Stupid new rule for next year.

[Tiger Wench]

Points will be TAKEN OFF THE BOARD FOR CELEBRATION/UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT.  This sucks worse than any rule ever.  Just wait until a major game is impacted, then the shit will TOTALLY hit the fan.  What about a game winning Pick-6?  Or a game winning field goal?  Wes Byrum's Gator chomp would have nullified the kick... how the fuck are they going to enforce this in a fair and even handed manner???
     

Celebrating too much before TDs? Players to learn it's pointless
 By Dennis Dodd
CBSSports.com Senior Writer

Justin Blackmon probably doesn't know he has become must-see viewing for the NCAA rules committee. The Oklahoma State receiver's goal line-straddling touchdown against Arizona on Dec. 29 in the Alamo Bowl wasn't penalized, but it's been flagged for review by the committee at its meeting next month.

"That will be shown in February," said Dave Parry, college football's national officiating coordinator. "I've already told them to pull that play. Next year, with the rule as it's written as we speak, that would not be a touchdown."

Coaches and players may say they know about the radical rule change beginning this year that will take points off the board for unsportsmanlike conduct, but they really don't. Not until it actually happens. Not until it affects a game. Not until a win turns into a loss because a touchdown is discounted because of a "taunting gesture." The change, to be implemented this fall, will negate touchdowns by any player judged as excessively celebrating on his way to the end zone. Parry said the penalty will apply to any offensive player, not just the ball carrier, and defensive players -- for example, when someone returns an interception for a TD.
 
There will be rules seminars. There will be threats of discipline from coaches. There will be reminders. But it's going to happen and when it does, all hell is going to break loose.

Taking away a touchdown because of emotion?

"It's going to have a huge impact," Auburn coach Gene Chizik said.

The so-called "Miami Rule" was adopted last year as part of the rules committee's continued emphasis on sportsmanship. Currently, excessive celebration penalties on scoring plays are treated as dead-ball fouls. The 15 yards are marked off on the extra point, two-point conversion or kickoff. Going forward, excessive celebration flags thrown on players going in for a score will be treated like holding in the open field. The penalty will be marked off from the spot of the foul. So, the six points from Blackmon's 71-yard touchdown catch, capped by a you-can't-catch-me 20-yard run parallel to the goal line, would have been eliminated.

"That would be a 15-yard penalty from the 2-yard line back to about the 17," Parry said. "That would get people's attention quickly."

Awareness is already growing.

"I guess college football is trying to make a statement -- celebrations, how far to go," Oregon receiver Josh Huff said. "Coach [Chip] Kelly, he taught us to hand the ball to the referee and celebrate with our teammates. When you celebrate with yourself, it kind of takes the air out of everything. It's like a selfish way of celebrating with yourself and not giving any credit to your teammates."

There were enough questionable judgment calls by officials during the bowl season to suggest there is going to be an adjustment period. Kansas State was denied a shot at a normal two-point conversion that could have tied the Pinstripe Bowl late against Syracuse. Wildcats receiver Adrian Hilburn was flagged for excessive celebration after saluting into the stands following a late touchdown catch.

That wasn't a precise example of the Miami Rule, but the same broad definitions of NCAA "unsportsmanlike acts" conduct applied: "Obscene language ... pointing the fingers ... taunting ... baiting ... ridiculing an opponent verbally ... inciting an opponent ... simulating the firing of a weapon ... delayed, excessive, prolonged or choreographed act ...." Now officials are going to potentially determine the outcome of a game because of what a hormonally charged teenager may decide to do while scoring a touchdown. Fair?

"The coaches are going to have to take the bull by the horns," said one veteran official who attended an NCAA rules seminar last year. "It's one thing to do a point-after-touchdown from the 18. Do you want to lose the opportunity for the PAT? They're really putting the burden on the coaches more than they're putting on us. The NCAA wants it cleaned up."

Don't blame this, by the way, on the big, bad, faceless NCAA. The rules committee is college football, made up of coaches and administrators who rely on input from coaches. The committee then recommends changes to an NCAA oversight panel. This change was made early last year, and later approved by the oversight panel. Most rules changes now are made every two years to allow discussion and implementation.

If you're a fan of civility, the change is coming along at just the right time. With the New York Jets flapping their gums, the Miami Rule is doing its part to shut the mouths of collegians. Or at least try. This also puts more of the emphasis on the "judgment" part of judgment calls. Once again, Hilburn's penalty was a dead-ball foul and wouldn't have impacted by the new rule. However ...

"I think all of us would agree that there are moments in games when common sense takes over. This might have been one of those moments," said Parry, adding he did not want to throw the Big Ten officiating crew "under the bus." "How do we know he [Hilburn] wasn't saluting uncles in the Army? This is a real problem for us, to get [the rule] written up so it is practical."

