Delay of game

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Delay of game is an action in a sports game in which a player or team deliberately stalls the game, usually with the intention of using the delay to its advantage. In some sports, the delay of game is considered an infraction if it is longer than that permitted according to the game's rules, in which case a penalty can be issued. Some sports that have a delay of game penalty are American football, Canadian football, ice hockey and association football.

Contents

Gridiron football

American

In American football, an offensive team is penalized five yards for delay of game if it fails to put the ball in play by either snap or free kick before the play clock expires. This time limit varies by league, and is often 25 seconds from the time the referee signals the ball ready for play. In the National Football League, it can also be 40 seconds from the end of the previous down, depending on the circumstances at the time. Also, the defensive team can be given the same penalty if, after a play has ended, they fail to quickly yield the ball to officials, prevent a player on the offense from getting up, or kick the ball. [1]

Canadian

In Canadian football, the term "delay of game" is used for a different type of foul. On kickoffs, it can be called against the kicking team for failure to put the ball in play within 20 seconds of the referee's signal. At other times in the game, it can be called against the defensive team for interference with the placement of the ball after it is declared in play by the referee. In both cases, the penalty is 10 yards from the previous spot. [2]

The foul known as "delay of game" in American football is called "time count" in Canada. It is generally identical to the American foul, with two important exceptions. First, Canadian football only allows the offensive team 20 seconds from the referee's signal to put the ball in play, as opposed to the longer periods allowed in the American code. Second, the penalty, which is identical to that in the American code during most of the game, including convert attempts at any time, is dramatically different after the Canadian code's three-minute warning near the end of each half. After the three-minute warning, the base penalty becomes loss of down on first or second down, instead of the regular 5 yards. On third down (the final down that the offensive side has to gain a first down), the penalty becomes 10 yards with the down repeated. The referee also has the right to give possession to the defensive team if he deems repeated time count violations on third down to be deliberate. [3]

Association football

Any player who the referee adjuges to be delaying the restart of the game to gain an unfair advantage is cautioned and may be shown a yellow card. Common strategies include delaying the taking of a goal kick or free kick, or taking excessive time to leave or enter the field of play during a substitution.

Ice hockey

A player who shoots the puck directly (that is, without a deflection off the glass or another player or stick) over the glass and out of play from his defensive zone or in the neutral zone, whether intentional or not, is charged with a minor penalty (two minutes).

A player who intentionally removes his own goal from its moorings is charged with a minor penalty (two minutes).

Also, in leagues utilizing the trapezoid behind the net, if the goaltender plays the puck in the outside corners of the area, he is charged with a delay of game.

Bowling

In the Professional Bowlers Association tour events, a 25-second shot clock is used for televised events. The clock starts when the bowler picks up his ball on the first ball of a frame, or when it exits the automatic ball return on all other balls. If the bowler fails to release the ball before the clock expires, he is warned on the first offense and charged with a minor penalty ($50 fine) on subsequent offenses in the same tournament. [4]

Baseball

MLB rule 8.04 requires that, "when the bases are unoccupied, the pitcher shall deliver the ball to the batter within 12 seconds after he receives the ball. Each time the pitcher delays the game by violating this rule, the umpire shall call "Ball". The 12-second timing starts when the pitcher is in possession of the ball and the batter is in the box, alert to the pitcher. The timing stops when the pitcher releases the ball." [5] This rule, however, is virtually ignored completely. [6]

In 2010, the Southeastern Conference began enforcing a 20-second pitch clock when the bases are empty, and the rule was adopted by the NCAA in 2011. A warning is given for the first violation, and subsequent violations by a pitcher result in an automatic ball. If the batter causes the 20-second violation, an automatic strike is assessed. The clock will be visible. [7] The pitch clock was used in the Double-A and Triple-A levels of Minor League Baseball beginning in the 2015 season. [8]

Basketball

"Delay of game" is a violation in basketball. FIBA, NBA and U.S. NCAA have provisions on delays of game, with the first violation being a warning, and the succeeding violations are assessed as technical fouls. FIBA's rules on delaying the game are for deliberately touching the ball after it passes through the basket or by preventing a throw-in from being taken promptly. The NBA's delay of game violations include preventing the ball from being promptly put into play during throw-ins, including a player touching the ball or a defender crossing the boundary line prior to the throw-in, players or other non-players interfering with the ball when it crosses the boundary line, and entering the court with an untucked shirt. The NCAA's rules include provisions on teams that fail to be ready at the start of every quarter or at the end of time outs.

