Craziest/Embarrassing Moments

[riverfalls57]

GV game a couple years ago. I was the L and the ball goes OOB on my endline. As I raise my hand and put some air in my whistle the whistle flys out of my mouth. Everyone stops to look at me and I can't seem to get the whistle back in my mouth. Finally after a few seconds (which seemed like an eternity) my partner blows his whistle and I give the directional signal. Everyone had a good laugh at my expense.

[justacoach]

Had a dream where I arrived at gym without a whistle. Woke up in a panic, reached over to the night table, put on my lariat and whistle and went back to sleep.
Got to the game that night (with my trusty whistle still around my neck), started dressing and found out that I should have dreamed about my striped shirt!!

[Mark Padgett]

Originally Posted by justacoach

Had a dream where I arrived at gym without a whistle. Woke up in a panic, reached over to the night table, put on my lariat and whistle and went back to sleep.
Got to the game that night (with my trusty whistle still around my neck), started dressing and found out that I should have dreamed about my striped shirt!!

I think the real question for Dr. Freud here is why do you keep your whistle and lanyard on your night table?

[IowaMike]

Varsity boys game, A1 drives to the hoop with the ball just outside of the elbow and as he does he clearly pushes off the defender with his forearm. I step towards the play with my fist in the air to call the foul; however, my whistle wasn't in my mouth, never put it back in after the last stoppage. By the time I got it in my mouth and blew the play dead, A1 was just making his layup. Coach was a little peeved about the lateness of the call but who cares? I was embarrassed though.

Came out for the second half of a varsity contest. I always hit the bathroom before coming back out on the court just to make sure the urge doesn't hit me during the game. Well, I forgot to check my zipper and one of my partners finally let me know with about 30 seconds left on the halftime clock that I was wide open. No place to hide and zip it up out on the court.

Early in my career I also had a few of the dreaded forgot who I called the foul on when I got to the table, which is a really sickening feeling. On both occasions I can remember, the table crew bailed me out. I learned to take my time before reporting fouls and now really burn that number into my brain before jogging over to the table.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Mark Padgett

I think the real question for Dr. Freud here is why do you keep your whistle and lanyard on your night table?

How else is he going to call fouls, and violations, on his wife?

[Freddy]

Originally Posted by NCHSAA

What is everyones craziest/embarrassing moment related to officiating?

That turd I picked up off the floor which I thought was a tootsie roll tossed to midcourt by someone from the stands. JV boys' game. Got a writeup in Referee magazine for that one.
Same gym last year, JV girls' game, and my partner picked up a feminine product from near the free throw line. Didn't dawn on him what it was until he took it to the table and had them laughing their heads off. Both girls' benches stunningly quiet, shyly looking at the floor.
Not looking forward to going back this year. However, I don't know what byproducts from bodily functions can be left.

[BillyMac]

Many, many, years ago, I used to carry both a wardrobe bag (jersey, jacket, pants), and an equipment bag (everything else). Showed up at a game site and realized that I had left the wardrobe bag at home. Too late to go back. No jacket, no problem. Pants? Luckily I had worn navy blue pants at my day job, so they had to do. Thank God that I didn't wear brown pants to work that day. Jersey? Back then, IAABO had us wearing gray jerseys, with blue piping, and we had to wear gray undershirts underneath. I had the gray undershirt, so that had to do that night. Never again. From that point on, I carry everything in one bag, and I double check it before I leave for a game.

End of halftime intermission. I am not administering the throwin at the division line. As players are moving out onto the floor, I happened to be standing in front of of one of the coaches, who politely asks me a quick question, and I respond with a quick answer, and move to my lead position as my partner is administering the throwin. Within seconds a pass is thrown out of bounds on my endlline. Easy call, except I forgot to put the whistle back in my mouth after speaking to the coach. As I yelled out the color, and pointed the direction, my partner, as the trail, sounded her whistle to stop the clock. She'll never let me live that down, and reminds me of the play every time we work together.

[Mark Padgett]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

How else is he going to call fouls, and violations, on his wife?

I guess this is where you are allowed to call a reach and over the back.

Just hope your wife doesn't have to make a three second call on you.

[justacoach]

Originally Posted by Mark Padgett

I guess this is where you are allowed to call a reach and over the back.

Just hope your wife doesn't have to make a three second call on you.

Mark, I know you'll forgive me for actively seeking OT in these cases..

Then there was the time where my whistle failed as it was clogged with extra-spicy KY....

[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

I apologizing in advance for making long stories our of short one, .

