Is there any real significance that some basketball officials are called "referees" and "umpires"?
After reading the rules (specifically the chapter on responsibilities), I think that the only differences are:
(1) the referee is in-charge of pre-game conferences;
(2) the referee is in-charge of the officiating team;
(3) the referee is usually the most senior (in experience not age, but usually that goes hand-in-hand) official;
(4) AND (most importantly!), the referee tosses the ball for a jump ball (how fun!).
So the way I understand it, the referee is like the crew chief. Aside from that, the umpire(s) have the same authority as the referee in game management and working the game. Correct?
And lastly, as far as I know, only basketball officials plus anyone who's read the actual rules even know that umpires exist in basketball. I'm betting 95% of coaches, players and fans don't even know this.
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