Lately, I see so many bad calls by the refs on the basketball court, I have come to the conclusion that basketball should copy the practice adopted by football. They should stop the game so the refs can look at the play over and over so they can make a better guess as to who did what to who, or who smacked the ball out, or broke his mother’s spine when he stepped on the line, etc.

Everyone would benefit! More time for commercials (the networks), more time to go grab another beer (fans) or – during a very difficult one – more time for a potty break! This would go a long way toward keeping the fans in the arena and fans at home from singing the old nursery rhyme about several blind mice.

I know they do this to decide the degree of flagrancy for flagrant files, but I would like to see this done for other calls and missed calls as well. This would not be a logistical nightmare. One possibility would be for the coaches to wave, shout and/or whistle the refs when they think the replay rule should be invoked. I can help them work out the details if they can’t figure it out.

If this seems to be a bad idea, how about a simpler solution: more time in referee school.