[JeffM]

Obviously, Ed Rush's comments were ill-advised and will likely cost him his job. I don't think he intended to pay any official for giving Miller a technical.

If Rush deemed it necessary, I do think it was appropriate for him to tell the officials to use the technical foul as a tool to manage the game and to point out examples of times when the officials should have given a coach a technical foul. I think it would also be appropriate for Rush to remind the officials that game management is an important component of their evaluation.

In my opinion, the NFHS rulebook (I don't have the NCAA rulebook) isn't clear enough on what deserves a technical. It would be helpful if there were a clear statement that a coach may only question specific calls and a direct technical foul should be awarded to any coach that uses a curse word when talking to an official, questions the integrity of the official, or questions the competency of the official.

As it is, a lot of coaches seem to think they can say or do anything as long as they avoid one of the magic words.

I gave two technical fouls this year - one to a JVB coach who didn't heed warnings when repeatedly questioning why so many fouls were being called on his team that was pressing full court - and one to a HS rec coach who wouldn't get off the floor after being told not to. Neither coach thought they deserved it because they didn't curse at me.