N.B.A. takes multimedia rule book online - NYTimes.com

The N.B.A. rule book defines a second-degree flagrant foul as “unnecessary and excessive contact,” and leaves the painful details to the imagination. It is much easier to grasp after watching Shaquille O’Neal clobber Rodney Stuckey in midair. Four times. From four different angles. In slow motion.

That, more or less, is the premise behind the latest feature on the league’s Web site. The video rule book (at nba.com/videorulebook), which launches Friday, brings to life more than 100 rules — from traveling to charging to illegal screens — by using video clips from N.B.A. games...