Quote:
Originally Posted by BadNewsRef
I hate it when the timer posts the team foul on the scoreboard before we report the foul.
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I also hate it when the public address announcer states, "Third foul on twenty-one. Team's fifth.", before I've finished reporting to the table.
I had an adult scoreboard operator last week in a boys varsity game. I reported a foul to the table knowing that we were probably going to reach the team's tenth foul. After reporting the foul, I asked the table, "Are we in the double bonus?". Operator replied, sarcastically, "Look at the scoreboard, the double bonus light is on." I shouldn't have, but I let it go.
A few minutes later, my partner reported a foul to the table, after which there was no further action from the table. After moving back to his trail position for the free throws, players from the team that fouled moved toward their bench area to meet with their coach. I ask my partner, "Did someone request a timeout?" He answers in the negative. We both move to the table area to figure out what's going on and discover that a player fouled out. "Why didn't you tell us?", I ask the table. Operator replies, "Look at the scoreboard, it's his fifth foul". So I read her the riot act,
"You have to let us know when we're in the bonus, or the double bonus, or when someone fouls out".
After the game, in the locker room, my partner tells me that I was too hard on the operator. I told him that she made me look foolish, and then she made him look foolish, and I wasn't going to let it happen again, to us, or to any of our colleagues that show up that site. He replied that he didn't now about the first screwup, and that was my fault. I should have taken care of business when I was supposed to take care of business. Lesson learned. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.