Kibitzing from the Endline

[rainmaker]

Camp this weekend. In this gym, there are three gym floors, when the bleachers are folded up, but insteand of the bleachers being against the far walls, they end up between the floors like dividers. They don't extend from endline wall to endline wall -- you can walk around the divider to get to the next floor. So during camp, the school puts up this little set of risers at one end of the divider, looking back at both floors that we use. The section is reserved for the refs so we can watch each other work, ask questions of the evaluators, and so forth.

So I'm working this very intense game, I think it was for fourth place or something, and it was heating up near the end of the game -- crosstown rival schools, close score, gym very warm, emotions running high. Maybe two minutes left we all go sailing down the floor on a fast break, away from the ref-bleacher set up, I get to the endline, turn and look see the shot go up clean, defender behind shooter, defender slides around to try to block the shot, but he's late, ball goes in, defender is frustrated and slams the backboard with his hand. I thought it was a very late swing, and the hit was very hard. I'm now facing toward the ref stands, and as I ponder whether to call a T for slapping the backboard, I glance up at the refs, and here's like 5 people in a row all making little T's in their laps!! Easiest call I ever made.