But he lowered his shoulder ref? :D

Peace

Counselor, it's the truth and the whole truth. Why did you assume it was just involving one player?

I did not assume anything. You did not say it happen on every play or multiple times. You described a situation as if it was one event or something that was possibly rare.

Honestly if you were put off by the actions, I can tell you that there are people that might not have a problem with the situation. And that is why you had multiple people here have a different position than you did.

Once again, none of us was there. You were there. But if you said this was a playoff game (and at this time of year it was a rather high assignment) they must be doing something right. This is one of the hardest playoff periods to get whether it is boy's or girl's basketball by any official. If this was a common action by the official in question, it is clear it did not hurt that official in the past.

We are just going to have to disagree on this one unless you can give some video or a picture that might shed some light on what did or did not happen in more detail.

Peace

On an oft occasion I have used the infamous "stare down" on Rec Parents!

Yep. When mom or dad shoots their mouth off real loud for everyone in the gym to hear and I'm standing right there, I have turned and given "the stare" and found it has worked very effectively in the few cases I have employed it. Mom or dad are usually embarrassed and realize their next comment may be from the parking lot...... Just my $.02.

Sounds fair.

I have anecdotal evidence in support of this claim. When I was a kid, my friend's grandmother went on a cruise near Norway. Some European kids were climbing on the railings, at risk of falling overboard. She said, "Ah ah ah" to get their attention, and then gave them "the look." They slunk back down to the deck and went to play elsewhere.

NBA Ref Fined for Stare Down w/ Celts Coach
 

We discussed "the look" at players. How about this.....

Updated: March 20, 2009, 9:30 PM ET
Referees union critical of NBA for fine
Comment Email Print Share
Associated Press

NEW YORK -- The NBA's referees union criticized the league on Friday for fining an official who was involved in a dispute with Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers.

Rivers was fined $25,000 Thursday for his postgame rant two nights earlier in Chicago against Bill Kennedy, who was also docked an undisclosed amount. Rivers complained afterward that Kennedy had stared at him, goading the Celtics coach into receiving a second technical foul and an automatic ejection.

The referees, however, claim that is what they're trained to do, instead of yelling back at the coaches, and plan to appeal.

"Some things you cannot take out of the arsenal of the officials. It's not a stare to start some kind of disagreement or goad him into getting ejected, it's just like, 'Hey, enough is enough," referees union spokesman Lamell McMorris told The Associated Press. "And basically he didn't even stare him down. He walked away, he turned his back per what he is trained to do and he removed himself from the situation.

"As far as we're concerned, Billy Kennedy followed every rule according to the referee's manual as it relates to handling situations like this. The only person in this scenario who has had a pattern of behavior that is unprofessional is Doc Rivers, not Billy Kennedy."

The referees noted that Rivers had previously been fined this season for his public complaints about the officiating, getting penalized $15,000 in February for "verbal abuse of game officials" following a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Rivers was thrown out with 29.8 seconds left in the Celtics' 127-121 loss in Chicago on Tuesday, calling his second technical foul "the most unprofessional tech I've ever had."

"[Kennedy] stood there and goaded me and goaded me and goaded me and stared at me," Rivers said after the game. "Look at the film. I actually walked away. He asked me, 'Where do you want the ball?' And I said, 'Ask them,' talking about our players. That's my right to say that, and I walked away. He stood there and stared me down and stared me down and goaded me until I turned around and said, 'What?' That's when I got thrown out of the game."

Before Friday's game at San Antonio, Rivers said he wasn't happy with the fine he received. But he said he knows the rules and thought it was handled right.

"I'm not going too deep into this whole thing," Rivers said. "But to me it looks like when the whistle blowers don't like when the whistle blows. Bottom line."

McMorris said one league official told Kennedy there would be no action against him, but believed it must have changed its mind based on the media coverage of Rivers' outburst. He wouldn't say how much Kennedy lost, but, "in comparison to what Bill Kennedy gets paid and what Doc Rivers gets paid, it was not equitable."

McMorris added the fine was a "dangerous situation" as the officials prepare for the postseason.

"The thing that's most troubling is the fact that this person was fined for doing his job and for following the rules and the training and for trying to do his job to minimize the situation and the conflict, and for walking away," McMorris said. "So that's very troubling to all the officials and they're very alarmed by this matter, because one matter like this affects the ability of all of them to do their jobs."

Rivers said he was in support with the fines being public.

"I do like the fact, and I will say this, coaches have been publicly fined for years," Rivers said. "And now I think it's good when everybody is publicly fined. ...If you're going to make it public for one you should make it public for all. And I don't have a problem with that at all."


Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press

F30, yes, there are a lot of times when an official goes into intimidation mode. He wants all the attention on himself. He's a prima donna. More times than not, these looks are unnecessary and inapporpriate. I woul dbet that this is one of those times.

However, when an official has credibility with players and coaches, they can use looks and growls to get their point across without having to resort to borderline technical fouls. The good ones are also not terribly obvious about it.

When you treat players and coaches with respect, and have to go to one of these tools, the effect is swift and enormous. It's like hearing Mike Brady say the F word. It works in measured doses.

For those who say intimidation has no part in this game, and that T's should be used, that's fine. But this is a competitive game with type A people. That means at some point everyone has to take it and move on. Sometimes players and coaches get a shot in, especially on a 50/50 call. Other times the official needs to establish his presence, when a reaction is too much.

Do what you have to do, but I agree with you 100% that many people do the stare down when they shouldn't, or worse, can't.