[BillyMac]

Note to Jurassic Referee: Thanks for your continued help with my "Misunderstood Rules" handout. You originally pointed out problems with five or six listings. Agreeing with you, I made some changes to three or four listings. We still can't seem to come to an agreement on two listings: #10, carrying, and #24, three-seconds, with the main part of our disagreement over the Tower Philosophy (advantage/disadvantage).

In regards to your most recent post: You stated that coaches and parents "might (have not) even heard about ... the Tower Philosophy". That's why I included this philosophy as the first listing on the handout:

1) It is important to know the intent and purpose of a rule so that it may be intelligently applied in each play situation. A player of a team should not be permitted an advantage which is not intended by a rule. Neither should play be permitted to develop which may lead to placing a player at a disadvantage not intended by a rule.

Also, you alluded to this handout being used to train officials ("Gonna teach your guys"). This handout was never intended as a training tool. I am presently not a member of the training committee. The way things work on Board #6, new candidates are instructed to call the game by the book, attending about a dozen training sessions, so that they can pass the IAABO written test. After passing the test, they attend what we call "Bread and Butter" clinics during their first two or three years on the Board where they are taught the various nuances of rules and mechanics and are exposed to the Tower Philosophy of advantage/disadvantage. All of our officials, rookies and veterans, must attend eight Board meetings during each basketball season. At these meeting our interpreter makes presentations, that often involve advantage/disadvantage principles. He does the best he can to get the over 200 officials on our Board on the same page, and he does a great job at this.

In your most recent post you alluded to the philosophy used to apply the rules on the handout as my "(personal)" philosophy. It's not. It's the philosophy of the largest IAABO Board in Connecticut, servicing about 117 boys and girls, high school and prep-school basketball programs throughout Hartford and Middlesex Counties with over 200 officials. We as a Board also service many middle school programs and some factions of the Board service recreation, travel, and CYO programs. All the coaches, players, and parents involved with these programs are exposed to the same, uniform philosopy of officiating.

Please don't give up trying to convince me about carrying, three-seconds, and advantage/disadvantage. I look forward to our professional, on-line, public discussions. But please don't turn a blind eye to the other 28 listings. Again, my purpose is to make this a "perfect" handout by our preseason coaches meeting in November.