Another out-of-bounds question

[Todd (Mike) Mullen]

quote:

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Originally posted by b_silliman on 12-22-1999 12:55 AM
Todd,

It seems to me that you want everything written out for you. This will never happen as there are so many different situations or 'what ifs', that to put them into a book would produce a volume of text so large to drive away new and old officials alike.

After you have mastered what is written in the rules and casebooks, it is your responsibility to develop your own feeling about 'advantage/disadvantage', 'the Tower Principle', etc. This is what distinguishes the good official from the average one.

It will only come with the experiences you have while officiaiting and while watching other more experience officials work ballgames.

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With all due respect . . .

First of all - it's "Mike."

Second - you didn't answer my question about the defensive player leaving the court or if you would expand this rule to apply to any other "leaving the court" situations.

Third - Rule Four devotes nearly 15 pages to definitions (BTW, it also spends more than an entire page on backboards alone in Rule One. And have you seen the size of a baseball or softball rulebook?). Why is it unreasonable to suggest the addition of a definition of reasons to be legally out of bounds?

As for your advice on watching other officials - been there, done that (and still do). Because of the extremely helpful and interested veteran officials in the chapter I started with, I was able to improve and advance rather quickly.

However, while I am confident in my decision-making skills and my interpretation and application of the rules, I still seek out conversations with fellow officials in person and on-line to discuss points just like this.

I hope I do not sound defensive, I merely would like an opinion on my original questions, which I will restate:

1 - Would anyone be willing to expand the rule to other situations except those stated in the case book. If so, please give an example.

2 - Since I expect most to fall back on advantage/disadvantage, would you then call a technical if a defensive player went out of bounds to avoid fouling a screener?

Mark, I would appreciate your comments on these items.

Thanks!

[This message has been edited by Todd (Mike) Mullen (edited December 22, 1999).]

[This message has been edited by Todd (Mike) Mullen (edited December 22, 1999).]