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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Ashland council to consider water rate surcharge, Welcome Center agreement Ashland High's Michelle Zundel heading to Medford district Jackson County district election turnout under 17 percent Makeover brings new look to old clinic Coffee with the editor Education Ashland High's Michelle Zundel heading to Medford district John Muir students need help producing eighth-grade yearbook Ashland High School seeks volunteers for 2015-16 Heading to Harvard Rising from the ashes Environment Demonstrators hope to save tree Documentary 'When Giants Fall' tells tragic story of elephant poaching Mt. Ashland Ski Area proposes summer adventure center Long drought, big storm make for a dirty Bear Creek Jackson County declares drought disaster Business Makeover brings new look to old clinic Cars We Remember: 1955 and 1956 Plymouth memories Ashland's CD Or Not CD will carry on Sawyer Paddles sues manufacturer, alleging breach of contract Ashland seminars focus on employment law Politics and elections Ashland council to consider water rate surcharge, Welcome Center agreement Jackson County district election turnout under 17 percent Arthur I. Cyr: Camp David summit will not help Mideast stability City of Ashland to consider making recorder position appointive, not elective Ashland water bills could go up to fund watershed protection State News Oregon's snowpack at just 11 percent of average Lack of snow nixes ski portion of popular Central Oregon race Bill under debate in Oregon would limit livestock antibiotics Nation - World There's a $10 million precious stone hidden in plain sight at Grand Central Obituaries Death Notices Patricia Carole-Mae Perrin Alpha W. Crews Brian Erskine Fletcher Nita Day Shareable Check out top import and export for every U.S. state Patriots fan sets up GoFundMe page to help pay for team's Deflategate fine Sports Latest Stories AHS decathlete Thompson-Siporen overcomes knee surgery to shine at districts George Barnes: We need to help free Tom Brady O'Brien, Kim claim MWL doubles title Kelly McElroy: I hate this ‘game’ App Finder: Best cycling apps High school AHS decathlete Thompson-Siporen overcomes knee surgery to shine at districts O'Brien, Kim claim MWL doubles title Thompson-Siporen earns three MWL titles in first day of district meet Ashland heads to Eugene for MWL district meet Ayers pitches Eagles past Grizzlies Southern Oregon University O'Brien, Kim claim MWL doubles title Ashland heads to Eugene for MWL district meet Raiders Maguin, Parks, Sanders highlight first day of CCC track meet SOU lands two on all-CCC softball team See you in August Voices Latest Stories Letters to the Editor, May 19 Council Corner: Please help me with my list Granlund cartoon: Memorial Day and Uncle Sam George Barnes: We need to help free Tom Brady Lloyd Garver: The Apple Watch - good birth control? Editorial Other Views: Vaccine rate improves Our View: Focus on the basics Our View: Elected or appointed? Our View: Change is brewing Our View: Forest work is a bargain Letters Letters to the Editor, May 19 Letters to the Editor, May 14 (No heading) Letters to the editor: Tuesday, May 12 Letters to the Editor, May 8 Guest opinions Guest Opinion: Ambrose spins a conservative fantasy Guest Opinion: Restoring the Plaza's sense of place Guest Opinion: Making conservation a game Guest Opinion: A good day to act Columns Council Corner: Please help me with my list George Barnes: We need to help free Tom Brady Chris Honoré: The journey of the African elephant Herb Rothschild Jr.: An appalling budget Jeffrey Gillespie: Shame on the high seas Chris Honore Council Corner Editor's Notes Jeffrey Gillespie Herb Rothschild Revels Latest Stories Ashland Calendar, Thursday, May 14 4 Things To Do This Weekend Movie listings: May 15-21 Laurie Lewis, Tom Rozum at The Mountain House Steve Poltz, Grant-Lee Phillips at Old Ashland Armory Theater Ashland-originated plays to tour throughout country Ticket Availability Ticket availability Ticket Availability Departing Ashland Independent Film Festival programmer talks about what makes a good movie Music The Farr Side: Contest open for singer-songwriters The Farr Side: Mumford & Sons’ latest is full-on rock Interview: Country singer Suzy Bogguss enjoying life on the road The Farr Side: CMAs do it right, in many ways Interview: Offspring plays hits new and old on tour Visual Art Movies Documentary 'When Giants Fall' tells tragic story of