running out the final seconds of the game by holding the ball: This may seem like a meaningless thing to get upset about, but it bothers me when at the end of a basketball game where the outcome has already been decided, the losing team holds or dribbles the ball for the final 10 seconds or so. The losing team should always shoot the ball in these situations and let the winning team dribble out the clock. The crowd usually salutes the winning team with cheers as the final seconds tick down and dribbling the clock out is like bowing after a good performance. It seems stupid if the losing team is the one doing the "bowing". Along the same lines, although this is probably exclusive to college basketball, I hate it when the guys at the end of the bench get into a blowout in the final minute and proceed to hold the ball or dribble the clock out. If you're playing in garbage time you should always continue playing right down to the buzzer, no matter if you are up by 40 or down by 40. These guys rarely get into the game so they should take full advantage of their precious few minutes. The losing team can not take offense if the last guys on the bench are still shooting with a 40 point lead; that is just the art of garbage time basketball.

• College basketball referees telling the guys on the bench to sit down: I never can understand why referees are so preoccupied about 5 or 6 excited players on the bench standing up during a pivotal moment at the end of a game. It's the biggest moment of the game and the referee is worried about bench guys standing up? Just officiate the game and let the kids be kids.