I was witness to a varsity thriller a couple of weeks ago. Girls game had gone into OT. Boys game had gone into double OT. The refs (two man) are seasoned, they've worked during the tournament trail.

Towards the end of the game, some close calls went home's way, raising the ire of the visiting fans. With 10 seconds left in the game, home was shooting two FTs with a four point lead. A timeout was called and the refs assumed their positions on the court. Three 'adult' fans from the visitors side assumed a position behind the scorer's bench so that one could make his opinion known to the official standing nearest the table. The ref just stood there and took it. Police and game management moved into position and tried to reason with the fellow to settle down, but he was having little of it.

Home won by five and two of the three 'adults' went one direction and the third, the one making all the noise, went out the other direction towards the general area where the officials went after the game. He was followed out by management and a couple of cops to make sure he didn't take a detour.

Long post, but it's getting to be tournament time and the stakes are getting high. I admired these guys for how hard they worked during the game, it was a heckuva game. They called a good game. On the last free throw, home had cleared out the lane leaving their shooter and four opponents. He missed the shot and still managed to rebound the ball. Typical ending for visitor and how the game had turned in the last couple of minutes of OT#2.

As Sgt. Esterhaus use to say on Hill Street Blues, "Let's be careful out there."

Sounds like a good job by game management!

Ever notice that the fans who give you the most trouble are the ones who know the least about the rule of the game? This principle generally applies to coaches also.

I've also noticed the ones who are about half drunk always have a way of making their presence known.