Rule Change #1 - Basketball

A writer for ESPN.com has recently posted a list of rule changes that he would like to see happen in sports. Most of them were mindless and deserve no discussion here. But he did get me thinking of rule adjustments I would like to make...

Remember the 1993 NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship game between Michigan and North Carolina? With seconds remaining in the game, Chris Webber called a timeout when his team had none. The refs assessed Michigan a technical foul (the prescribed penalty) giving UNC two free-throws and the ball. It sealed the championship for Carolina.

Obviously, referees are not allowed to ignore a call for a timeout, even in so serious a situation as Webber's. And yet they perpetually turn a blind eye to timeout calls in virtually every game these days thanks to a play that has become commonplace only in the last few years.

Often times, a player will call a timeout when he is falling out of bounds instead of attempting to save the ball and risk it going to the other team. From time to time however, a player will be on the out of bounds line when he calls for the timeout trying to make a great save. In this situation the ref says, "Nope, you were out of bounds," and then gives the ball to the other team.

Did the player call a timeout or not? Yes. Then why is he not charged the timeout? I can find no reason. Some of my esteemed colleagues have pointed out that no one had possession of the ball. That's not the point. When he called the timeout, he was out of bounds. Therefore, the ball was dead and in any dead-ball situation, either team may call a timeout.

Referees should start charging timeouts to those that call them. That is the rule. I guess I'm not calling for a rule change but the enforcement of one already on the books.