elephant poaching Movie review: ‘Mad Max’ is a fresh, fantastic approach to a classic idea Your A-to-Z guide to the ‘Mad Max’ franchise Movie listings: May 15-21 'Wild Tales' is twisted, dark and lovely Food and Drink Taqueria Picaro takes over Tabu space Owner of Mix and Amuse to bring Flip burger joint to Ashland Cruelest Month: Poetry Blog Lifestyle Latest Stories Dr. Elaine Heffner: Teaching values Food for Thought: Grapes deliver sweet healthy goodness Community Blog: God's sigh: the breath of peace Sid McKeen: A bumper crop of idle observations Cars We Remember: 1955 and 1956 Plymouth memories Aging Happens Inner Peace Column Inner Peace Blog Mocha Musings Rogues: Tales from the Valley Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Photos Videos Blogs Business Business Services NEWS NOW Council Corner: Please help me with my list ... Ashland council to consider water rate surcharge, Welcome Center agreement ... Ashland High's Michelle Zundel heading to Medford district ... Council Corner: Please help me with my list ... Ashland council to consider water rate surcharge, Welcome Center agreement ... Ashland High's Michelle Zundel heading to Medford district ... Kelly McElroy: I hate this 'game' Comment By Kelly McElroy HoumaToday.com DailyTidings.com By Kelly McElroy HoumaToday.com Posted May. 15, 2015 at 9:22 AM By Kelly McElroy HoumaToday.com Posted May. 15, 2015 at 9:22 AM » Social News Remember when the NBA’s slogan was “I Love this Game”? It was used in the 1990s and then later in the mid-2000s. It was a big thing. The slogan was featured in commercials, on hats, billboards, T-shirts and anywhere else the NBA was marketing itself. I still love the NBA and try and watch as many NBA playoff games as possible. But there is an aspect of the game that has led me to turn off a number of playoff games recently — the use of intentional fouls on poor free-throw shooters as a tactic by some teams to gain an advantage through stealing possessions and “muddying” up the game. It’s commonly known as “hack-a-player.” The practice was used on Shaquille O’Neal at times in his NBA career because he was a poor free-throw shooter and dominating post player, but it is back in full force in 2015, especially in the Clippers-Rockets Western Conference semifinals series. You are seeing it used in that series because those teams feature two of the top big-men in the league in Houston’s Dwight Howard and Los Angeles’ DeAndre Jordan. They also happen to be two of the worst free-throw shooters in the league. Howard shot 52.8 percent from the free-throw line during the regular season and Jordan shot 39.7 percent. So at certain times in the series, the teams, under instruction from its coaches, intentionally foul the two by just running up to them and grabbing them when neither is anywhere close to the play or the ball. In a 129-95 win by the Clippers in Game 4 on Sunday, the Rockets forced Jordan into taking 39 free throws. He made 14 of them. I, just like every other sports fan out there, would much rather see Howard or Jordan catching alley-oop dunks, snagging rebounds and throwing down vicious dunks instead of watching them shoot (and mostly miss) free throws. It is making the game boring. If this was the NFL, a rule would have been put in place a long time ago to avoid this from happening. I understand that some people will point to it being a good strategy and that bad free-throw shooters should work to get better, but when strategy starts to push fans away from watching a sport they pay good money to be entertained by, something must change. It really makes the games painful to watch and also adds to the length of them. For instance, some of the playoff games this season have been pushing three hours. That means if a person on the East Coast wants to watch a Western Conference playoff game at night they would have to stay up to after 1 a.m. to see how it finishes. We don’t need guys fouling other guys away from the play to make the games drag on any longer than they have to. I still love the NBA and the playoffs. But when it comes to the strategy of intentionally fouling poor free-throw shooters away from the ball, I am quickly starting to hate that game. Kelly McElroy writes about sports for The Thibodaux (La.) Daily Comet and The Houma (La.) Courier. By Kelly McElroy HoumaToday.com DailyTidings.com By Kelly McElroy HoumaToday.com Posted May. 15, 2015 at 9:22 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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