Haven't heard this one before
 

Three 8th grade tournament games yesterday with teams from all over the Pacific Northwest. Game two was between two teams from the Seattle area. Why they had to drive down to Portland to play each other I'll never know.

Anyway, middle of Q2, some moron in the bleachers yells at my partner during a timeout, "You couldn't ref your way out of a paper bag".

I'm still puzzling over that one. Maybe it's a "Seattle thing".

I hope that was followed with an ejection if it was blatantly loud

Considering the climate, your partner would not need more than a soft whistle to break through the wet paper barrier.

You're kidding, right?

I hope he is... but I don't think he is kidding.

I'm hoping that either he's kidding or he misread the OP and thought it was a coach who said it.

ah hell, I did misread it. Did think it was a coach. My bad, thanks for correcting me.

That was my first assumption. LMAO!

Actually, some of the spectators were abusive toward the referees (including guys who worked games before me and next to me) and sometimes profanity was used (including the F word). Unfortunately, there's really no game management personnel at this facility to take care of stuff like this. It seems that, although this facility is non-profit, they don't want to take the chance of losing any paying spectators from returning and possibly have teams not sign up to play there in these "tournaments" because some kid's dad got tossed from a game.

I'm seriously considering not working there anymore when I balance the abuse we get vs. the relatively low pay scale there. It's too bad because I like to support community venues and programs like theirs - but there's enough games out there.

I worked at a place in Indy for a really famous former IU player who owned a basketball academy. There were leagues and tournaments through out the year and I would occasionally work for him. Great guy, but he is a business man, and keeping these coaches and parents happy is part of the game. If it sucks that bad get out. They are the one's who will lose in the long run when it turns into a crime scene. You can't make someone act like an adult!

It happens.

Even if a coach did say "You couldn't ref your way out of a paper bag" I wouldn't eject for just that... I would probably be laughing on the inside then whack the coach, but not eject.

talk with the person in charge of the facility and tell him/her your concerns. I understand what you're saying but that should not come at the cost of you feeling uncomfortable doing the game, or having any other officials getting the same abuse. If fans were getting that rowdy and I heard some of these types of comments being made, I would've tossed their asses out. There will be other teams that will want to join that tournament in the future I'm sure, one team loss isn't really a big loss.

I'd walk away and not look back. Send a letter to their director (or whoever is the leader of the program) explaining why, and move on.

That's what I'd do, but you're a big boy, so take it for what it's worth. :)

And then puke on his shoes.

Actually it is: "You couldn't ref your way out of a WET paper bag WITH A FLAME THROWER!"

MTD, Sr.

I thought it was; "You couldn't pour a good call out of a wet paper bag with a flame thrower in it, if the instructions were written on the bottom of it!" :D

Are you sure you're not Joe Frazier?

Indy is a big place, but I think I know what you are talking about. Low pay, lots of abuse from coaches and parents, and no support what so ever from the management.

I threw a kid out after he pushed an airborne shooter HARD in the back with both hands. Even during the "handshake of teams", the coach was mouthing off about how bad I was.

Pregames consisted of officials telling me things like "I don't like to switch on fouls" and "It's OK to report fouls from the endline, it makes the game go quicker". With 3 minutes left in the fourth quarter, I saw my partner put his whistle inside his shirt. I guess that meant "Our job is done here, let's go home."

I couldn't get out of there fast enough. Never looked back.

I told the assigner that I would rather travel farther for less pay instead of working at that gym. He must of thought I said, don't bother getting me any more games anywhere.

Maybe he was just practicing the first rule of officiating. :rolleyes:

Let's hope he waited 3 minutes at least before employing that rule.

This Is For Real, Really ...
 

Yesterday I got my December 2009 issue of the IAABO Sportorial magazine. I sat down in my recliner, after dinner, to read it over, and came across this article on page 16:

Tuning-Up Your “Pre-Game” For The New Season & “The First Rule of Officiating”

Officiating basketball today requires not only rules and mechanics
knowledge, but preparation for all the tasks you have before and after the
game – as well as when the ball goes up. For this reason, a successful
assignment begins with a thorough “pre-game.”

That’s where the “First Rule of Officiating” comes into play. At the
beginning of your pregame, the “First Rule of Officiating” will serve as
a guidepost to many of the more difficult situations that you may need to
handle during the game. Remembering the “First Rule” has prevented
many an untoward situation from degenerating into flagrant fouls and the
fallout that often ensues from such unpleasantries.

OK. What is the “First Rule of Officiating” already? Thought you’d
never ask. The “First Rule of Officiating” is ...

http://www.iaabo.org/December%202009.pdf

I stopped reading there. I was afraid to read the rest of the article. And I thought to myself, for everything that's good, and right, and pure, in the world, please don't let it be Mark Padgett's First Rule of Officiating.

It probably was.:eek:

Ya' know, you guys all make fun of my First Rule, but I bet you all follow it. :cool:

Billy:

You just got your copy yesterday?! MTD, Jr., and I received our copies in the mail almost two weeks ago.

MTD, Sr.

Christmas Break is a Good Time . . .
 

. . . to take all my Fox 40's and soak them for a week in a container of good, industrial strength mouthwash. Then, when scheduled assignments resume after the new year, they'll be all good and fresh and minty. Also, just in case I accidentally violated Rule #1 :D, everything should be back in a new, antiseptic, antibacterial condition. :)

If you violated rule #1 and you paid the price for not following it... I would hope you would get a new whistle. :eek: :D

Where I come from, instruction are often written on the bottom, but the container is a boot, and the contents are totally different.

Religiously!

I do, I just can't get my partners to always follow it! :(

Unless you're sharing whistles, why do you care? :confused?

Not those big, giant mints, I hope.

And you know this...how? :eek:

It was late. I was thinking of your "No OT" rule not the whistle tuck. Sorry, wrong rule. Move on, there is nothing to see here. :o