[M&M Guy]

Originally posted by Jurassic Referee

Fwiw, Chuck, the word "irregardless" appears in the text of the NFHS rule book. It's verbalized in print several times.

From dictionary.com:
irregardless

adv : regardless; a combination of irrespective and regardless sometimes used humorously

Usage Note: Irregardless is a word that many mistakenly believe to be correct usage in formal style, when in fact it is used chiefly in nonstandard speech or casual writing. Coined in the United States in the early 20th century, it has met with a blizzard of condemnation for being an improper yoking of irrespective and regardless and for the logical absurdity of combining the negative ir- prefix and -less suffix in a single term. Although one might reasonably argue that it is no different from words with redundant affixes like debone and unravel, it has been considered a blunder for decades and will probably continue to be so.

So, irregardless just ain't right.

Oh, yea, back to the topic. I always used to "sell" the made basket, you know, come out strong and really slam home that basket; it's one of those plays that the crowd loves, the "and-one". But as I've done more NCAA-W, I've come to appreciate their mentality and mechanic of just counting the basket. It either went in, or it didn't. That's helped me in my overall game as well - I try to not call every play as if it's life or death anymore. Yep, that's a travel. Yep, that's a foul. Yep, the basket went in. Also, if you are wide enough on the play, you should be able to see the ball go in along with keeping any eye on the players. If I'm at an angle where I need to stay with the play and players, I will keep my fist in the air and make eye contact with my partner(s) to ask for help on the basket. If they give me an affirmative, then I'll count it as soon as I know.