Jurassic Referee
 

It is with tears and a very heavy heart for me to announce the passing of Jurassic Referee.

JR died at 4:30am this morning with family at his side.


JR was a personal friend of mine - he was my first mentor. He was also the first mentor of other officials that came up through the ranks. His dedication was obvious to our officiating community. He was working for our local group right up until earlier this week.

Like a good teacher, he encouraged students to reach levels beyond what others (himself included) had earned. Numerous officials trained by JR have been successful at all levels: including college, university, local and provincial championships (and soon nationally), and provincial camps, including officials that have ranked #1 provincially. His support for officials was unmatched.

He, along with friends, have been recognized by our provincial board, for their leadership and commitment. He was in great company. There is a small group of men that trace their local basketball roots for over 55 years. JR was one of them, and set the standard in so many ways.

Basketball is only half the story; football is the other half.

We have lost a dear friend today. Woody, may you rest in peace and know the mercy of the Lord.

He will be greatly missed. I was able to discuss with him a situation in my officiating life whereby he offered a great perspective which helped me to not second-guess myself and to look forward.

Very sad to hear. I'll have to take some time before I can say more.

Damn. Still one Woody left limping along, Woody :tear:

I don't care how old he was, it was still way too early for him to leave.

Woody, you will be missed by probably many more people than you realize.

Sorry to hear that. Prayers for his family and friends.

I was absolutely terrified this is what I was going to read. We have lost another great person to this forum and to forums like this for sure. I certainly learned a lot from the man even when I did not agree with him.

My prayers go out to his friends and family.

Peace

rip jr

We hardly knew you, Woody. Thanks for your contributions, and best wishes to your loved ones.

I'm very sad to read this. Please post (or PM) an obituary when you can. I didn't know Woody personally, just from this site, but his voice is one I had hoped would come back again someday.

Condolences to his family and friends.

That is very sad news indeed. Even though I never actually met him, I learned a lot from him. And even though times where we butted heads, I always respected him for his knowledge, his commitment, and his willingness to speak his mind. Thank you, Woody.

All I can say for now is, +1 to all of the above.

I'd been in contact with him through his illness. In typical Woody-fashion, he never told me what he was battling. Over the last couple weeks, I was trying to get in touch and didn't get any replies. So, sadly, this news is not a surprise.

But it is deeply saddening to me. His contributions here were tremendous. His knowledge of the game had few peers. Catching him in a rules error was a rare accomplishment. Our Yankees/Red Sox skirmishes were a source of great fun. Additionally, he was helpful to me personally in my officiating career.

I have been missing him over the last few weeks and now I miss him even more. I mean, who's going to mail unbelievably tasteless, inappropriate wife-jokes to me? Rest in peace, buddy.

Like many, I only new JR from afar. He taught me a lot over the years.

Best wishes to his family, friends, and loved ones. RIP.

Can't say that I knew the man personally, but he slapped me around so much on the Forum that he made me get my nose in the rule book. JR definitely helped me become a better official. RIP Jurassic Referee!

Stoopid Monkeys ...
 

I didn't always agree with his "delivery", but his rules knowledge was always near perfect.

I mixed it up with Jurassic Referee once, for about a week, regarding whether, or not, advantage/disadvantage applied to violations, and I finally got him to admit that there were, maybe, two, and only two, violations where advantage/disadvantage may apply, three seconds, and ten seconds for a free throw. After a week of back and forth posts, I was mentally drained, and with the "partial victory" I felt that I had won the "Forum Super Bowl".

His knowledge, and experience, will be missed on this Forum. The Forum was a better place with him, and will be a lesser place without him.

Now that it appears to be safe for Old School to come back, in case he does, it's up to the rest of us to "step up our game" and show him, and others like him, the door, and to make sure that we let the door hit him on the *** on the way out.

I've tried to compose some words but all I can say is, thanks Jurassic.

JR and I didn't necessarily see eye to eye on some subjects, but he was a valuable member of this forum, and from the sound of it, helped many officials both on here and in person.

He will be missed.

I'm sure a lot of us had our arguments with JR over our time but this just shows that at the end of the day we r human beings and that means more than a block/charge play. RIP

Now Who's Going To Bat Cleanup ???
 

And he was probably right about the block/charge play. Wasn't he almost always right? He probably had the highest "batting average" on the Forum. Rules? Interpretations? Mechanics? By the book "test" answers? Practical "real game" applications? I didn't matter what we threw at him, even a question about "wimmen's basketball", he could knock them all "out of the park".

I got my butt kicked by Jurassic a time or two also...but that was the start of a great "friendship". How someone I never met face to face could be such a friend and mentor is hard to figure out, but both Jurassic and Mick qualify.

RIP, JR.

Always sad to lose a member of the crew....RIP, JR.

