The Most Bizarre and Obscure Rules in Sports

Sports rulebooks can be very dense and complicated, because they have to account for every possible scenario. Naturally, some strange rules and conditions have made their way into them.

"USA Today" put together a list of the most bizarre rules in sports:

1. NFL Rule 11-3-2 - The 'One-Point Safety': It is possible to score a single point in a football game, although it's a longshot. When there's a safety on an extra-point attempt, it results in one point for the tackling team.
2. NFL Rule 3-8 - The 'Drop Kick': Instead of kicking an extra point normally, a player can take the snap and drop the ball on the ground and kick it off the short hop through the uprights, ideally.
3. MLB Rule 7.05 - No Hat Catches: A player is not allowed a catch a ball in his hat. If he does, even on the simplest fly ball to center, the batter is awarded three bases.
4. NFL Rule 11-4-3 - The 'Fair Catch Kick': If a punt returner calls for a fair catch, the receiving team then has the option of attempting an undefended field-goal from the spot where the ball was caught.
5. NHL Rule 60.3 - The 'Blood Rule': High-sticking is a minor penalty that sends players to the penalty box for two minutes. If the high-sticking causes injury, refs can assess a double-minor, which means four minutes in the box. What constitutes an "injury?" Basically, blood.
6. NCAA Basketball Rule 4-1 - No Dunking Before the Game: When the final 20-minute countdown begins before tip-off, players are no longer allowed to dunk. You can get a technical, even though the game hasn't started.
7. MLB Rule 2.00 - The 'Up-the-Middle Foul Ball': A line-drive up the middle can be a foul ball if it slams into the pitching rubber, and caroms into foul territory without being touched by a fielder.
8. European Chess Union Regulation 13.2: 'No Cleavage': Back in 2012, the European Chess Union announced that women wearing shirts or blouses may only have, "the second from the top button" open during competition.
9. Golf Rule 23-10 - The Fruit Shot: If your ball is "embedded" inside a piece of fruit, you must play the ball / fruit as it lies. If your ball lands in a bunker, directly in front of an apple core, the apple core is considered a 'natural' object and can't be removed without penalty.