Something's in the water
 

I had a coach not like the fact that I wouldn't let his players go through an opponent's arm to try to strip or tie up a ball that was cleanly rebounded. The team was down by 13 points in the fourth quarter and they started playing with reckless abandon.

When he asked why it was a foul, I told him that going through the arm was always going to be a foul. He responded with, "That's cause you're terrible."

Since last Tuesday, we've had 9 technical fouls in 6 games. 4 head coaches, 1 assistant coach, and 4 players.

What the he11 is in the water, anyway?

I still have three games this week and I'd be thrilled if those were quiet experiences.

Maybe he's right :p

Like I said earlier, it is just that time of year. When you have teams know what they are at this time of year and their fate is sealed or figured out, then they take it out on us for every little minor thing. I have had a very rough week or two as well. Hope things get better for you and me. ;)

Peace

I still think that our road is made more difficult by officials who don't have a pretty well-defined line in the sand. I'm happy to talk to a coach anytime and answer any questions he has, but I'm not in this to be a doormat for the coaches, either.

Could be. I'd rather stay delusional, though, so I'll just whack all the ones who come out and try to pop my bubble. :D

Never so thrilled with a 48-22 game before. Both coaches were gentlemen and both teams played clean basketball. And we tipped at 7:45 and we were in the car driving away before 9.

The beer for tonight is Lake Louie Tommy Porter.

6 technicals, including a double flagrant technical tonight.

Can I last another week of regular season? People are nuckin' futs!

Juco at 1, GV at 7:30 tomorrow. I'm hoping that my streak of sanity runs to 3 and isn't halted at 1.

The more pressing question is; How was the Lake Louie?

I remember when you mentioned this about a week ago and I thought 'I hope he's wrong'. Nope. Hadn't called one all season, now four in three games.

My solution for the past two weeks was to not talk to the coaches. Despite continuing with that, I had to whack two coaches this week for berating my partners. Still I'm convinced that talking to the coaches causes more problems than it helps prevent or stop.

Outstanding, but not as good as the porter I got later last night at a place called the Hydro Street Brewing Company. If you're ever in my neck of the woods, I'll buy you a beer there.

It's possible I could've avoided Thursday's technical had I not talked to the coach, although with the escalating volume of his little rant, it was pretty hard to not do anything. I tried being civil and tried answering his questions, but he just wanted (I found out) to tell me how horrible I am. I could've just let him do that without trying to talk him off the ledge. The result would've been the same.

Oh, well. I see that it's not just me, but I can't remember it being this bad in previous years. Maybe I have selective memory.

I'm still amused that these coaches get to rate us and that some people think this rating counts for something. I'd love to rate some of these coaches.

Easy first game. 80-something to about 30. Still a player got mouthy after a foul and drew a technical.

Now some lunch, a soak in the hot tub, and a HS game tonight.

This is bad to admit to but I gave my first technical to a coach for the year tonight. He had been chirping most of the game about everything. About 3 min. into 3rd quarter he takes about 3 steps onto the court to ask me how I didn't call a foul from the T position for his player under the basket. I had had enough and "whacked" him. He said "Thank you, its about time." and I never heard another word.:rolleyes:

I'll confirm that it's that time of year. Handed out my first T of the season to a coach last night early in the first quarter ...screams "HOW THE HELL DID YOU MISS THAT!?" all the way up at the scorer's table...WHACK! This is after we started the game with a T for dunking during warm ups. Boys V. Not a great way to end the season...but it's not in our control.

Let's All Sing Like The Birdies Sing ...
 

Me too. Boys game. Two suburban schools, archrivals, schools only a few miles apart. Gym was half filled for the freshman game, and I don't think that the Fire Marshall was present for the junior varsity, and varsity games.

I have pretty thick skin, and I try to use other forms of game management before I pull the "Whack" out of my tool box.

Home coach is commenting on just about every call, by both me and my very experienced partner. If we call block he comments charge. If we call a foul, he complains to let them play. If we pass on a call, he wants a foul. Carry. Travel. The whole nine yards. No swearing. No inciting the crowd. Doesn't make it personal. He just keeps chirping away, like the birdies sing. My partner is the first to warn him to quiet down.

Late the first half, I had a visitor player gain control of a ball while on the floor. He had both hands on it, while his coach requested, and was granted, a timeout. Home coach complains to me that the visitor player never had control of the ball. I will give a coach a little leeway when he complains about a call that I myself am questioning, but I really hate it, and I mean really hate it, when they complain about calls that I am 100% positive are correct.

Early in the second half, I have opposing players diving on the floor, going after a loose ball. There is some contact, equally advantageous, between them. Home player decides to make it a threesome, and dives onto the back of the visiting player already on the floor. I come up with a foul on the home player, the third player in. As I'm reporting the foul, home coach complains that his player was just going for a loose ball.

Whack.

Gave my first technical foul of the season to a player last Saturday, and now gave my first technical of the season to a coach yesterday.

And I still have three weeks to go.

Whack Attack ...
 

I've been giving this a little more thought since posting earlier today.

Forum members will usually question whether, or not, a technical foul charged to the coach makes the game better.

