Ejection ...

[M&M Guy]

Originally Posted by tref

Exactly! That is why it makes sense to ASK the question:

Official: "Is the sub for 11, he has 5, COACH."
Coach: "Yes" or "No"

As opposed to TELLING the coach something he most likely ALREADY knows (if you work higher level games):

Official: "11 has 5 fouls, COACH."
Coach: "You dont say!" or "Yeah, thats why my sub is sitting there genius."

In my opinion (if we are allowed to have one w/out being crucified) it shows that you are truly managing the ballgame by ASKING the question (to the COACH).

Personally, I like to ask COACHES direct questions to get short, direct answers. Going to coaches with vague statements can lead to additional conversation that increases the chances of doing paperwork.

I see some officials understood exactly what I meant, but hey, big picture officiating aint for everybody! Some of us just run up & down the court, blowing the whistle, obviously.

tref - so, help us poor, unfortunate souls who just run up and down the court, to understand the big picture of officiating as you know it.

If a coach really wants to give you a smart-a$$ comment, what makes you so sure your way avoids those? What do you do if you ask a coach if the sub is for #11, and the coach asks you back, "Who the hell do you think it's for?", or, "Oh, I don't know tref, I was thinking about putting him in for #55 to go smaller, but now I'm not so sure. What do you think I should do?" (While the assistant is talking to the rest of the team during this unofficial timeout), or, perhaps, just doesn't say anything at all, and just looks at you? How long do you look back at him? What do you say to the other coach who's asking you why it's taking longer than 20 seconds to make the replacement?

All of the above have happened either to me or to officials I know. I have no problem with communicating with coaches, but in my experience, in a situation where there could be a potential confrontation, it's best to follow the prescribed mechanics. If you follow the rules and mechanics, and something goes wrong, it's easy to see the fault would lie with the coach or player. If you do something different and outside the prescribed mechanics, and it backfires, then whose fault is it?

You still have yet to respond to our pointing out several times your comment about not needing to tell the coach anything. Was that a mis-statement on your part, or do you still feel that way? If you feel it's not appropriate to inform the coach, do you have any backup to support that position, such as a rule, case, mechanic's manual page, NFHS or NCAA statement, association handout, memo from a league or assignor, etc.?