[drothamel]

I think that there are a lot of reasons for what you describe. To me, the biggest reason for this is that the rule book and the case book are very sterile when it comes to the actual plays. The book sort of assumes that things happen in a certain way all of the time. Of course, this is a necessary function of a rule book, it obviously can't take into account every possible situation. But I think that is one of the reasons that officials do things differently from one another at times. Plus, basketball is a very personal game, especially with regard to the officials. We interact a great deal with coaches and players, just based on our proximity to the action. THis kind of interaction leads to a need for game management that sometimes requires a different tack than what the rule book may suggest.

I do feel your frustration. I have posted this once before, but when I was in Delaware, the coaches' box was ironclad, and strictly enforced. Now that I am back in VA, it isn't enforced anywhere near as strictly. Also, the style of play and the level of play is different from area to area, and this also leads to different interpretations of the rules and their enforcement.

Just some thoughts, but a very interesting topic for discussion.