[Mark Padgett]

Our local rec league had its season kick-off Jamboree today with teams playing two or three mini-games of two 10-minute running clock halves. All the refs donated their time. I worked five of those and, since my games were all 7th and 8th grade girls, some funny stuff happened.

1) Before one of the games, a girl was warming up with 3 bracelets on one arm and 2 on the other. I told her "bracelets off". She complied. The game started and on the first trip down the court, she was on defense and had both hands in the back of the opposition's post player. I yelled, "Hands off". She dropped them, looked at me and said, "I have to take off my hands, too?" At first, I thought she was joking, but then I realized she was serious. Yep, she was blonde.

2) Even though this was just a warm up for the teams, I had one jerk coach riding me and my partner. I remembered a thread from this board and stopped the game. I went over to him and said, "During regular games where I get paid, my tolerance level for coach's crap is pretty low. Today, when I'm volunteering and not getting paid - it's zero. Do I make myself clear?" He nodded and said he was sorry. Not another peep out of him.

3) I had one team for two of the mini-games. In both games, they scored a total of zero points.

4) One of my partners asked me for any tips I might have for him. I told him to get a decent looking pair of shoes.

5) Before one game, one girl asked me if she had to remove her tongue stud. I asked her what might happen if she got hit in the mouth with the ball. Her eyes went really wide and she rushed over to the coach and removed it.

6) No timeouts except for injury were allowed. One team had three games in a row and had only five players. By halftime of the third game, they were really dragging it. The coach asked me if he could have a timeout or two in the second half. I told him only for injury. He asked me if it would be OK if his girls "pretended to be injured".

7) One girl told me that a player on the other team's shoes "didn't match". I said that as long as they matched her feet, it was OK. I still don't know what that was all about.

8) One mom brought a cup of coffee into the gym. No food or drink is allowed in the gyms and it is posted on big signs on the doors. I told her she would have to take it outside and she said, "BUT IT'S AN EGG-NOG LATTE!!!!" I told her I didn't care if it was 10 year old Scotch, she had to go outside with it.

9) I had the chance to use one of my favorite Davisms. A player was on the floor with the ball and tried to stand up. I called a travel. The coach asked me why it was a travel. I told him that she moved her "pivot cheek".

10) In one game, a girl threw a pass to a teammate who was under the basket. Unfortunately, she turned while the pass was in the air and it hit her right in the back of the head. She fell down, but wasn't hurt. She got up and said angrily to her teammate, "You can forget about coming to my party tonight."