Sitch: Unsportsmanlike? Found out a year later...

[biggravy]

Thought I posted about this last season but can't find it.

In my only train wreck game last year, BV, this happened: Cocky, amped up team playing on the road at a small school 20 miles down the road. Not a league matchup, and not a matchup that would ever happen if diesel wasn't $4/gallon. Should be a walk, only problem is no one told small school. They came out shooting the lights out from 3 and we have a game. Bigger school is notorious for being cocky and getting plenty of T time. Loose ball going out of bounds in front of V bench. V10 jumps in the air to save it, B1 is on the floor on the OOB line after diving... V10 in midair attempts to throw it off B1. Spikes it off B1's face. I was 60 feet away across the court. The home crowd, bench, etc. goes nuts. My partner comes to me and asks me if I have anything unsportsmanlike. All I have is a gut feeling, and he says he has nothing. We go with it. Game is nuts after that. I get to T up a player and a coach before any semblance of order is restored. H principal (game management) follows us to the locker room at halftime and is way out of line. Get a police escort to our cars and still have two goons, Keystone Light in hand, try to have UFC 31 in the parking lot. State gets called, school gets sanctioned.

Fast forward to this year. I go into our local fitness center to shoot baskets with my 8 year old boy. He takes off and starts bugging this HS age kid. It is V10 from last year, now a freshman playing Juco. He recognizes me and we converse. I asked him about the play. He grins and says "yeah, I spiked it off his face on purpose. Sorry." So now I have my answer. He says now that he understands what we go through he is sorry he did that. Seemed strange he would say that. The next day, my boy has his first 3-4th grade game. Guess who is now officiating! He recognizes me and has a very sheepish look on his face. Interesting how things go full circle.