[BillyMac]

You heard right. I'll say it again. I hate JRutledge. I've never worked with him. I've never met the man. I don't even know what he looks like. But I still hate JRutledge.

Why? Because he's a jinx. I haven't had any weird plays all season long. So what happens? JRutledge posts a weird play on Friday night, and now I have to post a weird play on Saturday night. JRutledge is a jinx.

Boys varsity. Two good suburban teams. League game, big rivalry. Close game for the entire game. Third period. Absolutely no problems up until this point.

V1 gets a pass at the high post. He pivots, and in doing so, swings his elbows, not excessively, and accidentally strikes H1 in the head. My partner, and I, both sound our whistles for a foul, but before we can do anything else, H1, the foulee, intentionally tries to hit the ball out of V1's hands, and in doing so strikes V1 on the arm. Now, both H1, and V1, start posturing for each other's benefit. I get between them to prevent any bloodshed, and a few seconds later, my partner sees V2 push H1 in the back.

My partner, and I, get together to figure it all out, which take a few minutes. Then we get both coaches together to inform them of our decisions. They have lots of questions for us, so that take a few minutes. The we report the fouls to the scorekeeper: Intentional personal on V1, technical foul on H1, and technical foul on V2. Nothing flagrant, no disqualifications. H1 shoots two free throws. V shoots two free throws. H shoots two free throws. H gets the ball at the division line.

To quote the great Frankie Valli, "Oh What A Night".