HOCKEY PROMPT

In the end, the diving rule is in the books for a reason, but as a referee, it is so hard to use. Usually, even on embellished plays, it makes sense how someone would react that way (re: the example provided in the other prompt). The only time I've called diving as a referee was when a player jumped and essentially swan dove, so I felt it was so blatantly selling for a call, that I could make a diving call with confidence. That bar I set isn't special, I only make calls that I see and feel with confidence. I can't really comment on the NHL environment and diving, but yeah from what few clips I've seen, it seems like diving is a rarity, as one might expect, at the highest level.

From a competitor's standpoint, I think diving is reprehensible as is any act which ignores sportsmanship. The goal of the game, it could be argued, is to win (I'd argue that it's to do your best), but then the question of to what ends is asked, to which I respond that if you're trying to win at all costs, than you are doing it wrong.