Hmmm, there are plenty of coaches around who I think are whiners and show a lack of sportsmanship. I guess if I thought it impacted my ability to officiate fairly I would turn back an assignment, but if that was the case, I wouldn't be a very good official.

I can't say I've turned back any games because I thought one of the coaches was a classless boor, but I suppose it could happen. Don't imagine that if I was ever good enough that it would come up, I would have any more trouble officiating one of his games than any of the other coaches out there who lack simple courtesy or a sense of integrity when it comes to sportsmanship.

Why would you argue that Coach K should get special consideration from officials, as opposed to any other coach?

The only reason he is being discussed is because his reputation as Mr Perfect Stand Up Paragon of Virtue is in such start contrast to his actual behavior.

Why would you think that I was arguing that ? Nothing I have said here even remotely suggests that.

OFD

I thought your suggestion that officials who have not drank the Duke kool-aid should not officiate Duke games was certainly rather special consideration. Why should Coach K treating officials poorly result in anyone turning in his games, so he can then only have officials who are ok with him telling them how to call the game?

Sure seems like *very* special consideration, in fact.

Chances are, I'd only get to work one of his games anyway.

Ratings from who? Coaches?

That's *quite* a leap!

Show me where I said that "officials who have not drank [sic] the Duke kool-aid should not officiate Duke games".

What I asked (and was very clear about) was if the officials who went out of their way to post their 'hate' or dislike for Coach K on this message board would turn games back in. Period.

Nowhere did I say that they had to like him or his program. If someone is so willing to bash a coach and 'prove' that they 'hate' him, why would they even want to work his games. Revenge, or a 'I'll show him' attitude?

OFD

First of all, relax. Coach K will be coaching the New Jersey Nets before I get a chance to work a Duke game.

Second, what you're reading here is nothing more than a bunch of officials tired of hearing how great a person he is. He may well be a good person off the court, but the way he acts on the court negates (or at least mitigates) all that.

If you think we truly "hate" Coach K, then well, I can't help you. Maybe you just need a humor upgrade. What we're engaging in here is called "hyperbole."

Note: I'm not speaking for Jurassic Referee here, as he pretty much hates everyone; but he hates us all equally. Although I do wonder if Jurassic's hatred isn't something like Dante's Hell.

On my board we got ratings for each game we worked from the two other officials (even probies) we worked with, PLUS ratings from each of the coaches, PLUS ratings from an observer, if one had been assigned to that particular game. Observers usually would tape a running commentary for our games; later we were each provided a copy of that tape to review our performances.

We had pre-season ratings and then they were updated three (3) times during the course of each season.

OFD

How'd I miss this one? A returning troll.

No, just someone who answered 'in kind'; that other poster basically called me a liar about having officiated.

I was just giving him the same respect he gave me.

I could have given the board number I was on (actually I'm still carried as 'inactive' there) and contacts' names but nobody else seems to offer that info here.

OFD

This post gives me a chance to share without baiting trolls.

'Mitigate' comes from a Latin root meaning to soften or lessen the harshness of something bad or painful. So one can't mitigate something good.

In another thread, you used the term 'fluxuation', employing an archaic spelling that I actually like. Takes me back to Hume and reading of causal "connexions" and such...

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming... :)

1. "moderate"
2. "fluctuation." (I knew better as I was typing. My sentence was in a state of flux up until I sent it and I was too lazy to fix it.)
3. Shut up.

Your definintion of "prove" they "hate" him seems to be that they don't drink the "OMG DUKE AND K ARE SO GREAT!!!" kool-aid, since that is pretty much the only thing that has been discussed in this thread - no evidence of anyone "hating" or "going out of their way" to discuss anything. Officials post here all the time, its not like anyone is posting in this thread who does not post about officiating regularly anyway. Excepting you, of course.

So the answer is - they would want to work his games for the same reason all officials want to work any games - because they love what they do and enjoy it, despite having to often deal with coaches who have very poor concepts of dignity and sportsmanship, like Coach K. Certainly no decent official is going to allow himself to be run off by the lowest common denominator of coaches and their antics.

In the interest of ultimate fairness, it seems like the problem you all have with K is not necessarily with K himself. Lots of coaches do what he does on the sidelines. Almost all do. So that alone doesn't fuel all this.

What does is the perception the MEDIA gives. The media has two positions on Duke that are in stark contrast. One is the Dickie V/ESPN cooperate office talk that hypes Duke to increase revenue. The other is local reporters in every city Duke goes to/ESPN hired analysts who used to be involved in college basketball and hence hate Duke. These people will take any chance they get to tell you how either Duke is lucky, Duke has it easy, Duke gets the calls, Duke isn't that good, etc. etc. etc.

Alot of the hate from the fans on Duke comes from reading that 2nd group like gospel, and another portion comes to it in rejection of the first. Neither of which is an interpretation on Duke the school, K the coach, his program, or any of the kids.

In most of the cases I've read on here, its despising the media for making Duke out to be something that you all believe it not to be. If it were just about Duke, you could find another, at least, 100 programs that engages in similar behavior and about another 200 D1 coaches.

In the interest of truth, that is a load of nonsense. And you very obviously may have been reading what we are saying but you sureasheck aren't comprehending what we're saying.

The problem that we have with K is his actions towards officials. He is the absolute worst D1 coach extant about whining and b!tching at every single damn call or no-call that he thinks should go in his favor.

Yes, there are some other coaches that also spend more of their time trying to influence officials than coaching, but he is he worst by far of that bunch. And his actions are exacaberated by the holier-than-thou stance that his devoted fans like to portray him with. His complete lack of concern about sportsmanship when it comes to the officials is also obvious to US officials.

I don't think that any of us gives a damn what the media thinks about him. We evalute him from an officials' standpoint only. And from an officials' stanpoint, he's a whiny, constantly complaining hemmorhoid who is always trying to influence our calls.

It's that freaking simple!

Tuss, you're a baseball umpire. Think Leo Durocher back in the day. Billy Martin at his finest. Think Bobby Cox now. Hall of Fame managers but also whiny, b!tching hemorrhoids.