[drinkeii]

Absolutely. Besides, IMHO, no official should officiate with a concern for how many fouls he's calling or how long the game will take. You should do your best to call the game as it is being played. I hate it when, as a coach, I get officials that refuse to call stuff because they want to get out of there in a hurry. You chose to accept the game, you are being paid for it, and you should do your best.

My favorite has to be the officials that refuse to call stuff because it lengthens the game, in a running clock game... ?? Someone missed the logic in that.

As for how many fouls, I let the players decide that. If they're sloppy and fouling all the time, there are more calls. If they're clean, there are less calls. If one team is fouling more than the other, that team gets more fouls called. I always say "I call what I see", and especially hate the phrase "Call it both ways" - I can't call stuff on a second team that isn't fouling, or not nearly as much as a first team. If the differential is several fouls, most times that is a result of one team playing more aggressively than the other, causing more fouls by the way they play. In other words, a difference of playing styles. Some styles generate more fouls than others.