Madison prep writer not a fan of 3-person crews

[Rich]

Originally Posted by Ref_in_Alberta

I guess it comes down to the old saying... "opinions are like a$$holes, everybody's got one."

Rich, I hope you invite/challenge this guy to come and call a season's worth of games and then he "may" be able to write an informed article on what it takes to be an official.

Actually, I usually enjoy what this guy writes. But he couldn't be more in left field on this one. Like another poster on this thread, I have an idea what he's seeing, but it has nothing, NOTHING to do with 3 versus 2.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

Actually, I usually enjoy what this guy writes. But he couldn't be more in left field on this one. Like another poster on this thread, I have an idea what he's seeing, but it has nothing, NOTHING to do with 3 versus 2.

That was part of my point about the small town paper or media.

Last spring there was a report written about how officials were not doing their jobs properly. And instead of just quoting coaches and taking their word for their feeling, the reporting contacted the IHSA directly and at least got quotes from many sources and entities in the report. This guy did not even investigate the differences between 2 and 3 from prominent people as to if these things he was complaining about had anything to do with the 3 Person system. To me the standards of journalism were lacking.

And this is what I have seen all my life with the papers I grew up with when it comes to informational pieces from media members.

Peace

[Rich]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

That was part of my point about the small town paper or media.

Last spring there was a report written about how officials were not doing their jobs properly. And instead of just quoting coaches and taking their word for their feeling, the reporting contacted the IHSA directly and at least got quotes from many sources and entities in the report. This guy did not even investigate the differences between 2 and 3 from prominent people as to if these things he was complaining about had anything to do with the 3 Person system. To me the standards of journalism were lacking.

And this is what I have seen all my life with the papers I grew up with when it comes to informational pieces from media members.

Peace

Even in national or big city media columnists will rip the officiating without trying to look at all sides of the story. We're easy targets.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

Even in national or big city media columnists will rip the officiating without trying to look at all sides of the story. We're easy targets.

I did not say they wouldn't. The article I was referencing (and posted last year BTW) was ripping officiating, but at least did some research on the subject with the higher ups. I bet this guy never asked anyone from the Wisconsin offices or an assignor as to what the problem is about the 3 Person system. He might have gotten some information about a transition period or that many officials are not as experienced to cover those games at this time. There was more information by a person commenting on the subject than there was from the person who wrote the article.

Peace

[canuckrefguy]

"Not only has off-the-ball contact become irrelevant..."

I actually took this guy seriously until he said this.

What an idiot.

[williebfree]

Hello Mr. Hernandez:

I just read your sports blog/commentary online. It appears your attempting to address perceived shortcomings, or a lack of improvement, with three-person officiating crews. Note the gender-free reference, because I have officiated with highly qualified women. Nonetheless, I am thankful that in your commentary you acknowledged the crew of the "featured" game met your standard for officiating. But I have to ask "What criteria do you base your evaluation of officials?"

Let's step back and analyze your claims: "I continue to be dumbfounded by the abundance of no-calls or missed calls by the ones assigned to do Big Eight games and -- thanks to sports reporter Matt Goins of the Verona Press -- I have visual evidence to back up my claim." In your perfect world, the officials would have called the contact in this play. However, if you understand the role of the official you can allow room for judgment of advantage/disadvantage. In this play, the official let the play develop and determined the contact did not create a disadvantage for the shooter. (This concept is known as a "patient whistle") You openly admitted the shooter scored, this does not sound like an egregious error in judgment.
As follow-up to the concept of advantage/disadvantage you may need a greater understanding in evaluating "increased physical play." Are you confident that officiating crews are really that neglligent? Do you truly understand officiating to the level you can legitimately assess them? In regards to the game you discussed in the commentary, perhaps the crew missed the call (in the photo) and a few others along the way, but I am confident they were fully competent to administer the rules.I challenge you to step over to the "dark side" acquire some training and get on the court with stripes and a whistle. I am confident it will be an epiphany. I would love to see a follow-up article/blog after this experience.

My final observation, in a perfect world, writers and editors would not post an article/blog/commentary online or in print with misspelled words or other grammatical errors. Take a closer look at the last sentence of your sixth paragraph --Conference. Additionally, the first sentence of the seventh paragraph has an unnecessarily repeated word "game." One more thing, as a writer/editor, you have the benefit of time to review your decisions... sports officials need to process and act in split second timing.


Respectfully,

"Willie B. Free"
WIAA Certified Official
#200837

[bigdogrunnin]

Originally Posted by williebfree

Hello Mr. Hernandez:

I just read your sports blog/commentary online. It appears your attempting to address perceived shortcomings, or a lack of improvement, with three-person officiating crews. Note the gender-free reference, because I have officiated with highly qualified women. Nonetheless, I am thankful that in your commentary you acknowledged the crew of the "featured" game met your standard for officiating. But I have to ask "What criteria do you base your evaluation of officials?"

Let's step back and analyze your claims: "I continue to be dumbfounded by the abundance of no-calls or missed calls by the ones assigned to do Big Eight games and -- thanks to sports reporter Matt Goins of the Verona Press -- I have visual evidence to back up my claim." In your perfect world, the officials would have called the contact in this play. However, if you understand the role of the official you can allow room for judgment of advantage/disadvantage. In this play, the official let the play develop and determined the contact did not create a disadvantage for the shooter. (This concept is known as a "patient whistle") You openly admitted the shooter scored, this does not sound like an egregious error in judgment.
As follow-up to the concept of advantage/disadvantage you may need a greater understanding in evaluating "increased physical play." Are you confident that officiating crews are really that neglligent? Do you truly understand officiating to the level you can legitimately assess them? In regards to the game you discussed in the commentary, perhaps the crew missed the call (in the photo) and a few others along the way, but I am confident they were fully competent to administer the rules.I challenge you to step over to the "dark side" acquire some training and get on the court with stripes and a whistle. I am confident it will be an epiphany. I would love to see a follow-up article/blog after this experience.

My final observation, in a perfect world, writers and editors would not post an article/blog/commentary online or in print with misspelled words or other grammatical errors. Take a closer look at the last sentence of your sixth paragraph --Conference. Additionally, the first sentence of the seventh paragraph has an unnecessarily repeated word "game." One more thing, as a writer/editor, you have the benefit of time to review your decisions... sports officials need to process and act in split second timing.


Respectfully,

"Willie B. Free"
WIAA Certified Official
#200837

I hope you fixed this to say "you are" or "you're" before you sent it.