[JRutledge]

One aspect of our jobs is to realize what is happening in the game. If one team is playing a zone and another team is putting on a full court press, chances are the team with the full court press is going to have more fouls. Not always, but more than likely. If one team is driving to the basket and another team is settling for jump shots or three pointers, chances are the team going to the basket is going to probably get fouled more than the team just shooting from the outside. If the foul count is 7 to 1 and the coach complains, just tell him for his team to stop fouling. It is not your job to call the game so the fouls are even. There are no rules that allow this, nor are there any officials worth their salt that want to do that. We are not perfect and we never will be. But if the foul count is out of whack like that, just focus more and make sure you are calling fouls on the team that has not fouled when they occur. If they are not fouling, try to have the common sense to understand why they are not fouling (like settling for jump shots as I stated).

Last night in my game the fouls were pretty even most of the game and the coaches still complained. The foul count is not going to make you life easier just because everything is even. If they do not complain about fouls, they will complain about violations or say things like, "well the other team was doing that to us first." You will never be right with a coach or the fans. Just do your job and your life will go much smoother.

Peace