Why refs swallow the whistle

Electronic whistles. OK, hand high if that that term was in your sports lexicon before coronavirus. Now instead of a referee or coach lifting whistle to mouth and blowing action to a halt, in many cases the sound will emanate via a simple click of a hand-held device, somewhat akin to clicking a computer mouse.

A pair of AAA batteries included. A whistle is no longer just a whistle. Not in pandemic times. Going electronic is a way to limit the risk of germs being sprayed into the air, a measure to keep a lethal, highly infectious virus from spreading.

Mass Hockey bought its motherlode of new-age whistles from Tide-Rider, a wholesaler in Oakdale, Calif. According to Tide-Rider owner Dave Smith, sales of traditional whistles, the lifeblood of the company, plummeted to nearly zero in March and April. Joined: Feb 27, Messages: 42, Likes Received: 26, They sure as hell do against the Warriors. Joined: Sep 30, Messages: 23, Likes Received: 22, IzakDavid13 Contributing Member.

Joined: Jan 2, Messages: 9, Likes Received: WinkFan Contributing Member. Joined: Feb 12, Messages: 3, Likes Received: I've posted similar stats a couple of times before. There are more PF and FT per game in the playoffs. Also, Harden's regular season and playoff free throw rate are basically the same. Last year's reduced FTR for Harden was the exception, not the rule.

Joined: Nov 20, Messages: 2, Likes Received: 1, Let me know what you guys think. The NBA has always been criticized for being a bullsheat league Just like our political system, banking system, foreign policy, the NBA will endure because we dont have a say in the matter.

He let the play unfold. There's even a phrase in the sports lexicon for this: swallowing the whistle. And this is completely consistent with human behavior. We tend to view acts of omission as less harmful than acts of commission -- even if the outcome is the same or worse.

Psychologists have found that people view inaction as less causal, less blameworthy and less harmful than action, even when the outcomes are the same. Or worse. The first principle imparted to all medical students: "Do no harm. In business we see the same omission bias. When are stockbrokers in bigger trouble? When they neglect to buy a winning stock and, say, miss getting in on the Google IPO?

Or when they invest in a dog, buying shares of Lehman Brothers with your retirement nest egg? Naturally, they act accordingly. Especially in the Super Bowl--relentlessly scrutinized as it is--officials, understandably, are reluctant to insinuate themselves.

This isn't altogether bad. As fans, we prefer to let athletes determine outcomes. But when you wonder why so few penalties are called late in the fourth quarter, recall the omission bias. The play-calling will be conventional. NFL coaches are a conservative lot to begin with. They tend to punt on fourth down entirely too frequently.

The problem is, there's just as much an argument against that as well. After all, they've been trained for a good amount of years to get to this level, and by now should be able to differentiate between an actual foul and ticky tacky contact.

Those against can easily argue, it will only get worse as the season progresses, when star treatment gets taken to a whole new level. Here's a rough breakdown of a comparison with the amount of free throws and fouls drawn from last season:. In the 14 games games the last two nights; there have been no games with less than 50 total free throws, and only two with less than That equates to roughly 59 fouls called per game, and nearly 70 free throws combined between the two games.

Compare that to last season's numbers?