After covering sports for close to 30 years, I often think I’ve seen it all. Then something strange, bizarre or out-of-left field comes along and I shake my head like the rest of you. One moment like this occurred a month ago when the Carolina Hurricanes surrendered two short-handed goals – on the same shift – and three overall in a period. Never seen that one before -- and probably won’t ever again.  
   
The most recent Twilight Zone moment in sports happened Wednesday night when the Hurricanes were visiting the Atlanta Thrashers. Carolina defenseman Bret Hedican was clearing the puck into the Atlanta zone before he crossed the blue line when it ricocheted off the leg of one of the referees and skidded along the ice 35 feet into the Atlanta net, which was vacated by Kari Lehtonen, who was out of his cage ready to stop the wraparound.

Carolina celebrated its latest goal and 4-1 lead. Not so fast.

The goal was waved off by the referees, who apparently can’t be a part of a goal, according to the NHL rulebook.

What?

OK, so a puck can be deflected in, hit off a skate of a player, batted out of mid-air (as long as the stick isn’t above cross-bar length), heck, even go in off the backside of a player, but not off a ref? Aren’t the refs part of the ice surface? Apparently not, according to the NHL, which has its share of zany rules.

Carolina coach Peter Laviolette was so stunned he was too frozen to argue the call. It’s a good thing the Canes went on to win the game 6-3 and the disallowed goal didn’t decide the outcome of the game during an intense playoff race.

The play prompted me to recall some of my pet peeves of sports, rules that shouldn’t be rules. So here goes, my top 10 rule changes for sports. (Of course, some of these are a bit tongue-in-cheek). 

1.    No more intentional walks in baseball. Also known as the Barry Bonds rule. Hey, if you want to throw pitches six feet outside you’ll have to deal with an angry catcher. We want to see offense, not walks.

2.    Dual possession in football is an incomplete pass. Why should the offense get the ball on such a play?

3.    Any MLB player who slides into first base is out. We all know you arrive at first base faster by running through the base, not sliding. So this rule stands on principle alone.

4.    No “In-The-Grasp” for NFL QBs: It’s called tackle football, right?

5.    Taking more than three practice swings prior to hitting a golf shot disqualifies you from tournament. Also known as the Sergio Garcia rule. Hit the damn ball, please!

6.    Abolish trapezoids in hockey. Is Gary Bettman still the NHL commissioner?

7.    A dunk is worth one point in the NBA. Why does the easiest shot in hoops count the same as an 18-footer?

8.    College teams don’t have to go for two-pointer after two OT periods. The tie-breaker in college football is silly, anyway. Play a sudden-death quarter like the pros and stop manufacturing rules.

9.    Allow TD celebrations in college games. Are we grooming these guys for the NFL or to be good sports? I think we all know the answer to that question.

10. Teams in college conferences have to be located in the same time zone. Several leagues need to check out this rule.