There was a similar play in 2009 when Georgia's A.J. Green was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after a touchdown against LSU. The yardage assessed on the kickoff allowed the Tigers better field position to drive for the winning touchdown. The SEC officiating crew was later suspended when the league determined the flag should not have been thrown. Rogers Redding is the outgoing SEC supervisor of officials who had a hand in that decision. Redding, also the secretary-editor of the NCAA rules committee, will replace Parry, who's retiring, as national officiating coordinator on Feb. 1.

"I don't know how I feel about that," Auburn receiver Darvin Adams said of the Miami Rule. "Coach Chizik is always teaching us, 'Don't do anything to cost the team.' That rule should be enforced, I guess. Sometimes guys just got to show their emotions."

Adams is headed to the NFL, where such conduct is mostly tolerated. Blackmon had to be "inspired" by Philadelphia's DeSean Jackson, whose last-play punt return beat the Giants on Dec. 19. On the play, Jackson, who clearly was going to score, ran along just outside the goal line before entering the end zone.

"DeSean Jackson is my favorite receiver to watch," Huff said. "That crossed the line a little too much. You just scored, do what you have to do afterward. Straddling the goal line and throwing the ball into the stands, that's not what football is about. Football is about enjoying yourself."

Huff and his peers are about to learn how far that enjoyment can go.

[RWS]

... how the fuck are they going to enforce this in a fair and even handed manner???   

By fucking it up 9 times out of 10. Which isn't really any different than now anyway.

[Tiger Wench]

I have mentioned before that a good friend of mine here at work is the daughter of the head of Big XII Officiating.  I asked her if he would be willing to provide an explanation for how this rule would be applied and when, and she said yes, so if y'all wanted to help me craft a polite email asking questions about this or any of the other new rules, input is welcomed.

[AUTiger1]

so if y'all wanted to help me craft a polite email asking questions about this or any of the other new rules, input is welcomed.

[Tiger Wench]

Mr. Boston is VERY strict and extremely reserved and by the book.  He is also an NFL ref (he will be at the Pro Bowl this year, LJ#18), and when you see him signal a TD, he does not put both arms straight up - he does so with his arms extended and a ninety degree bend at the elbows, because, his daughter says, that is what is shown in the official rule book, so that is what he does.    I have occasion to socialize with him every now and again, and I am NOT going to piss him off!

[AUTiger1]

Mr. Boston is VERY strict and extremely reserved and by the book.  He is also an NFL ref (he will be at the Pro Bowl this year, LJ#18), and when you see him signal a TD, he does not put both arms straight up - he does so with his arms extended and a ninety degree bend at the elbows, because, his daughter says, that is what is shown in the official rule book, so that is what he does.    I have occasion to socialize with him every now and again, and I am NOT going to piss him off!

My bad, I didn't bold it correctly.  Should have read:

so if y'all wanted to help me craft a polite email asking questions about this or any of the other new rules, input is welcomed.

at asking that from us.

[Ranger12]

Think about how a really petty call, like the one against Nick Fairley in the SEC CG for excessive celebration, could impact a game. He did something that most lineman do after a sack, as he was going off the field no less, but got flagged for unsportsmanlike. Can you imagine celebrating with your teammates as you go off the field negated a TD or an interception/fumble returned for a TD?

[AU_Tiger_2000]

Think about how a really petty call, like the one against Nick Fairley in the SEC CG for excessive celebration, could impact a game. He did something that most lineman do after a sack, as he was going off the field no less, but got flagged for unsportsmanlike. Can you imagine celebrating with your teammates as you go off the field negated a TD or an interception/fumble returned for a TD?

That would not negate a TD.  From my understanding of the new rule it only negates a touchdown in the event of someone celebrating before crossing the goal line of a scoring play.  So reenacting the revolution scene from Les Miserables in the end zone after scoring gets you 15 yds on the ensuing kick off.  Doing cartwheels from the 10 yard line into the end zone brings the ball back out to the 10 as it is a spot penalty.

That's my interpretation and what I have heard that the rule is meant to entail.

[Snaggletiger]

In going back to the Fairley call, that was absolutely, 100% predetermined by the SEC or officiating crew or whomever.  If you notice, the flag was on it's way out of the refs pocket before he ever began any "celebration". They meant they were going to keep this beast (Thug in their opinion) in check.  His "celebration" was 1/4 of what we all saw countless players do over the course of the bowl season. 

Again, the flag was already flying prior to NF going into any celebration mode.  As for this rule, frick the NCAA in da mouf.  The celebrations as we see them now aren't anything more than expected excitement on the part of young guys playing in front of tens of thousands in person and a couple million more on TV.  Why on earth would they want to take the joy out of the game?

