THE OLD BALLS BASKETBALL LEAGUE RULES

2024-25 Season


The eight captains of the 2024-2025 Old Balls Basketball League are: Jay Canth, Jon Cohen, Randy Howe, Beau LeBlanc, Ed Miller, Mark Steffen, Paul Votto, and Rob Wilker. As captains, our obligation is to the OBBL first and to our particular team second. We are here to keep this thing running smoother than butter through a pig’s butt. That’s our promise to you.

 

T.O.C.

Potentially Dangerous Arm Gear

Pick-Up Rules

League Game Rules

Post-Season Play

The Wait List

 

Potentially Dangerous Arm Gear

  1. Any “gear” with dangerous or potentially dangerous (ie, sharp) edges must be covered by a wristband, tape, or something of the sort

    1. Examples of gear includes Apple watches and other fitness trackers, metallic bracelets, etc

    2. If the opposing team requests covering for arm gear, the player must cover it or remove it; they cannot re-enter the game until they do so

    3. It is recommended that players adhere to this rule during pickup, as well

 

Pick-up Rules

  1. NFHS high school rules should be used for any of the basic, common sense situations (travel, three seconds, etc) not covered by these extra special OBBL rules

  2. Numbers are locked in as soon as the game begins

    1. It is helpful if the player checking the ball in takes note of the number waiting and calls it out)

  3. The “F Mike O Rule”: When the 16th man enters the gym, “two and you’re off” goes into effect AFTER the completion of the game currently being played.

    1. EX: If the team that wins the current game has been on for two or more games, they get to stay for one more game before the “Fuck Mike O Rule” begins

    2. As soon as the 16th says he is done playing (midgame, after game, whenever), we switch back to “winner stays”

  4. When the 20th man enters the gym, it automatically becomes “Ten On, Ten Off” AFTER the completion of the game currently being played.

    1. We ignore the “Fuck Mike O Rule” here as the numbers are just too high to keep track of

    2. When there are more than 20 players, the losing team has to shoot to get in at the next change of teams

      1. Those who miss their foul shots will be joined by members of the team that lost the most recent game, after they shoot their foul shots

  5. The “Fuck Mike O Rule” and “Ten On, Ten Off” end as soon as new numbers are confirmed

    1. When we drop back to “Fuck Mike O”, a few guys will get screwed and have to miss two games in a row as the winner of the last “10 On, 10 Off” game gets to stay on and the winner of the previous game comes on to play them (and if they don’t have five then the losers of the earlier “10 Off, 10 On” game shoot to join them)

    2. This is confusing, but seems the most fair way of doing things. Heavy is the head…

  6. When playing outside, the main court (Strong Field side) is the winner’s court, so that when a team loses it goes to the second court (by the beach) to play for the right to return to winner’s court. 

    1. If we have more than 25 guys, we just split in half

      1. Players stay on separate courts

      2. Follow regular pickup rules

  7. No backcourt in pick-up

 

League Game Rules

  1. NFHS high school rules should be used for any of the basic, common sense situations (travel, three seconds, etc) not covered by these extra special OBBL rules

  2. The league will consist of two divisions, Magic and Bird. All teams will play each inner division team twice and all non-division teams once for a total of 10 regular season games.

    1. MAGIC DIVISION: Ball So Hard University (Jay), The Steel (Randy), High Tide Drifters (Mark), and Black Mambas (Paul)

    2. BIRD DIVISION: Blue Falcon (Jon), TBD (Beau), Kings of Town Campus (Ed), and Hoosiers (Rob)

  3. 25 points, straight, wins.

  4. 2-point shots from beyond the 3-point line. 1-point from inside the line.

  5. When a team has only 4 eligible players for a game, the game will be played 4 vs. 4 (except in the postseason)

    1.  The team with 5 or more eligible players will be awarded 2 points before the game for their first player in a 4 vs. 4 game and 1 point per player after that. 

                                                    i.     Points awarded to the team with 5 or more players are:
5 players = +2
6 players = +3
7 players = +4
8 players = +5

                                                   ii.     The number of points awarded is based on numbers at the start of the game

1.      The start shall not be delayed by more than 5 minutes, ie no waiting for guys to show up)

    1. If the team with 5 or more has a player come in the gym after the game has started no extra points are added.

    2. If a game is 5v5 and a player is injured it is up to the 5-man team’s captain whether to play with 5 or drop down to 4. No points can be awarded, though, once the game has started.

    3. Players cannot be drawn from another team. 

    4. If a team has 3 players or less, the team forfeits.  

                                                    i.     If both teams have 3 players or less, both teams forfeit

                                                   ii.     A forfeit shall be marked in the standings as a 0-1 loss

    1. This rule applies to regular season games only. The playoffs are 5 v 5 and if a team does not have 5 they forfeit.

  1. Self-governing substitutions means that captains can substitute any way they want (we have no playing time requirement)

  2. On a dead ball (a “check ball”) either team can initiate a substitution

  3. A team may call for a substitution when their team is in possession of the ball (inbounding after a made basket, etc)

    1. The other team may also substitute at that point.

  4. Shoot (odds-or-evens) for the decision to start with the ball or to defend a particular basket. Rock, Paper, Scissors is cool, too!

