Runaway game

[Ignats75]

JR, I agree. Last year I was getting ready to take my Class 1 certification test that will allow me to do Varsity games. One of the requirements are that two Class 1 officials must do written assessments of my work. I had arranged for someone I knew to do it at a Girls JV game for one of the teams that made it to the State Finals.

The game was a blow-out. This program, being a strong program, runs a high pressure trapping full court defense. Obviously, for a JV game, the thought of the coaching staff is that they keep it up. (Not saying that I agree with that, but that's how they think). By halftime, the score is something like 40-11. My partner gets a bug up his @$$ and decides hes going to "send a message" by calling every touch he could a foul until they back off into a passive 2-3. Yeah! Riiiight! The HC, being a stubborn cuss that I have had issues with in the past, recognizes whats going on and slaps a full court press on. (No idiot ref is going to bully me!) The JV game took almost 2 hours! The Varsity guys were so pissed, including my assessor, that I didn't get the assessment done. I called 1 foul the whole second half. That guy is on my very short DNWWTIEA list.

[Jurassic Referee]

Ignats, it's called sticking your nose in where it doesn't belong imo. We might not like or agree with it, and it personally pisses me off too also, but we're the only ones in the gym that are expected to be completely neutral at all times.

[Ignats75]

Amen. And that was a perfect lesson.

Its funny. For football, since I am a season ticket holder for a major college power, I have little sympathy for the losing sides on blowouts. I subscribe to the Bobby Bowden theory. "Its not MY job to stop my team from scoring...its yours." But for basketball, I don't like it either.

[boiseball]

I like the responses I have seen to this question. I have found that refereeing the scoreboard is a talent that you can develop but you have to use a large dose of good judgment and discretion, just like everything else in refereeing. You cannot make calls that allow people in the gym to say, hey that guy is cheating us just because we are better. You can choose gray area calls here and there and give the benefit of the doubt to the team getting thumped, but not in the name of sending a message to the victorious coach. I do it because I think it helps relieve some of the stress on the team getting killed. They can start to get chippy, particularly if they are getting beat and their attitude will not be helped if they feel they are getting pushed around and cannot turn to the refs. There are too many tough-guy refs who have reaching the conclusion that is unfair to press when you are ahead and they are going to help enforce the rule. Not our business in my opinion. Our business is to call a game and let the players be the memorable ones.