February 23, 2014

"That stuff has no place in the game. I love to have fun, but this is not the way to do it."

Speaking of unsportsmanlike conduct, do you think the "monkey crawl" warrants a 15-yard penalty?
A team lines up for an extra point. Suddenly, the holder turns and begins hopping toward the sideline, screeching and scratching like a monkey gone wild.

The kicker takes the snap and completes a pass that results in a 2-point conversion. Innovative play or illegal deception?

32 comments:

Meade said...

Innovative deceptive play that should be illegal.

traditionalguy said...

This is sports. Not a Russian Poetry vs Russian Prose debate. Therefore the "if a team is not cheating, they are not trying" rule applies.

Michael said...

Monkey crawl would be occasion in the UK for lifetime ban from the sport of football. They take their PC seriously over there. I recommend the English sports pages to see where we are headed.

KCFleming said...

Can we still say 'monkey'?

Michael said...

Pogo. If you yell it at an Enfglish soccer game you are off to jail, lad.

rhhardin said...

Stephen Potter favors the momentary heart attack in tennis.

iowan2 said...

Should have never allowed the forward pass.And who is the miscreant that allowed the first, man in motion?? Dont people understand where this ends up? Football is NOT about fun. Its about physical domination and destruction of the other side.

The US football officials understand that.

Seriously the cure for trick plays is more trick plays.

Bob Ellison said...

I like it! That play is funny, successful, and interesting! It's supposed to be entertaining, right?

What iowan2 said.

Bob Ellison said...

traditionalguy, I really agree with that philosophy. I coach soccer a bit, and I tell the kids to play fair and be good, but when one of them gets called for a foul, I tell him hey, you tried just a little too hard in a slightly wrong way; it's not like throwing a punch.

There's a very good player on one of my son's basketball teams who's strong in the paint, and he gets called for fouls. He always has the same response, guilty or not: laugh and wave his hand down. That's sportsmanship.

iowan2 said...


From the article
“Either the ref didn’t stand his ground or doesn’t have the same interpretation as I do of what is a farce of the game and what’s not,” LeMonnier said.

Notice Mr LeMonnier did not say the official was wrong. I wonder if Mr LeMonnier considered the possibility that he himself is wrong?
This gets to the problem. subjective rules that allow the official, and not the competition determine the out come of the competition.

Bob Ellison said...

This is so far off-topic that it should explode, but I have to observe that Scott Walker is on Fox News Sunday right now, and he's talking very well, but the main visual take-away is that he's going bald up top. What will that look like in 2016?

Sharc said...

LeMonnier is an activist ref, legislating from the bench (no, not the football bench -- the judge's bench) rather than just applying the rule book as written. The ref on the field is a strict constructionist -- if there's no rule against it, it's not his job to penalize it based on his personal preferences.

Curious George said...

If the rules for that league are as stated in the link, yes penalty.

But I would disagree with Meade...not Innovative. No one really react to the "monkey", but it does alert the defense that somethings up...that they aren't kicking. As a matter of fact, the monkey is the holder so they can no longer kick. All the monkey does is eliminate the element of surprise.

The Crack Emcee said...

If it wasn't for the monkey screeching, I'd say fair game, but with it - it's a trick play.

Pogo, you've changed - and not for the better.

iowan2 said...

Can't be making a mockery of the game, its image is far too important. Stunts like the screeching monkey, if allowed will end the game as we know it. No one will take it seriously.

Next some moron will

be sending a 3-foot, 6-1/2- inch, part-time actor to hit against the Boston Red Sox in this year's World Series. Equally unlikely would be a LaRussa decision to employ a circus clown to coach third base or to allow a group of fans sitting in the bleachers to decide whether Boston slugger David Ortiz should be intentionally walked.

http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2004-10-26/bill-veeck-a-baseball-mastermind

Meade said...

"Pogo, you've changed - and not for the better."

He seems to have become perpetually angry and bitter. Like an angry old bitter straight white man.

KCFleming said...

Question answered.
No, we mere crackers cannot say the 'm' word.

Crack, I am merely acknowledging your posts, that my unbearable whiteness of being is abhorrent simply by existing, that there is no way to expiate my sin of being white, and so I beg the PC powers that be to answer my question whether the word is verboten or not.
And clearly it ain't.

I get it.
I really do.
I'm racist and must die.
You allow no other answer.
Until then, being too afraid to off myself, I resume my place in the (spit) whites-only area.

Meade said...

"Pogo is Dead"

Who killed him?

Fen said...

Fair play.

Here's the standard: "How many NFL touchdowns have been scored because everyone (except the guy with the most discipline) thought the play was dead, even though the ref hadn't blown a whistle?"

Do you give them a do-over? Maybe say "awww you let yourself get distracted, poor baby" ?

Its the same with "trick" plays. Keep your head in the game or give up a score.

KCFleming said...

"Who killed him?"

It was a triple play.
Obama to Althouse to Crack.

Meade said...

In truth it was no one but Pogo himself.

Fen said...

"Is that a reverse or a flea-flicker?"

You can do it the latter way, but you'll get known for a reputation for relying on special tricks to 'compete' and you'll likely be insecure in your long game.

I don't agree. These kind of plays are one-and-dones, ie. you see them once in the season, maybe again in the playoffs.

You can't get a reputation for relying on them because after you do the first one, everyone is watching you so closely that you can't pull it off again.

Long-term: the Defense is spread out tactically because they know you''re capable of being tricksy. I might just run this once to keep every other team guessing all season.

The Crack Emcee said...

Pogo,

Dude, you know I like you. Why don't you write me something, rather than going off the deep end like this.

It's really unbecoming for such a fine man,...

KCFleming said...

So it was Pogo with the candlestick in the conservatory?

Because the room was locked from the inside!

Gary Rosen said...

"How many NFL touchdowns have been scored because everyone (except the guy with the most discipline) thought the play was dead"

In perhaps the most famous play in NFL history, the "Immaculate Reception", you can see some Oakland Raiders players celebrating prematurely because they thought the pass had been broken up. If they had been paying attention they might have tackled Franco before the end zone, winning the game for the Raiders because there was no time left on the clock.

Gary Rosen said...

Is the hidden-ball trick legal in MLB?

SteveR said...

I think it should be expected that the coach would ask the referee before the game if the play would be allowed. Don't like the ruling, take it up with the proper committee.

Fen said...

Hey Crack, here's your racial angle:

"Blacks are the majority of players, but the white owners think they don't have the mental discipline to avoid being exploited by tricksy-whitey plays"

Enjoy!

Gahrie said...

Hear that Pogo...you're one of the good White people!

Wince said...

Pogo is Dead said...
Can we still say 'monkey'?

Evidently, you can't even ask.

Walt said...

Isn't running a back through the line with his arms held as if cradling a football, deceptive? Isn't missing a block to allow a pass rusher into the backfield where he's hit by a pulling guard deceptive? Deception and misdirection is part of the game.

HoodlumDoodlum said...

Deceptive plays are fine and this one is probably ok but you do have to consider the long-term incentives of allowing trick plays that hinge on confusion as to whether the ball is dead or not. If you encourage players to always go in hard until they hear a whistle (even into a seemingly-defenseless player) and you run enough plays of this sort you will definitely end up with some type I errors where a ball carrier gets creamed unnecessarily.