[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

1) I don't care what "they" call me as long as "they" don't call me late for dinner.

2) The funniest thing I have had a coach say to me: This is somewhat of a long story but it is worth the time. Ben Williams, the now retired boys' varsity coach at Toledo Scott H.S., was very successful as a coach at Scott H.S. during the 1980's and 1990's. And during that time period and even now, an official cannot be assigned a game in the Toledo City League unless he is recommended by at least one coach, and that said official can be blackballed by at least one coach too. I know, I know, the inmates are running the asylum, but that is how it is in the OhioHSAA, at least in NW Ohio. During the Fall of 1993, I had a six month contract engineering position in Columbus, Ohio, and Thomas Worthington H.S. had a 16 team scrimmage over Thanksgiving Weekend that November and I stayed in town to officiate the scrimmage while Bonnie and Mark, Jr., came down to Columbus and stayed with me for the weekend. Scott H.S. was one of the teams playing in the scrimmage and I had them for two quarters. Williams' teams played an up tempo offense and a swarming man-to-man full court defense. That day his team was always a day late and a dollar short and were committing a lot of stupid fouls. Williams, instead of getting mad at his players, yelled at me: "You are from Toledo, you can't make those calls against us." Now you know why I have only officiated three varsity basketball games (all of them girls' games) in the TCL during the years (1984-2003) before our sons' entered jr. H.S. It is because of stupid nonsense from coaches like Ben Williams.

MTD, Sr.