So what is your reaction?

[Rich]

Rut, that is ridiculous. Should we not send black officials to rural towns that have little minority population? How about women working boys' games -- should that not happen either? Why send 50-year-olds to work these games -- I mean, aren't they way older than the players?

WE are not racists. The coach, who is looking for bias at every turn, is the racist. He is the one (along with the Sharptons and the Jacksons) who is driving a stake between the races for his own personal gain. Woe is me and my team. Waaaaah.

I lived in Seattle and officiated at some of these schools. That said, the comments made by some of these coaches do not surprise me in the least.

Why would you and why would the P-I give these people ANY credibility?

The truth is, basketball is the hardest of all the sports to call. And (excepting some of the coaches that take the time to learn --like some of the ones ones on this board) the yahoos that patrol the sidelines, in general, have no idea what it takes to call a game or what a well-called game is.

Last night my partner and I worked a girls' varsity game where the following coach activity happened:

(1) I called a player control foul on a girl who drove baseline leading with her arm. Call it a pet peeve of mine. Home coach doesn't like call and asks where the charge is on a clear-as-day block on the other end. He was serious, I think.

(2) Partner calls a PC foul at the other end. Same coach tells him that she hasn't committed an offensive foul all season, as if that has some relevance. Assistant then says that she hadn't committed one in three years. Partner turns as he's going by and mentions that, "Yes she has. Right there," and keeps on heading down the court. I don't blame him for not being able to resist.

(3) Girl fouls out with 0:10 left in the game, which is a 20-point blowout. Head coach insists he gets 60 seconds to replace player. I reminded him it was thirty seconds and started the clock. He kept trying to argue the point (it's hard to argue when the other person doesn't argue back), until I reminded him that he was almost out of time. This is the same guy who sincerely expected a held ball when his player whacked an opponent across the arms on a drive and kept the shooter from putting the ball up on a drive.

I believe most coaches are sincere, but they also look through some very thick rose-colored, very biased glasses. That so-called journalists don't immediately pick up on that and then lend these coaches credibility through a daily as widespread as the P-I bothers me.

Rich