[M&M Guy]

Mark and JR - I actually with agree with everything you guys say. The same game needs to be called on both ends of the floor; at the begining and end of the game. Consistancy is important. I have heard "game management" be used as a term that means nothing more than, "manage to not call so much so we can get outta here earlier". That is totally inappropriate for what we have been hired to do.

However...(you felt it coming, right?)

Are there times you have had to make a call later in a game that perhaps you passed on earlier? Or, have you ever told a player, "keep moving" early in a game, but then called 3 seconds on them because they just aren't listening? Obviously, the amount of contact in a jr. high girls game that warrants a foul call will not be the same in a varsity boys game. We adjust all the time, whether it's from game-to-game or even within a game. We can always go through the "what-if's" of the team that's ahead getting frustrated, but I think most of us have been through the situation of the team that's behind getting frustrated as well. I think it's important for us to manage that frustration. Maybe it's just reassuring players when you get a chance that you appreciate their hustle even under these circumstances. Or, pointing out a good play when appropriate. It doesn't have to be changing the way we call the game in favor of the team that's behind. But, maybe, sometimes, in certain cases, it can be. I don't think it should be dismissed altogether. I am certainly afraid of the slippery-slope of that theory getting out of hand and becoming an excuse for lazy officiating. In one of the other threads I mentioned my ignoring an obvious lane violation on a team that was way behind in the last few minutes, and getting a thumbs-up from the clinician and the coach of the team that was way ahead. Sure, on one level it felt uncomfortable, but on the other hand it felt like the right thing to do at the time. And, to reassure JR, if the team that was ahead did the same violation, I would've ignored it as well, to make it even.

So, where's that line between good game management and favoritism? I sure don't know yet, but it seems like there is a line there somewhere. I guess that's part of our judgement; knowing the game, both on a overall level and on an individual basis. I sure wish there was a magical formula I could use to differentiate between management and favoritism. I'd be willing to pay a couple of bucks (or even a six-pack or two) to the person that has that magical formula written down.