but look at the bright side, you will now be able to size 1/4-20 nuts with your forearm and i doubt there are many people who can say that :p - Greg Needel [more]
I, too, was very surprised at the blockade calls. The first one that I saw was in Match #23 (see http://watchfirstnow.com/archive3.php?id=62472516 starting at about time 2:00 in the video) and really surprised me.
I can't believe that was called for a penalty! One robot could have performed the same defense just as effectively without a penalty. The announcer definitely should not be calling for a penalty either. I think of a blockade as being an immobile attempt to trap a robot without pinning it. That robot was not trapped, it simply had to out-maneuver the opposing alliance.