Re: The Officials or the Game
 

Really easy. The camera is not fixated on the officials. You watch them much like you watch play when you are on the court. Part of being a good officials is to watch things out of the corner of your eye or in your periphery vision. And when the whistle blows, all eyes are on the officials anyway. Part of watching the officials comes with the more experience you get actually officiating.

Peace

Since I hear Marquette is going to be allowed to play with six players during the final four, may I nominate Mike Kitts!

I'll be rooting for Dick Cartmel...he did the Final Four last year. Dick is from our association here in Tri-Cities, Washington...so I gotta root for the homeboy.

Actually, I'm not sure how far he has gotten. Dick started out this year in Salt Lake City...and I haven't seen him since.

Another favorite of mine is Dave Libby...he put on a great camp I attended a few years back up in Bellingham, WA.

RD

I've heard rumors that Dave will be the alternate official.

Padgett's Dave, that is.

Here are my guesses for officiating crews for this Final Four. We will see what happens this weekend.
Kansas/Marquette
R= Gerald Beaudroux
U1= Ted Hillary
U2= Tony Greene

Syracuse/Texas
R= Jim Burr
U1= Dick Cartmell
U2= Tim Higgins

National Championship
R= Scott Thornley
U1= David Libbey
U2= Ed Hightower

Maybe we should start a "predict the officials" pool! :)

Oh BTW, if Syracuse wins the title, a certain "howler monkey" will have outdone a whole herd of zebras in the ESPN pool! :D

Won't count.

I would be surprised if John Cahill, Jim Burr, or Tim Higgins would work a semifinal involving Syracuse, considering they work many games in the Big East each year. To get the final is one thing, but when there is another possible option, like the other semifinal, I would think the committee would try to make things as "unbiased" as possible, so to speak.

2003 Final Four officials confirmed
 

Just recieved this information from another officiating site. Here are the officiating crews for this weekend's Final Four.

Semi-final #1
R= Karl Hess
U1= Mike Kitts
U2= Tom Lopes

Semi-final #2
R= Larry Rose
U1= Dave Libbey
U2= Donnee Grey

National Championship
R= Reggie Cofer
U1= Gerald Beaudroux
U2= Dick Cartmell

...and let the bashing from NevadaRef commence...

Do you know who will officiate at the Women's Final Four in Atlanta? Just curious. Thanks.

Re: The Officials or the Game
 

You learn this trick with the help of the VCR. Tape a game off television. Watch a play, then watch it again, then watch it again. Each time watch from a different point of view. In this way, you discipline your eyes to obey your brain which is consciously choosing what is the most importatnt thing to see. Try to see things out of the corner of your eye. It's harder on TV because some things aren't on screen, but you can get the hang of it after while.

This is also a great way to learn to watch off ball. Choose a play where the foul is called off-ball. It's SO hard at first to look away, but it gets easier. When you've seen a play on ball two or three tiems, you can finally "afford" to look off ball. You can learn this skill off-season, which speeds up your advancement a little bit.

Don't know for sure, but you can just about bank on these names to be somwhere.. (Women's Final 4)

Lisa Mattingly
Brian Enterline
Scott Yarborough
Melissa Barlow
June Corteau
Wesley Dean
Bob Trammell
Sally Bell

I also wouldn't be surprised to see Dee Kantner.

Re: Re: The Officials or the Game
 

Great tip - I'll have to try it at some point.


Sometimes, though, I feel like I'm at the opposite extreme - during a game that I'm timing/scoring, I have to force myself to look on ball. Has anyone else noticed this happening to them when watching a game?

Re: Re: Re: The Officials or the Game
 

Yeah, all the time.
Sitting in a group watching a game.
The fans groan.
I react with, "Huh?!!?!!"