[QUOTE=TheOracle]
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Originally Posted by JugglingReferee
When I look back in my career, I recall that games that went to the toilet did so more because of mechanics mistakes than a missed call. Mechanics are a tool to more easily make the right call.
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I have to ask. Can you give an example of when poor mechanics have ruined a game?
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Camp game last Saturday. High level of ball, one team exited the state tourney in the semis last year and has a very difficult HC. The score is close, probably 4 point difference at this point, and the outcome of the game has some bearing on seeding for the bracket portion of the camp which will start right after this game.
In the last two minutes of the game, a younger looking official comes up strong with a whistle and a preliminary call of "Handcheck!". He reports it as a handcheck at the table, then indicates the ball is going the other way. He heads on down the floor to become the new lead.
Everybody else in the gym is scratching his head. Crew chief calls him back, confers with him for a minute, sends him to the table to "fix" his call. He does so briefly, then heads toward the new lead again with no other indication to the teams or those watching what the call really is.
What really happened was he had either a PC or TC call (never found out which). He botched the communication at the spot, again at the table, and a third time as he "fixed" the problem.
Okay, so it didn't ruin the game, but it certainly derailed what little remained of an otherwise good game. And, IMHO (and painful experience), had it happened earlier in the second half, it would likely have ruined the game as his cred is now shot and coaches, players, fans, and partners will be questioning everything this kid calls and no-calls the rest of the game.
So IMHO it is possible for one moment of poor mechanics to ruin a game. Think about it. If you have a high level game, that is close, and if the outcome is meaningful, and one of the officials on the game, who is not one of the respected vets who get the benefit of the doubt, does something that grabs everybody's attention and unintentionally broadcasts the message "I don't belong at this level", well you know how the story ends because we've all seen it happen. It's a little bit of a perfect storm, but not much of one.