Aside from a technical foul, the shot clock is reset to 14 seconds or remains the same, whichever is greater, if the defensive team is the violator; if the offensive team is assessed with the violation, no change in timing will be given. In the NBA, if the delay of game occurred in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime, a technical foul will be assessed if a player crosses the boundary line prior to a throw-in.

In the NBA, no ejection of a player or coach can result from a delay of game violation. FIBA and U.S. NCAA, however, will disqualify a player or coach for two technical fouls.

In the PBA, the first violation for a delay of game would result in a warning regardless if it happens during the last 2 minutes of the game. The violation is commonly used during throw-ins of close games in order to "peek" at the play or rotation the opposing team is planning to execute.

Cricket

In limited overs cricket, teams are fined if they do not deliver a certain number of legal balls within a given time span. In addition, the umpires can give 5 penalty runs to either team if they think the other team is wasting time.

Quiz bowl

In quiz bowl, players buzzing in on a tossup question must say their answer within a short time, usually five seconds. Taking longer than five seconds is called stalling, and typically is treated as if the player gave the wrong answer. This usually implies that the team will be negged (five points taken from the score in NAQT format) and the other team has the opportunity to answer the question while the stalling team is locked out.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian football</span> Canadian team sport

Canadian football, or simply football, is a sport in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete on a field 110 yards (101 m) long and 65 yards (59 m) wide, attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's end zone.

In basketball, a technical foul is any infraction of the rules penalized as a foul which does not involve physical contact during the course of play between opposing players on the court, or is a foul by a non-player. The most common technical foul is for unsportsmanlike conduct. Technical fouls can be assessed against players, bench personnel, the entire team, or even the crowd. These fouls, and their penalties, are more serious than a personal foul, but not necessarily as serious as a flagrant foul.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Free throw</span> Penalty in basketball

In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line, a line situated at the end of the restricted area. Free throws are generally awarded after a foul on the shooter by the opposing team, analogous to penalty shots in other team sports. Free throws are also awarded in other situations, including technical fouls, and when the fouling team has entered the bonus/penalty situation. Also, depending on the situation, a player may be awarded between one and three free throws. Each successful free throw is worth one point.

This is a glossary of terms used in Canadian football. The Glossary of American football article also covers many terms that are also used in the Canadian version of the game.

  1. Legally positioned at the kick-off or the snap. On kick-offs, members of the kicking team must be behind the kick-off line; members of the receiving team must be at least 10 yards from the kick-off line. On scrimmages, at the snap the offence must be behind the line of scrimmage; the defence must be at least one yard beyond the line of scrimmage.
  2. A player of the kicking team who can legally recover the kick. The kicker and any teammates behind the ball at the time of the kick are onside. Thus on kick-offs all players of the kicking team are onside, but on other kicks usually only the kicker is. The holder on a place kick is not considered onside.
  1. A defensive position on scrimmages, also called free safety. Typical formations include a single safety, whose main duty is to cover wide receivers. See also defensive back.
  2. A two-point score. The defence scores a safety when the offence carries or passes the ball into its own goal area and then fails to run, pass, or kick the ball back into the field of play; when this term is used in this sense, it is also referred to as a safety touch.
<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comparison of American and Canadian football</span> Differences between the two most common types of gridiron football

American and Canadian football are gridiron codes of football that are very similar; both have their origins partly in rugby football, but some key differences exist between the two codes.

In various sports, a professional foul is a deliberate act of foul play intended to bring about an advantage for the perpetrator's team. Professional fouls are usually committed to prevent an opponent from scoring.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Time-out (sport)</span> Intentional delay in sports

In sports, a time-out or timeout is a halt in the play. This allows the coaches of either team to communicate with the team, e.g., to determine strategy or inspire morale, as well as to stop the game clock. Time-outs are usually called by coaches or players, although for some sports, TV timeouts are called to allow media to air commercial breaks. Teams usually call timeouts at strategically important points in the match, or to avoid the team being called for a delay of game-type violation, such as the five-second rule in basketball.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American football rules</span>

Gameplay in American football consists of a series of downs, individual plays of short duration, outside of which the ball is dead or not in play. These can be plays from scrimmage – passes, runs, punts or field goal attempts – or free kicks such as kickoffs and fair catch kicks. Substitutions can be made between downs, which allows for a great deal of specialization as coaches choose the players best suited for each particular situation. During a play, each team should have no more than 11 players on the field, and each of them has specific tasks assigned for that specific play.

