perplexed and wondering
 

Having posted here a few times, and gotten some pretty good help from some nice people I still am wondering something. the majority of the answers I have gotten have been in general like this " that is a judgement call, how can we give a definite answer" or, " Your viewpoint is different than the refs, and not knowing how things accually went down we can't give a clear answer"
The overwhelming response is that most of the situations in a game are judgement calls and since most of what I have heard is that you really cannot get into the head of another ref and define something, what exactly is this forum for it not for asking questions?? I was just wonderin'

It's for responding to questions as well.

And the annual baseball thread.

It certainly is for asking questions, but here's the thing. If you recount a particular play, and ask whether there should be a foul, it's almost impossible to say, as we didn't see the play. What this forum, IMO, is about, is getting the rules straight. Say you have an odd play, and you want to know how the rules should be applied to a certain situation. Or let's say you have a question about mechanics. This is the place to ask it.

The people here are great, and will help you whenever they can. Sometimes, though, a call is purely judgement (like whether a foul was just a common foul or an intentional foul) and it's very unlikely that you'll find someone on here who will definitely say that it's one or the other without having seen the play in person.

Art,

If you expect people here or on any board to give you an answer about something they did not see, you would not be very realistic. Most of basketball officiating is about judgment. There are very few hard answers we can give without video tape and even with video tape you will have different opinions on what should and should not be called.

Peace

I think you should see it as a good thing that someone would tell you they would have to see something that is judgement before giving an opinion. It would be very easy to build someone up or tear them down by saying something was right or wrong without seeing it. The honest answer is many judgement calls must be viewed before someone can give their opinion.

There are rules. And they can be cited. There are also case plays, which will give an example of a play and they can help to understand the interpretation of a rule.

In the case-book plays, all of the needed information is provided to make a specific determination.

Many times, a poster's question does not have enough information to form an exact answer. Other times, non-officials come looking to bash officials. Other times, it is just the judgement of the official.

Feel free to ask a question. Try to give all of the information needed so that an official can give an intelligent and honest answer. Be prepared to get an answer that you do not like.

You can't expect us to judge whether or not a call MAY be correct based on your recollection of a play. What you see is not necessarily what another person saw. Shoot, here's a play that was posted on this site (http://forum.officiating.com/showthread.php?t=31917) where we all got the same view as a forum yet we still did not come to a consensus as to what the call should be. And even though the majority said it should have been a foul, the official who was right on the top of the play and had a split second to make a decision JUDGED it not to be a foul. How can we sit in the comfort of our ergonomically designed computer chairs and criticize that official? We weren't on the court with the same view so we don't know what HE SAW.

Given only the written facts, the scenario may change with unnoted activities. For example:

1. A1 dribbles into the paint and as he starts his shooting motion, there is contact with B1.
2. A1 dribbles into the paint and as he starts his shooting motion, B1 jumps contact occurs.
3. A1 dribbles into the paint and as he starts his shooting motion, B1 jumps and contact occurs on A1's arms.
4. A1 dribbles into the paint and as he starts his shooting motion, B1 jumps and contact occurs on A1's arms. B1 had come from outside the lane.
5. A1 dribbles into the paint and as he starts his shooting motion, B1 jumps and contact occurs on A1's arms. B1 had come from outside the lane perpendicular to A1's path.
6. A1 dribbles into the paint and as he starts his shooting motion, B1 jumps and contact occurs on A1's arms. B1 had come from outside the lane perpendicular to A1's path. A1, sensing B1's block uses his off arm to create space.
7. A1 dribbles into the paint and as he starts his shooting motion, B1 jumps and contact occurs on A1's arms. B1 had come from outside the lane perpendicular to A1's path. A1, sensing B1's block uses his off arm to create space. As B1 left the floor, he was lightly pushed by A2.
8. A1 dribbles into the paint and as he starts his shooting motion, B1 jumps and contact occurs on A1's arms. B1 had come from outside the lane perpendicular to A1's path. A1, sensing B1's block uses his off arm to create space. As B1 left the floor, he was lightly pushed by A2, so that B1 was displaced by 20".

While you may not get a definitive answer to whether a particular judgment call we didn't see was a foul or not, you will often find a very informative discussion about what the relevant rules are and how to apply them to make a determination in a situation like the one you are questioning. That is extremely useful to the audience this board attracts.

I know this will shock you, but not all questions revolve around judgement calls...

Yeah, we save most of those for volleyball...:D :D :D

In you opinion? :p