In my case, it definitely did, but not for the usual reasons that I "Whack" coaches.

When I "Whack", which is very rarely, it's because a coach's complaining is distracting me, and the game is difficult enough to officiate without distractions. Last night, the coach wasn't distracting me, he was irritating me. Wasn't swearing. Wasn't inciting the crowd. Didn't make it personal. He was just irritating the hell out of me.

You know how it is when you get a pebble in your shoe, and it's not really a big deal at first, just slightly irritating? Eventually, it does become a big deal, and you have to take off the shoe, and remove the pebble.

Well, that's exactly what I did last night, I removed the pebble, and he didn't irritate me any more for the rest of the game. "Whacking" him did make the game better.

What makes the game better is subjective and there are no absolutes anyway. So if what you did made you happy, honestly that is mostly what matters. I ejected a coach with 8 seconds on the clock about a week ago. I felt better and it made me happy for the moment for a guy and I did not let the guy get the last say. The coach wanted to make it about me and he got shown the door for it. And the incident overshadowed the rest of the game, but a message needed to be sent.

Peace

Exactly, the question Billy poses (Did it make the game better) is more of a curiosity. I'm coming to believe that the answer to that question has no bearing on whether or not it was a good T.

I also think this way of thinking came from the times when people honestly believed, "A good official is the one no one notices." Well that does not apply anymore and a call can be all over YouTube or the media and shown in and out of context. It is just best to do what is right and not worry about some standard that no one is going to always agree with. Every game I work I know there is tape, so you that is what I focus more on than anything when calling my games.

Peace

Friday night, BV, two large schools. Good Pre-game. Gonna have a good game, let's be ready right from opening tap. Four minutes into first quarter, I'm new T and have eyes on players in backcourt and hear several whislte's all the way up the floor in the corner. U1 has double foul on A1 and B1 and has he's reporting, R comes in and has a double T on A1 and B2. Well, we were ready.

Great game came down to the wire........as you stated JRut - emotions are running high this time of yr.

Easy night last night, too. 65-45 final, but that was only after a 21-4 run by the losing team in the fourth quarter against the back end of the bench (yes, it was 61-24 after 3 quarters).

Had some students giving us a running dialogue during the game. One wanted to know where I got my Zig shoes. Another, after I called a PC foul on a hook with the free arm said, "The is girls basketball. You know they can't do *that* move." I laughed, they saw me laughing and laughed, too.

All in all, it was a great day of basketball topped off by a nice Mexican meal and a couple of beers.

Another 5 days of basketball starts with a juco game tomorrow night. 14 more games until baseball season.

"All in all, it was a great day of basketball topped off by a nice Mexican meal and a couple of beers"

Noticing a theme here. But I am right there with you, its one of my favorite parts of officiating. The post game wrap up: a couple of adult beverages, some good food and some good discussion.

On a side note, for Christmas my sis in law laid a sampler pack from a New
Glarus Brewery on me. One of the better gifts I received. Was a little disappointed to find out it is only available in Wisconsin. If you havent tried it, it may be worth sampling.

New Glarus has some nice beers. Their most popular is probably my least favorite -- Spotted Cow. Lots of good small breweries here in WI - Lake Louie, Tyranena, Ale Asylum...

101-94 last night. Juco men's game.

First time I had a free throw shooter injured/bleeding since the rule change. He had to leave the game and the home coach was a bit surprised when I asked the other head coach to pick one of the four players on the floor at the time to shoot the free throws. He picked the big guy, who went 1-for-2.

Was it for blood or was it for injury?

Both. He went in among the trees and had a fairly nasty cut (stitches likely) above his eye. If only we had monitors to look at....

I don't think the player returned.

...Just curious...what did the coach say or do to make you throw him?

(If you don't mind sharing);)

Interesting. I wonder which would take precedent, injury or blood since with blood A1's coach would pick a shooter from the bench but with injury Team B picks from the 4 remaining players.

I debated this for a second. I probably could've gone with just bleeding and let the coach pick his own substitute/shooter.

Agree.

The issue with injury is that it can be faked....so in doing so a player/team/coach has to consider that the other coach gets to pick the shooter.

With blood, the player isn't taking themselves out of the game, the official is sending them out. And I've yet to see someone do something to make themselves bleed in order to get a substitute.

Which is why I wish I had gone the other direction. I'll remember this next time.

Got The Scars To Prove It ...
 

Back when I was playing in high school, this happened to me several times. That, and sprained ankles, were my most common injuries. Maybe the skin above, and to the side, of each eye is extra tight, or something. It got to the point where I would actually take out my own stitches to save a trip back to the doctor. Thank God there was no blood rule back then. Cuts on the face bleed like a son of a gun.

I gave my first one in two years to a head coach tonight. Kinda the same thing. Chirping for 2 quarters and then I called a foul on his player who was surrounded by defensive players and then he started throwing elbows. I was right there and the coach was on the far end of the court. I gave him one warning that that was enough and I was done listening. Next time down the court... Whack!! Still chirping. Felt pretty good to get that under the belt. One of the head evaluators was there and said that was the best call of the game.

More Information Needed ???
 

Was there illegal contact? Otherwise it's just a violation.