In gridiron football, clock management is an aspect of game strategy that focuses on the game clock and/or play clock to achieve a desired result, typically near the end of a match. Depending on the game situation, clock management may entail playing in a manner that either slows or quickens the time elapsed from the game clock, to either extend the match or hasten its end. When the desired outcome is to end the match quicker, it is analogous to "running out the clock" seen in many sports. Clock management strategies are a significant part of American football, where an elaborate set of rules dictates when the game clock stops between downs, and when it continues to run.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rules of basketball</span> Rules governing the game of basketball

The rules of basketball are the rules and regulations that govern the play, officiating, equipment and procedures of basketball. While many of the basic rules are uniform throughout the world, variations do exist. Most leagues or governing bodies in North America, the most important of which are the National Basketball Association and NCAA, formulate their own rules. In addition, the Technical Commission of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) determines rules for international play; most leagues outside North America use the complete FIBA ruleset.

In sports strategy, running out the clock is the practice of a winning team allowing the clock to expire through a series of preselected plays, either to preserve a lead or hasten the end of a one-sided contest. Such measures expend time but do not otherwise have a tactical purpose. This is usually done by a team that is winning by a slim margin near the end of a game, in order to reduce the time available for the opposing team to score. Generally, it is the opposite strategy of running up the score.

A play clock, also called a delay-of-game timer, is a countdown clock intended to speed up the pace of the game in gridiron football. The offensive team must put the ball in play by either snapping the ball during a scrimmage down or kicking the ball during a free kick down before the time expires, or else they will be assessed a 5-yard delay of game or time count violation penalty. If a visible clock is not available or not functioning, game officials on the field will use a stopwatch or other similar device to enforce the rule.

In most levels of professional American football, the two-minute warning is a suspension of play that occurs when two minutes remain on the game clock in each half of a game, i.e., near the end of the second and fourth quarters, and overtime. Its effect on play is similar to that of a timeout: the game clock stops and the teams gather to discuss strategy. The suspension of play is two minutes long, the same as the short two-minute intermissions between quarters within each half. Its name reflects its origins as a point in the game where the officials would inform the teams that the half was nearly over, as the official game clock was not displayed in the stadium at the time the two-minute warning was created.

In Canadian football, the three-minute warning is given when three minutes of game time remain on the game clock in the first and second halves of a game. The three-minute warning stops the game clock in all cases. American football has a two-minute warning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penalty (gridiron football)</span> Penalty in American football

In gridiron football, a penalty is a sanction assessed against a team for a violation of the rules, called a foul. Officials initially signal penalties by tossing a bright yellow colored penalty flag onto the field toward or at the spot of a foul.

In gridiron football, replay review is a method of reviewing a play using cameras at various angles to determine the accuracy of the initial call of the officials. An instant replay can take place in the event of a close or otherwise controversial call, either at the request of a team's head coach or the officials themselves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Out of bounds</span> Concept in many sports related to the edge of the playing area

In sports, out of bounds refers to being outside the playing boundaries of the field. The legality of going out of bounds, and the ease of prevention, vary by sport. Sports that use this term include American football, Canadian football, field lacrosse, basketball, rugby union, rugby league, and association football.

In sports that use a clock, untimed play is play in which the clock does not tick. In some cases, untimed play can occur at the end of a game following the expiration of the clock, and may even be when a score occurs that decides the outcome of the game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rules of water polo</span> Rules and regulations covering the play, procedure, and equipment of water polo

The rules of water polo are the rules and regulations which cover the play, procedure, equipment and officiating of water polo. These rules are similar throughout the world, although slight variations do occur regionally and depending on the governing body. Governing bodies of water polo include FINA, the international governing organization for the rules; the NCAA, which govern the rules for collegiate matches in the United States; the NFHS, which govern the rules in high schools in the USA; and the IOC, which govern the rules at Olympic events.

References

  1. ↑ "2023 NFL Rulebook | NFL Football Operations". operations.nfl.com. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  2. ↑ "Rule 1 – Conduct of the Game, Section 7 – Starting & Timing, Article 8 – Delay of Game" (PDF). 2010 Canadian Football League Rule Book. Canadian Football League. pp. 16–17. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-08-13. Retrieved 2010-12-26.
  3. ↑ "Rule 1 – Conduct of the Game, Section 7 – Starting & Timing, Article 9 – Time Count" (PDF). 2010 Canadian Football League Rule Book. Canadian Football League. p. 17. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-08-13. Retrieved 2010-12-26.
  4. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). www.pba.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 12 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ↑ "MLB | Official Info | MLB.com".
  6. ↑ Sandomir, Richard (August 9, 2011). "Hardball Played as a Slow-Pitch Game". New York Times. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  7. ↑ Nunez, Tammy. "NCAA rules for college baseball are designed to speed up the game". NOLA.com.
  8. ↑ "Pitch clock for Double-A, Triple-A use". ESPN . 15 January 2015. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
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