Spot on. Its amazing to me that I am affected by the passing of someone I've never met. Woody was a mentor and a friend and he is missed.

Rest In Peace Jurassic Referee

I'm at a loss for words here. One of the biggest reasons I have continued to follow and post here was the biting sarcasm and pointed responses from JR. What a treasure trove of knowledge, wit and wisdom. Whether you agreed with his delivery or not, you could take his answers to the bank....they were ALWAYS correct. I have wondered about his absence often lately.

The Forum is a little bit of a lesser place today. RIP JR. Prayers to his family.

Me too.

I am very saddened to learn JR is gone.
Please convey my sympathies to his family and friends.

His whit and wisdom will be missed.

Clearly all of us have truly benefited from Jurassic's contributions over the years. His passing is a great loss to our officiating community. I hope that someone will collect all of our comments written here and share them with his family.
I feel that the most appropriate sentiment which I can post is THANK YOU! It most succinctly expresses what he did for all of us.

praying for his family during this time. I always enjoyed reading what he had to say on the forum.

Thanks
David

Thoughts and prayers go out to a great person. Insightful and thoughtful.

May he rest in peace. Prayers for his family at this time.

:o Wow!!!

We all have mentors in our lives that we can reach out to on a regular basis. When, I first started posting here. JR and Chuck Elias gave it to me. I said that to say this... I viewed JR as my online MENTOR. I really took a liking to him. When he stated something I knew I could find it and read about it in the rules or casebook. Although, I'm sadden by the news. I can smile knowing that he shared his knowledge with such LOVE!!;) in the only way he know how.

Ever since I joined the board, I have been fortunate to have people who cared enough about the rules to correct me whenever I made a mistake. Some were more tactful than others, others were more forceful. Woody would use whatever method he thought would work; and that often included expressing his frustration with me for being a dope. Whether he knew it or not, that's how I learn best; by being challenged and taken to the woodshed.

My officiating is better for his involvement. My first thought when I saw this thread was, "Lah me."

Woody, your race is over, you've finished. We're all better people and officials because of the way you ran. Rest in peace, my friend.

Adam, you've summed up my feelings well. As I sit here, I realize what a profound impact that people we've never met can have on our lives. It was true with mick and also with JR. I have a feeling the not as kindlier, gentler JR would give me crap for shedding tears over him.

As I wiped those tears away though, I had to laugh when I realized something I hadn't known before...the fact that JR was Canadian. I don't think I saw one thing in his posts to ever make me think that so it surprised me in a way.

Godspeed, Woody.

RIP Jurassic. Your wisdom will be missed by many.

Yep! It's a shame I didn't find out he was a FEEBLE ref until his old a$$ died. I'd be giving him hell! :)

Losing too many good guys these day. :(

Like many of you, I knew JR only through this forum. I learned a great deal from him, the big pain in the azz. I will miss him.

With A Maple Leaf ...
 

Same here. You could have knocked me over with a maple leaf. I've always grouped all Canadians together as being very polite, soft spoken, well mannered people. Man, was I ever wrong.

This is some unfortunate news. RIP Jurassic. Things like this make me forget basketball and think only about life. My prayers go out to his family. I know all too well about how his family feels right now.

Mine too. My second thought was that we can discuss the NBA in (relative) peace.

Excellent observation. Even if we didn't agree, I'm sure I learned something from every interaction. That's a legacy that transcends agreement.

RIP Jurassic! I never met you but I enjoyed trading barbs with you here in cyberland. I also learned from you. May he rest in peace.

Although I haven't been on the board that long, I really came to admire JR's posts. It's a sad, sad thing that he won't be around any longer, although he will always live through his posts. RIP fella.

Anybody know if his obit was in the local paper? Juggling? Any chance of posting a link?

It is a testament to his character and reverence we all had for Jurassic and his knowledge that we all can write with tears in our eyes about a man most of us never met.

Bringing to remembrance some of his posts I am left to muse...if I ever get a chance to go ref in Italy, to whom do I go to learn how to call baschettiball.

Here ya go.

Brantford Loses a Basketball Great

That is very sad....RIP Woody. I have followed his posts for many, many years.:(

Nice piece. Thanks for posting.

An obituary for Bruce has been published:

Bruce Frank Lorenz - Obituaries - Brantford, ON - Your Life Moments

The outpouring of condolences and support for Betty has been shocking. She is amazed at the connections that Bruce had made.

Thank you to everyone here.

Very sad news.

Woody - thanks so much for making me become a better official. Thanks for replying to my late night PMs in the early stages of my career when I just had to know if I was right or wrong and how I could improve. It was always a joy for me to read your interps.

Enjoy watching all the games from upstairs!

Rest in peace.

A legend, certainly in this community - and, I would imagine, in his own.

Rest in peace, sir. :(