Thanks everybody for the responses. I consider it part of good game management to avoid technicals and flagrants wherever possible(please understand I am not saying it is poor game managment to call technicals/flagrants, in fact good game managemnt may demand technicals) . As I officiate more and more games, I find I get better at handling situations like this. There is no substitute for experience.

Perhaps it would be better to say that good game management is knowing when the technical or flagrant can be avoided; but calling it when it's necessary.

Yes Chuck, it would be. But what I am also trying to say is an official can help avoid technicals by being aware of the situation and doing whatever he can to prevent player/team behavior that demands a technical be called. For example, rough play by both teams. You've called fouls but rough play persists. Now is the time to get the captains together and warn them. If a T ensues, you've done your best to avoid it. Of course, some behavior warranting a T can come without warning. This is beyond the officials control. I hope I've exppressed my thinking a little better.

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"Almost every wise saying has an opposite one, no less wise, to balance it."--George Santayana

I'm with you.

Say you'll watch for it, maybe talk to both team captains/coaches if you think it's warranted - seems about all you can do.

I was working a (flag) football game once where the offensive line of one team (my co-workers :eek:) kept coming up to me saying that a player on the opposite team (grad students in my department :eek:) was continually trash-talking and swearing at them when she went through the line. I kept on telling them I didn't hear anything (they claimed she was doing it quietly) and that I wasn't going to flag what I couldn't hear. Wouldn't have been any different no matter who was playing.

Girls trash talk? How does it compare to boys/men? Give me a sample :)

That was the problem - I didn't hear any of it!

Girls trash talk goes something like this:

"YOU ARE LIKE SO NOT PRETTY!"

Mark - that's just the girls talking to you when you wear fishnets. :p