On the subject of cognizance, back in the old days I was not registered and just called locally, jr. high and below. You know, the games where everybody knows you and can use your first name when they insult you. I was actually advised by coaches and "real" officials that knowledge like this was a bad thing.
"Put it out of your mind." I think this is largely good advice, but many times is impossible to follow, especially when it involves the star player being in foul trouble. You hear it shouted from the rafters: "Take it to him! He's got four!"

I don't. 7-0 never has a bearing on whether I pass or call what you describe as a borderline call.

Go read your officials manual:
2.6 Game Management/Awareness on page 43-44
3.6 Game Management/Awareness on page 80-81.

It includes being professional toward players and coaches, etc while making unbiased decisions (judgement based on rules knowledge).

Nowhere does it say to apply situational ethics to assuage a frustrated coach.

That's a little inflammatory. BITS isn't describing "situational ethics", in the sense that most philosophical and religious people would use the term. He's talking about minor adjustments in judgment. There's no way anyone isn't making little adjustments in judgment here and there, for various reasons. Don't call that situational ethics.

So you're ready for the coach's complaint?

I like to know when a team is close to the bonus situation. When a foul is called I'm more cognizant of who the shooter will be.

Right here is where you should make a mental note that this official is someone you do NOT want to emulate!

Bull pucky, that's game management. Try calling it a lack of testicular fortitude instead, because that's exactly what it is. Advocating calling borderline fouls is ridiculous, unless you're also advocating calling similar borderline fouls for the whole game and against both teams. Your "game management" is being done with the sole purpose of trying to avoid having to deal with whiny coaches. And the fact that your "game management" is screwing the other team at the same time doesn't seem to bother you either.

Yeah right, game management......:rolleyes:

I agree with Daryl. BITS isn't advocating a minor adjustment in judgment. He's advocating evening up the foul count. That's wrong. And very telling imo too.

The next time that I make <b>any</b> call while worrying if a coach is gonna complain about that call will be the first time.

And you might make one coach happy by evening up foul counts, but you're going to piss the other coach off while doing so. Are you ready for <b>that</b> coach's complaints?

I was taught to strive to be consistent and fair from the opening top to the final horn. Deliberately evening up foul counts flies in the face of that.

Jmo.

You go JR.

When a coach gets to :rolleyes: TALKITIVE :rolleyes: about fouls being 7-0, I tell him "That's all it is it should probably be more!!"

You can't say that to all coaches just some. I don't care about the fouls, call the game. Yes you will hear the about the difference but it's just a coach trying to manipulate you. :eek: Heck he probably agrees with you off the record if he is any coach worth his salt :eek: .

Exactly, he's just advocating getting a few calls going his way. Calls that aren't really deserved. Nothing the matter with that. That's part of his job, I guess. There is a problem though imo if you let the coach talk you into searching for fouls against his opponent to even up the foul counts.

Call what happens. Call it fairly and evenly too.

First of all, I was searching for a reason to be concerned with the foul count. Not so it can be "fixed" or manipulated, but so I can be prepared to respond to the coach's complaint.

Every time I've been concerned with a lopsided foul count, I stopped for a minute to make sure I wasn't missing something. I wasn't, any time. Sometimes, the fouls just fall that way and there's nothing you can or should do about it.

I had a coach one time answer his only question during his timeout rant about the foul count.

Coach: "The fouls are x to x."
Me:
Coach: "You can't tell me we're fouling that much more than they are."
Me:

After about 35 seconds of his timeout wasted without asking a single question, and therefore me not saying a word while looking him in the eyes; he told me I was giving him a dirty look and not to take that out on his girls. I told him he was reaching, and we were done.

I was the new guy, and he was just looking to see what he could pull. I learned something about myself: I'm not going to stand there for so much as 10 seconds next time without a question.

Live and learn.

just remembered this one
 

I recently called a GV game where the foul count near the end of the 1st quarter was 7-0. The interesting thing is that the score was tied 17-17.

Daryl agrees with what your are saying. We discussed this thread at dinner after our games tonight. We, as officials, should not be concerned about the foul disparity but should be aware of foul totals with regard to bonus situations.

This thread reminds me of the summer league game I once had. It was a boys' JV level game at when the first half was over the head coach of the team that was losing very badly told my partner and I that we had called 17 fouls on his team and only 5 on the opposing team. He wanted to know what he should tell his players. I told him to tell them to stop fouling. :D

MTD, Sr.

Damn, I rewrote that sentence a couple times because I was hoping it wouldn't be the only line in there that anyone wanted to talk about.

I wouldn't call anything that wasn't a foul a foul. But there are always some plays in the gray area. If I make a minor judgment adjustment in that situation, that means I'm ethically corrupt?