OK, they’re not admitting that the changes are being  made just for LeBron James, but it’s pretty clear he’s probably the impetus behind a recent announcement that the NBA will investigate re-writing its traveling rules,  a modification that would make the “crab dribble” legal once again.

(A classic LeBron “crab dribble”, soon to be legal.)

The clearest indication that the rule is being pushed by James infamous tirade after he was called for travelling despite a “crab dribble” is  the claim that the league may officially allow two steps instead of one. That would pave the way to recognize the crab dribble as a legitimate move, since it requires, at best, two steps. Of course, nearly every drive down an NBA lane includes two steps at this point, so legalizing that probably just means that  NBA players will be upset if they’re called for travelling for three steps next year, but that’s another story.

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The NFL’s got a great product, as everyone knows, but there’s one glaring weakness. The overtime rules set forth in 19whatever befit a different time, when kickers were far less accurate and coaches much more gung-ho. But nowadays, fully 44% of the overtimes are won without one team ever touching the ball–in essence, coming down to the coin flip. It’s basically one team getting a decent return to the 30 or 35, gaining a first down or two, getting a pass interference call on a deep ball, turtling around the 20 to set the ball up at the middle of the field, and kicking a field goal. Not that exciting. It’s a cruelly uncompetitive finisher in a league where playoff berths can flip on a single W or L.

(”Whoever gets this probably wins. Sorry, other team.”)

So the NFL’s “looking at” changes, and who knows what’ll come of that. The last time a football organization tried to figure out an overtime structure, the ridiculous mess that is the college OT setup came out. The NFL cannot adopt those rules; there’s no time limit and it barely resembles “real” football. MOUTHPIECE SPORTS and SHUTDOWN CORNER have a couple ideas, and they’re not bad. Seriously, either an auction plan or shortening the overtime (see above links) would be definite improvements.

But we think we’ve got a better plan. We can only submit to the court of public opinion for the NFL, but we’re definitely sending it to the CFL. We’re dead serious about this, people: one simple rule change that will make overtime the most intense, entertaining part of the NFL.

That rule is… Read more…