Will Welmer be back for March Madness?
 

Hope Steve gets well and is able to call in the postseason. We miss him!

My life hasn't been the same since he went out injured...at least there's Diebler.

Beer sales around the country went down. I think we know where the blame falls for the recession.

I thought I heard that he was out for the season.

Say it ain't so! :( Who's gonna' remind me to pull up my pants?

Steve gave back his post season games last year! I am sure he will not be back even if he is healthy.

I worked a JV game last night and I saw that Ron Grissom was in the stands watching. After the game I went up and introduced myself and he invited me to sit next to him and chat during the varsity game. During our chat he told me that he called Hightower after the game that he did with Welmer when Steve hurt himself. Eddie told Ron that Welmer broke his foot when he was making a cut to get to position and his season was over.

Did they call a toe truck to get him off the court? :p

Sorry.

Actually, Steve worked an NIT game last year and a first round NCAA games in each of the two previous years. Does anyone know why he's worked so few post season games the past three seasons?

Welmer was didn't work the NCAA tournament by his own doing last year. He declined his NCAA tournament selection because he only got assigned one game in the first round instead of two games like most veteran officials. He felt he was not given respect.

It seems that he has an ongoing personal conflict with someone who has some serious power concerning the officials in the NCAA tournament. There has been some speculation that the individual was Hank Nichols. This NCAA tournament would have served as a litmus test of that theory, since he was replaced by John Adams. However, that went out the window when Welmer got injured.

The fact is that Welmer has never worked beyond the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament. You can do the research and check that out for yourself. He has been strictly a first weekend guy only.

The world needs more prima donna officials. I plan on becoming one, just as soon as I learn how to call traveling.

Wasn't there 2-3 "big time" officials last year in the same situation. I don't know why Jim Burr's name comes to mind, but I remember there being 3-4 that either did not take their games, or were not picked for NCAA tournament games. Anyone have info??

You might be thinking of the computer problem that caused a couple of the guys to not get some required form submitted.

Jim Burr and John Higgins were the two big names that didn't work the NCAA tourney last year because of some problem with the submission of there online background check, which is required of all officials to work the tourney.

Welmer's issues are totally separate from that situation. It's too bad he's hurt because it would have been interesting to see if he worked games later in this year's tourney with Adams in charge now.

Are we sure that this is the reason that he didn't work last year's tourney? I did some quick searching and Welmer only got a 1st round game in 2006 and 2007 as well.

It has to be personal. For a guy like Welmer who is so highly desired by so many schools and conferences to get such a crappy post-season schedule tells me the problem had to have been personal.

Depends on what you mean by 'personal.' It seems like you mean "Supervisor X doesn't like Welmer."

It could just as easily be that Supervisor X doesn't share the same outlook on Welmer's work as Supervisors Y and Z. I think it's an important distinction to make, even if your explanation is more accurate.

I can't imagine what would be liked about Hightower's work (over and over and over again) and not Welmer's.

This is a joke right? He doesn't advance further because coaches don't necessarily get who they want in the tournament. I sincerely hope members of this forum can tell the difference between Welmer and Hightower. For one, hightower is clearly a lead official. Hightower is willing to make a tight call for better or worse. Most of the time Welmer is just along for the ride. This is my opinion, but also the opinion of other D1 and pro officials.

Coaches and players love him, but I find it odd how the same people who we say don't know what they are talking about are used to validate other things. Convenient. I would encourage someone to break down a game tape and see if the officiating is what you thought it was.

Is he as bad as some other officials? Certainly not. But officials like Burr, Higgins, Luckie, Hess and hightower are clearly better.

Opportunity plays such a huge role. Any of us could find ourselves in a big game given the right opportunity - with your current skill set.

I guess others like the bobbing and weaving, the added histrionics, and off-the-wall calls Hightower makes. I happen to think he's one of the more overrated guys in the last 20 years. But the guy doing the hiring gets to make those decisions.

Why did I know that this thread would wake you from hibernation?

That would be DOCTOR Ed Hightower. Thank you.

http://www.ecusd7.org/departments/su...nt/welcome.asp


I honestly don't know how he does it . . . being a Supt. is one of the most ridiculously busy jobs in America.

Because you know me personally, you know how I've been trained and what I'm about.
The fact that someone likes an official and gives them a hundred games unfortunately doesn't mean their officiating is on point.

One time I was at a camp and a NBA official was breaking down tape of a final four game. One official was doing a good job and is in the NBA now. One of the other officials was stinking it up. The person breaking down the tape was trying to train us. He didn't roll over and say all the calls were right because the officials were considered "big dogs" or worked a ton if games. He was looking at mechanics, positioning, call selection, courage, etc. I hate seeing officials jump around too, but I think I would take an official who jumps around with the courage to make tough calls.

I love my iPhone.

I know the game to which you are referring and I've kinda heard the same evaluation from a different source.

And I've Also Got This Red Rash On My, Nevermind ...
 

I think I pulled my hamstring. I wonder if I could get some advice from him.

Welmer will try to help out a new official. I tried to contact Hightower and he gave me the brush off. He thinks a game cannot be played unless he is the referee. they can and will!

Well, he could always go in studio & hike up Bobby Knight's shorts.