Who is your favorite?

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally posted by Mark Padgett
There's only one guy I'd rate above Earl Strom - Mendy Rudolph. He was the absolute poster boy for an NBA ref. His demeanor on the court just shouted professionalism.

In his book, Strom indicates Sid Borgia was the best ever, but I never saw him work.

I saw all three of them in action. All great officials but I gotta agree with you about Rudolph being the best. He certainly was the most respected official of his era.

The difference between Rudolph and Borgia? When fans got on Rudolph, he used a little move where he'd kinda face them and wipe the sweat off of his forehead, with the middle finger sticking out of the wiping hand. When fans got on Borgia, he'd just turn around and tell them to "f**k off". I'm not sure which move I liked better.

My own, personal favorite official in the NBA was, and is, a guy called Manny Sokol. Worked back in the 70's and early 80's. Not one of the top officials at all, but he was as funny as hell to watch. He literally threw himself into every call. Didn't matter how routine the call was, Manny was gonna sell it big time. Imagine a punch-drunk ex-pug trying to referee a game while little birdies were flying by his head--that was Manny.