[Mark Padgett]

Last night boys competitive 8th grade game. My partner is a pretty experienced guy with whom I've worked a few times over the years. Prior to the game, he tells me he tossed the visiting coach a few weeks ago. He said he was just giving me a "heads up".

Not much complaining at first, but about halfway through Q3 that coach yells at my partner, "You gotta call that. You've missed it all night." Partner doesn't react. About a minute later, same coach yells at partner, "Aren't you listening? That's a foul!" Partner gives him the stop sign and says, "No more, coach." Coach replies, really loudly, "What's the matter? Can't you take it?" WHACK! Coach says, "That's what I expect - coming from a guy who can't call the game correctly". WHACK #2 and gone!

Coach doesn't want to leave (gee, that never happens). My partner goes over and tells him that if he doesn't leave the gym immediately without any comments, the game is forfeit. He still stands there and stares. My partner then tells him that he will tell all the parents in the stands who paid a lot of money so their kids can play ball that the reason they can't play any more tonight is because he decided to act like a child and they should ask him for a partial refund. He stared again and then just picked up his stuff and left. BTW - his AC hadn't said a word to us all night and didn't for the rest of the game.

After the coach left, my partner told me he has this team again later this week. I asked him if he was going to ask for a change and he said no way - it was the coach's problem, not his. I asked him to call me if he tossed the guy again.