May I ask a dumb question?

[JustAFan]

What do you mean by the term 'bird dogging?' I have heard it but don't have a clue as to what it means. Forgive my ignorance, but I have never played basketball. Thanks!

[rockyroad]

Bird-dogging is when the ref uses one hand to point at the person they are calling the foul on while the other fist is in the air...not usually done at any level but HS and below...

[JustAFan]

Thanks, rockyroad!

[ChuckElias]

Originally posted by rockyroad
Bird-dogging is ...not usually done at any level but HS and below...

And not even in HS (during my games, anyway!)

[Back In The Saddle]

Originally posted by ChuckElias

And not even in HS (during my games, anyway!)

As a returning referee (with a desire to move up), I have noted many changes in the "fashion" of basketball refereeing. V-neck shirts, Fox 40 whistles, Smitty lanyards. Today the lead administers free throws and we no longer "work to our left."

While some of these are truly fashion changes, most are improvements of some kind. I am puzzled whether the bird-dog/not-to-bird-dog question is a matter of fashion, or if there is some kind of evolutionary mechanics improvement at work. I have no desire to start a holy war, but could somebody please enlighten me on the nature of the debate?

[JRutledge]

Originally posted by rockyroad
Bird-dogging is when the ref uses one hand to point at the person they are calling the foul on while the other fist is in the air...not usually done at any level but HS and below...

Actually rocky, NCAA Men's still uses this quite often. It is still in the CCA Men's Manual and is used by many D1 Officials still. But it is only to be used for clarification.

Peace

[ChuckElias]

Originally posted by JRutledge

Actually rocky, NCAA Men's still uses this quite often. It is still in the CCA Men's Manual and is used by many D1 Officials still. But it is only to be used for clarification.

I would side with "not usually done". It is sometimes used, but it is becoming more and more rare. And as Rut points out, it is now only to be used in cases where it is unclear who the foul is on.

I rarely birdog, and in my neck of the woods it is almost never done in college games.

To address BITS's question, I think the reason it's been phased out is that people felt that pointing to the fouler just wasn't necessary most of the time; and it could, in heated situations, conceivably make a bad situation worse by irritating the fouler unnecessarily. So why do it? The only real reason to do it is if there might be confusion as to who got called for the foul. So that's the only time we do it now.

Chuck

[mick]

Originally posted by ChuckElias

I would side with "not usually done". It is sometimes used, but it is becoming more and more rare. And as Rut points out, it is now only to be used in cases where it is unclear who the foul is on.

I was surprised as to the number of times I saw the Men's officials bird-dog through-out the NCAA Tourney.
It was used more than I thought it would be used.

According to CCA Mens' mechanics, bird-dogging is optional.
According to CCA Women's mechanics, bird-dogging is not an option.
mick

[ChuckElias]

Originally posted by mick
I was surprised as to the number of times I saw the Men's officials bird-dog through-out the NCAA Tourney.
It was used more than I thought it would be used.

I would have to agree with that, mick. While overall I think it's being used less, I was surprised at how often I saw it in the tourney.

[NC_rec_ref]

Well, I learned something today. I was using "birddog" mechanics and thought it was the right way.
Thanks for clarifying. Will try to call fouls without the one hand vertical and other horizontal.

Appreciate the clarification, even though I didn't post the question.

Chris

[ChuckElias]

Hey Chris,

If you're still doing HS games, then by all means keep bird-dogging. Don't pick up my bad habits. It's still in the HS manual (pg. 35, Section 230 b; signal #5). It's only being phased out at the NCAA level and above.

Chuck

[rainmaker]

Originally posted by ChuckElias
Hey Chris,

If you're still doing HS games, then by all means keep bird-dogging. Don't pick up my bad habits. It's still in the HS manual (pg. 35, Section 230 b; signal #5). It's only being phased out at the NCAA level and above.

Chuck

Check with your assignor. Ours is adamant that we always do it. I know of others that are more relaxed about it. It's still in the book, so if your assignor wants it, KEEP IT!

[JRutledge]

Originally posted by ChuckElias

It's only being phased out at the NCAA level and above.

It is still in the CCA Manual too (Men's), so I would not say it is being phased out. The CCA Men's Manual just does not require it for all fouls.

Peace

[ChuckElias]

Originally posted by JRutledge
It is still in the CCA Manual too (Men's), so I would not say it is being phased out.

Well, as I said, it only needs to be used when it's unclear who the foul is on. Would you be happier if I said it's being "scaled back"?

[NC_rec_ref]

Thanks all for giving me a chance to play Reagan with Gorbechov (sp?).

Trust but Verify with thy assignor

Even though I'm not calling again until this fall, still keep up with the board. Always food for thought and great ideas on mechanics/rules interpretations.

Keep it up.
Chris