[grunewar]

Fascinating read - especially the part about the mob and witness relocation program. Thanks for sharing. My favorite excepts:

"You hear just about everything and, truthfully, you grow numb to it all pretty fast: "Hey, ref, get it right for once!". . . "Hey, ref, your fly's open!" . . . "Hey, ref, eat me!" . . . "Hey, ref, you suck!" . . . "Hey, ref, don't quit your day job!" . . . and one I have to give points to for creativity: "Hey, Delaney, I've seen better referees at the Foot Locker!"

"Contrary to the popular belief that we in the NBA don't make any traveling calls, we're constantly working on picking up pivot-foot violations."

"I could hear the usual stuff from some of the fans who were just getting warmed up like everyone else. "Be fair, ref, call 'em at both ends," and other lines with choice adjectives and nouns attached."