  5. Half time (~3 minutes) follows the 13th point scored by one of the teams

    1. The teams switch baskets at halftime if one of the captains requests it

    2. The team that surrendered the 13th point gets the ball to start the second half

                                                    i.     Possession arrow doesn’t apply as we don’t play with a clock

  1. Jump ball/Close calls: in case of a jump ball or a call (like a question about out of bounds) the team with possession arrow gets the ball and then the arrow switches. This does not apply to fouls as we always respect the call.

  2. “Backcourt” is called when team control has been established and the ball crosses back over the midcourt line to the backcourt; an offensive player has to have been the last to touch the ball in the frontcourt and the first to touch it once it crosses into the backcourt

  3. Each team has two 30-second time outs, to be used at any time during the game, as long as that team is in possession of the ball or if it is a dead ball

    1. Limit time outs to no more than 60 seconds, unless someone is about to puke up a lung.

  4. Fouls:

    1. Player fouled takes the free throw

                                                    i.     First half

1.      If the defending team commits three fouls during one offensive possession the offensive player fouled on the third foul will be awarded one foul shot and the offensive team maintains possession

2.      An “offensive possession” lasts until the defending team comes to control the ball (and not after the offensive team shoots the ball)

                                                   ii.     Second half

1.      If the defending team commits two fouls during one offensive possession and the second foul is a shooting foul, the offensive player receiving the second foul is awarded one foul shot and the offensive team maintains possession.

2.      On third foul of any kind during one offensive possession the offensive player fouled on the third foul will be awarded one foul shot and the offensive team maintains possession

3.      At game point, a made foul shot subtracts one point from the score of the team that committed the foul (the defending  team) and no points awarded to team fouled

4.      An “offensive possession” lasts until the defending team comes to control the ball (and not after the offensive team shoots the ball)

                                                 iii.     In both halves once a foul shot is taken, the count re-sets to zero and the process starts over.

  1. Fast Break Flagrant Foul

    1. Any player on the court at the time of the foul can shoot free throw

    2. A fast break flagrant foul will be called when the offensive player is leading the fast break and crosses the foul line with no defender between him and the hoop and is fouled from behind (if the defenders feet are ahead of the offensive player, it is not flagrant)

    3. A fast break flagrant foul is an automatic basket (1-point) and a free throw.

                                                    i.     Possession changes after a made free throw (inbound or check-in the ball).

                                                   ii.     No possession change if the free throw is missed

    1. These fouls will be called tighter than usual in the effort to avoid injury by forcing the defender to either clearly go for just the ball or, better yet, simply let the offensive player score.

                                                    i.     The guiding principle is “We all have to go to work tomorrow.”

  1. Physical altercations

    1. 1. Any player who makes physical contact (push, grab, etc) with another player, out of anger, will be removed for the remainder of the half, even if that means the rest of the game (ie, 2nd half)

    2. 2. Any player who acts violently towards another player (punch, kick, etc) will be removed from the game and the captains will meet to discuss a ban (for the remainder of the season or a permanent ban).

 

Post-season Play

1. The post-season is a single elimination format

2. All teams make playoffs

3. Seeding is determined by winning percentage

a. When a tie-breaker is needed, the first is head-to-head record, and the second is point differential

b. If we need a third tie-breaker, the two captains will chose one player from his team to battle it out in a free-throw competition

i. Each player shoots ten shots under observation of the two captains, The Commish, or a trustworthy wife

4. Each division has a two game playoff to determine division champion

5. The number one seed in each division gets to pick who they want to play of the three teams in their division for the first round of division playoffs.

a. The higher seed may get to pick day and/or time to play the game, as well

6. The two division champions meet in the finals to play for the Fazio Cup

 

The Wait List (on-hold as of Fall 2024)

  1. To add a friend to the Wait List, send name, email address, and birth year to Randy

    1. Please limit recommendations to guys you really know and really like as we have 25 guys on the list.

    2. Guys on the Wait List are also added to the “off-season” pick-up email list so they will know about the outdoor runs from April-September

      1. If pick-up runs are getting out of control, with numbers, we will return to league-only when indoors

    3. When there is room in the league for Wait List guys, those on the list the longest will be considered, but those that have been showing up for pickup, and are generally thought of in favorable terms, get priority

    4. Changes may be made at the commissioner’s discretion (larger issues may be put to the captain’s for a vote)

  2. At the commissioner’s discretion, Wait List players may be added to the in-season pick-up list for a pro-rated fee