great site! some more observations

[zebraman]

remofire,

Without being there, I can't tell you if you are seeing missed calls or if the refs are seeing something that you aren't. However, I'll tell you some things I've seen many times about each play you mention.

1) Often times, the defender is standing with arms straight. Then the offensive player goes to shoot and the defender moves the arms to 45 degrees and whacks the shooter across the arm. Then the defender moves the arms to straight up again and gives you that "who me?" look. I see this more in girls basketball.

2) Sometimes in a loose ball, one of the players will do something to gain an advantage. It might be a push or even pulling on the opponent's arm to get there first. The fans are generally watching the ball and not the players. Officials are watching the players.

3) I will admit that I see a lot of plays called as blocks that should be a player control foul. When the offensive player is a dribbler and the defensive player had obtained legal guarding position, there is no "being set" requirement. Too many offensive players are being allowed to initiate contact and get a block called on the defensive player. Once a shooter goes airborne however, the defender cannot move into their path. Sometimes those defensive movements are easy to see when they are 6-feet in front of us but probably not easy to see from the stands.

Z