Crazy Moment: Ages (maybe it was eons) ago when the game was good and pure (meaning no AP Arrow), I had a girl's H.S. varsity game in the the Los Angles area, I don't remember the two schools involved.

We had a held ball and the ensuing jump ball was at one the of free throw lane circles (for the sake of this discussion it was at Team A's basket, unless you were playing a game under FIBA rules then we were at Team B's basket, , that would lead to another story about officiating in Los Angeles back then). I was the tosser. I entered the circle (my whistle was not in my mouth), got set and tossed the ball. It was one of my extremely rare bad tosses. B1 batted the ball toward her basket and B2 caught the batted ball and turned to start a fast break. My partner, apparently, did not think the toss was bad and started to cover the play. I couldn't grab my whistle for some reason, so I just yelled at the top of my lungs: WAIT!! My partner heard me, stopped play and I told him and the coaches what I had. We did the jump ball over again and every thing was right in the world of basketball.

Embarrassubg Moment, : It was in the mid-1990's and Daryl H. "The Preacher" Long and I were officiating in an AAU Girls Invitational at Michigan State University. One of the teams was being coached by Steve Mix. Steve Mix: is a native of Toledo, Ohio, was a star at The Univ. of Toledo, played for over ten years in the NBA for the Philadelphia 76'ers (he was also the color analyst for the radio broadcast for a number of years), and is now the color analyst for BCSN (the local cable sports channel in Toledo) during the H.S. basketball season) was coaching his daughter's team (the same daughter who would later star at Toledo Central Catholic H.S. and Villinova Univ.).

The game was in its second half and Mix's team had the ball in its front court. I was T, Table Side. M1 put up a shot and there a volleyball game developed in the lane. I saw M2 push a player from behind just as this player grabbed the loose ball.; I put air in the whistle for M2's foul. The only problem was that M2 and pushed M3, . Mix, Daryl, and I could not stop laughing at my mistake.

MTD, Sr.

[Mark Padgett]

Originally Posted by Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.

I was the tosser.

Don't ever say this while visiting England.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

[kgeorge0263]

I drove to a regional juco championship game with my partner 2.5 hours away. Purposely pressed 2 sets of stripes and pants. After we get to the site 2 hours before, we talked to the assigner and look around the gym. We pregamed (not drinking but couldve used a drink) and dress about 1 hr before game start. Realize my 2 sets of paints are hanging in my closet. Rush hour in the city meant it would take me 45 minutes minimum to get to the mall 3 miles away and buy black slacks I am sure has belt loops. So I decide against it and drive 4 blocks to a sporting goods store. They only have gray umpire pants...ughhh. really sweating now. Buy black jogging pants with lining and embarrassingly put them on for the game. My partners got a kick out if it and I was the only person to notice. Even at halftime my assigner didn't notice. The lining in the pants really made me sweat and the swishing noise of the pants when running annoyed me but my crew refereed great. I still hear it from my partners " remember when..."

I have forgotten a whistle and had to run back to locker room prior to tipoff.

Lanyard broke at first gv game. Refereed til half with whistle only. Spit out 2-3 times and had to pickup before getting the hang of putting hand to mouth.

Love this game...

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by kgeorge0263

I have forgotten a whistle and had to run back to locker room prior to tipoff.

Been there. Done that. I discovered this, as the umpire, just before my partner was ready to toss. And, of course, the site director was nowhere to be found to unlock the locker room door.

[NCHSAA]

Originally Posted by NCHSAA

What is everyones craziest/embarrassing moment related to officiating?

Mine occurred doing my first year when I was calling JV ball. After my game and after changing, I had to walk back through the gym to get to my car out front. Well the varsity game that was about to start was a big rivalry and the home team was about to run out on the court for pregame warmups. Well after leaving the locker room and heading towards the only door that led to the gym I didn't notice the home team already lining up right behind the door for their entrance. I bypassed through them opened the door and started walking in the gym. At that point the home cheerleaders began backflipping, chanting, throwing each other in the air, and the crowd was going wild.

The only problem: I was the only one walking through the middle of the cheerleaders as they lined both sides of the door. I had my bag and walked straight down the middle of them as they finally realized I wasn't the home team. They all had to reset and do it all over again for the home team after I created this false alarm.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by NCHSAA

The home cheerleaders began backflipping, chanting, throwing each other in the air, and the crowd was going wild. I was the only one walking through the middle of the cheerleaders as they lined both sides of the door.

Cheerleaders really dig officials. This happens to me all the time.