[JRutledge]

I will take an official that does several sports over someone that does one any day. Not because I think officials that do more than one sport are automatically better, but they tend to have better people skills and better game management skills. If you did 10 years of one sport, how are you going to tell me that the officials that did 5 years of 3 different sports or more did not get a heavy dose of game management.

Maybe I am bias, but I feel that I am a much better basketball official because I have to deal with coaches in other sports. I have been a Head Linesman or Side Judge in Football. A baseball umpire for the same amount of time practically, and because the situations are much different than basketball, by the time I do a basketball game nothing phases me.

In Football you have to answer for the crew. You will not even have made a call or know what was called, but if you are on the sidelines, you have to come up with some kind of answer. You will hear it for things you did not even do or call.

In Baseball it is acceptable to argue and hold up the game for close judgement calls. Not balls and strikes, but they will argue out and safe situations. And the good umpires know how to difuse a problem before it gets even hotter.

And in basketball which I feel by far is the hardest sport to officiate of all because the game can go on and on without a major break in it. You are getting yelled at for calls and no calls. You have contact but you think it is not a foul, but the crowd, the coach, the players think differently. Even the minor contact someone thinks something should be called.

Because I have those different perspectives and different views of handling coaches, I feel it makes me a better all around official. And after learning to take so much crap all year round, it makes your skin thicker and more aware of situations before they get out of hand.

But that is my opinion.

Peace