[GH2001]

In going back to the Fairley call, that was absolutely, 100% predetermined by the SEC or officiating crew or whomever.  If you notice, the flag was on it's way out of the refs pocket before he ever began any "celebration". They meant they were going to keep this beast (Thug in their opinion) in check.  His "celebration" was 1/4 of what we all saw countless players do over the course of the bowl season. 

Again, the flag was already flying prior to NF going into any celebration mode.  As for this rule, frick the NCAA in da mouf.  The celebrations as we see them now aren't anything more than expected excitement on the part of young guys playing in front of tens of thousands in person and a couple million more on TV.  Why on earth would they want to take the joy out of the game?

THIS

I want to hump your post.  And sani's avatar.

[Saniflush]

THIS

I want to hump your post.  And sani's avatar.

I give good avatar.

[Tiger Wench]

Seriously, how do the refs make the judgment call as to when a guy runs horizontal to showboat and when he does it strategically to take time off the clock?

[ssgaufan]

Seriously, how do the refs make the judgment call as to when a guy runs horizontal to showboat and when he does it strategically to take time off the clock?

Take the points.  I hated seeing that shit this year, when the WR ran across the field right at the goal line.  I wish somebody would've came up and stripped it, or he would've just lost the handle on it.  THAT is why this is an issue.  Not once in any football practice I ever had did the coaches work on some bush league shit like that to run time off the clock.

[Tiger Wench]

I saw that in one of the NFLgames this year - not sure which one, but there was about 25 seconds left on the clock and the player ran horizontal to the goal line, eye on the clock, and waited until time was nearly out before he scored... I asked WTF and C explained it was a clock management thing.

[Snaggletiger]

I saw that in one of the NFLgames this year - not sure which one, but there was about 25 seconds left on the clock and the player ran horizontal to the goal line, eye on the clock, and waited until time was nearly out before he scored... I asked WTF and C explained it was a clock management thing.

If you're referring to the Eagles and Deshean Jackson, I doubt he had the clock on his mind at all.  He's the same one who a couple of weeks earlier stopped at the goal line, turned around and fell backwards into the end zone to taunt the other team.  But, that's the way of the NFL.  Don't have a huge problem with it.  As a matter of fact, the one thing that gripes my grippies more than anything is the running away from everyone else to go ME ME ME....Look at ME...Let me pound MY chest and show you MY number so you'll know it was ME that just did that...

[GH2001]

I saw that in one of the NFLgames this year - not sure which one, but there was about 25 seconds left on the clock and the player ran horizontal to the goal line, eye on the clock, and waited until time was nearly out before he scored... I asked WTF and C explained it was a clock management thing.

Desean Jackson....I hate that little shit ass.

[Ranger12]

That would not negate a TD.  From my understanding of the new rule it only negates a touchdown in the event of someone celebrating before crossing the goal line of a scoring play.  So reenacting the revolution scene from Les Miserables in the end zone after scoring gets you 15 yds on the ensuing kick off.  Doing cartwheels from the 10 yard line into the end zone brings the ball back out to the 10 as it is a spot penalty.

That's my interpretation and what I have heard that the rule is meant to entail.

Therein lies the problem. The rule is not clear on how and when it should be enforced, so I have seen it interpreted many different ways. Fairley sacks the QB, who fumbles the ball, but starts his celebration right before his teammate gets into the endzone. It is so close, do the use replay to see if Fairley celebrated before his teammate go into the endzone of after wards? If you read some of the rule, it reads as if even TD celebrations ca cost points, so why not teammates celebrating as they go off the field?

[JR4AU]

Two ways to go with this...

You can obey the rule, and hammer it in your player's heads, and the first guy that takes points off the board with stupid "look at me" bullshit, you throw him off the team.  And you can bank on this...the coach will be blamed for any player's shenanigans, despite the fact they all coach it with their players.  If you don't think Chizik had a heart to heart with Fairley between the UGA and Bammer game about being the focus of the refs, then you're nuts...yet, what happened?

Or, when a team that's in the championship hunt is in a close game, and a player scores a go ahead TD, only to have it taken off the board for stupid bullshit, the rule will be removed, and we'll be on the way to a more NFL type environment. 

Football is an emotional game.  And you need to let them have some fun.  But, there's a line, and I don't know how to define where it is, but I know it's been crossed when I see it.  The problem is, the line isn't the same for everyone.   

[DnATL]

When you celebrate with yourself, it kind of takes the air out of everything   

Doesn't seem to bother the lady in Sani's avatar...........

[Snaggletiger]

Doesn't seem to bother the lady in Sani's avatar...........

I swear to gawd, I can't stop watching that.  I love this girl.