Two things, one is OT

[Mark Padgett]

First, I just got a call from the venue where Adidas is holding their national girls HS "classic" to see if I could work two games later today. I thought about it, since I recently got out of the hospital, and said yes. These are supposed to be some of the top girls club teams in the country. I'll be working with a buddy of mine which makes it even better. If anything interesting happens during the games (like one of the cheerleaders jumping through the hoop - I read that thread), I'll let you know. I have one late morning game and one afternoon game.

Second (and OT), if you watch ESPN SportsCenter today (Wed, July 8), they're supposed to have a feature on kids from the Make-A-Wish foundation and some of their wishes that had to do with athletes. My wife is a volunteer for that organization and one of the kids who is supposed to be in that report is one of her "Wish Kids". I've got the DVR all set up. His name is Cole and his wish was to meet NBA player Chris Paul.

[mbyron]

OK, I give up. Which one was OT?

[Mark Padgett]

Well, I worked the two games and it was quite an experience. This was something called the "All-American Evaluation Camp" sponsored by Adidas. Adidas also hosted the Northwest Summer Shootout this past week at the same venue (The Hoop in Beaverton) and about 60 girls, all going to be HS seniors next season, stayed for the three day camp. It culminated with games today. They got split into eight teams and the camp directors tried to balance the teams as much as possible. Each team had 7 or 8 girls and they substituted every 4 minutes. All the girls got about equal playing time. Games were 20 minute running halves with no timeouts and no free throws. If a girl got fouled while shooting, she got the points automatically if the shot missed and if she made the shot, she got the points "and one". There were four games going all at the same time (the facility has six game floors) so it was pretty noisy.

Most of the girls were from the West Coast and a lot of them were from SoCal. One girl from SoCal was about 6'2" and had the skills of a really good point guard. I'm sure a lot of colleges will go after her. There were about 20 college coaches watching from the upper level taking notes. Some of them were using video cams.

We had about 90 minutes between games and they brought in lunch for all of us from KFC. I got to speak with some of the parents, which was really interesting. In fact, two of the coaches approached me and asked if I worked college games. I said no. At first, I thought it was a compliment, but then I figured their reaction was probably to say to themselves, "Thank goodness".

The best part wasn't seeing all that talent or even the free lunch. The best part was that we got paid in cash on the spot. Oh yeah, we got to wear shorts.

The funniest thing was that one of the parents told me a highlight of their trip here was driving by the Nike World Campus (Nike headquarters) which is only a few miles from this gym. I thought that was funny considering the camp is sponsored by Adidas.

[Hugh Refner]

Originally Posted by Mark Padgett

We had about 90 minutes between games and they brought in lunch for all of us from KFC.

So, you stuffed yourself with fried chicken, mashed potatoes, cole slaw and biscuits - then went out and worked a game? I hope these courts were relatively small, my friend.

[w_sohl]

Originally Posted by Mark Padgett

First, I just got a call from the venue where Adidas is holding their national girls HS "classic" to see if I could work two games later today. I thought about it, since I recently got out of the hospital, and said yes. These are supposed to be some of the top girls club teams in the country. I'll be working with a buddy of mine which makes it even better. If anything interesting happens during the games (like one of the cheerleaders jumping through the hoop - I read that thread), I'll let you know. I have one late morning game and one afternoon game.

Second (and OT), if you watch ESPN SportsCenter today (Wed, July 8), they're supposed to have a feature on kids from the Make-A-Wish foundation and some of their wishes that had to do with athletes. My wife is a volunteer for that organization and one of the kids who is supposed to be in that report is one of her "Wish Kids". I've got the DVR all set up. His name is Cole and his wish was to meet NBA player Chris Paul.

My boss is that little kids little league coach...

[mbyron]

Originally Posted by Hugh Refner

So, you stuffed yourself with fried chicken, mashed potatoes, cole slaw and biscuits - then went out and worked a game? I hope these courts were relatively small, my friend.

He was ready for an offending coach's shoes.

[26 Year Gap]

So, I kept looking for something referring to OverTime....

[Mark Padgett]

Originally Posted by w_sohl

My boss is that little kids little league coach...

Is your boss in Portland? That's where this kid lives.

[BillyMac]

Last weekend I was asked to officiate a game between the U18 Irish National Women's Team and a local AAU team. I gave small American flags to all the Irish players, showed them my Irish Cross tattoo, and told them I was rooting for both teams. All three officials were of Irish heritage. Good basketball, like a high level high school varsity game, or a Division III college game.

[Mark Padgett]

Originally Posted by w_sohl

My boss is that little kids little league coach...

I figured it out. They showed various "Wish" stories throughout the day. I saw the one with the kid who loved baseball and played Little League.