[zm1283]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

I can count the number of technical fouls I had last season on one hand. I think I had 3, although I stopped counting them years ago. Of those three, I wish I had called one earlier.

I *hate* technical fouls the same way I hate baseball ejections. It doesn't mean I won't issue them.

Back to the thread: I have always used a simple "that's 5" while holding up what is essentially a stop sign. If a sub is at the table, I'll say, "is he for 21?" If yes, on we go. If not, I start a clock. I make a serious effort to take care of this administrative business and ignore anything else that's going on at this point, which is easier if you stay a good distance from the coach (the division line lets you deal with both the table and the coach.

In this thread, we've gotten hung up on this little detail, but I don't think this subtle change in wording would've helped Billy in the OP -- the coach decided, for whatever reason, to push the envelope and there's no reason to think that in the waning moments of a 30 point blowout that the coach, who'd been quiet up to this point was going to act any different.

At this point, I probably would've not issued a technical foul, said something along the lines of "I'm sorry you feel that way," and got the hell out of there. I don't have to stand there while the coach gives me a sub. If we get to 20 seconds and there's no sub at the table, then it's an easy technical foul. With 30 seconds left in the game, the coach may want to say his piece, but I don't have to give him an audience. If this conversation started in the second quarter, well, then we'd have to deal with it, I suppose.

Of course, if this is summer ball, I'm more likely to respond in a different way. I'm talking about how I'd handle it in a game where I'm wearing long pants and the coach isn't some dad pretending to be a coach.

+1. Exactly how I do it.