Regulation and creativity constantly clash in sports.

Sports rule-making drives both innovation and more chances for rule-breaking and mischief.

Play-inspired, divergent thinking often leads to delight and discovery.

At risk of some reputational damage, I confess that one of my favorite comic scenes has “Dumb”—the Jeff Daniels character in the sequel Dumb and Dumber To—stumbling onto the stage of a TED Talk- like conference where he is taken for a world-renowned scientist slated to comment on the presentations.

On stage, a young genius describes how he has invented an injectable nanobot that seeks out and destroys cancer cells. The audience, revved up for revelation, gasps in astonishment and admiration.

“Interesting…” says Daniels’ goofy character. “But. Does it sing?” The question baffles the inventor. And the impostor explains that now “they’ve got a largemouth bass that you hang on the wall, and it sings “Take Me to the River.” “What I’m saying is,” he continues, sagely, “is that you’re this close, and there’s a drawing board that you should be getting back to. Next!” Mystified, the budding scientist says, “But it cures cancer…”

FIFA Refs and the Mistaken Identity Law

Mistaken identity takes hold of more memorable comic films, making life twisty and dangerous for main characters. Hitchcock’s North by Northwest is one good example; The Big Lebowski is another. But I couldn’t imagine that mistaken identity could have anything to do with World Cup soccer until the United States team faced off against Uruguay in the opening round.

This recent instance is mistaken identity of a peculiar kind. In that match, the FIFA referee cited the American captain for a tripping foul and levied a free kick. (A free kick results in a goal three times out of four, and so could well have decided the game.) But a video review rescinded the........

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