What Can we learn from the NFL?
 

With all the high profile and extensive news coverage of the job that the replacement officials are doing, how will this impact what we do on the court this season?

I been hearing in the media words like:

Game Control
Consistency
Not able to keep up with speed of game.

What can we as basketball officials take away from this??

Don't take games you're not ready for.

What's The Spread ???
 

When NBA official Tim Donaghy got involved with the gambling situation a few years ago, I thought for sure that it would carry over to our high school games ("Hey ref. You got a bet on this game?"). It didn't, at least it didn't here in my little corner of Connecticut.

I don't think that this NFL lockout replacement officials situation will carry over to our high school basketball games, at least I hope it doesn't.

This...I heard this sage advice early on.

Maybe more top tier games will be available, as one of our HS bball officials is an NFL replacement official.

Most of all we need to learn the rules and stop using terms and expectations of mechanics that are not stated anywhere.

Most of this issue I see is most people are communicating their outrage without using the actual written rules and putting expectations of where we should be positioned, without understanding what the overall role of each official is supposed to be located and their actual responsibilities.

Peace

Agree!
 

When I get asked about this, I use the example - if my Association assigned two MS and one JV Official to do a HS Boys Varsity game, there are bound to be issues (speed, size, athleticism, etc.). If you assign one new official with a crew of veterans, you're less likely to have issues. But an entire crew? AND different rule sets? Kind of tough.........

...rises to one's own level of...
 

That "The Peter Principle" is correct.

And that it's perhaps better to be patient and be drawn up to a higher level than to rush it and launch oneself headlong into that for which one might not be ready.

Well, The Officials Are Only Human ...
 

I learned that I lost $135.00 in the laboratory football pool. I'm not alone. I understand that 125 million dollars changed hands because of the blown offensive pass interference call at the end of the game, the only mistake that the NFL appears to have "owned up" to. Well, as many on the Forum have stated over the years, "a bad call at the end of the game is just the same as a bad call at the beginning of a game", and "the officials don't control the outcome of the game, the players and coaches do". Now, if I repeat that, to myself, several times, maybe I'll really believe it, and my loss won't hurt so much. And I was going to use my winnings toward the purchase of a chicken coop. I guess that I won't have fresh eggs for breakfast any time soon.

So you learned that gambling doesn't pay? :)

From the few games I've observed, it seems that not having strong rules knowledge and not being in proper position have lead to a lot of the controversial calls. Same for us, if we don't have strong rules knowledge (and know when and how to properly apply them), and we don't get in the proper positions, we may miss seeing the play or apply the rule incorrectly ... i.e., calling travel when you are not in position to see if the player has control of the ball first. Just my .02.

Rules knowledge is a piece of it, I'm sure, since the NFL has different rules than NCAA.

However, I think a bigger issue is that the players are just THAT much better. Going from NCAA D3 to NFL is like going from HS Varsity to the SEC... huge, huge difference in athletic ability and to call at that level the biggest thing you need is experience.

California Here We Come ...
 

Southern California basketball officials do it all the time.

It's slightly less now........
 

I recommend you change the place you bet Billy! :p

Casino offers refunds on Packers-Seahawks game ? USATODAY.com

Here is what I learned: The NFLRA didn't fold like a cheap suit the way the NFLPA did.