So THIS is why they tell me to keep my cell on...

[JetMetFan]

I haven't done one of these before but this is so unlikely I wanted to share.

As I was about to get on the bus last night to head into work I see a call from one of my sons on my cell. Since it was 11:45 PM (EDT) I figured it couldn't be good, so I call him. He says, "Dad, your assignor (high school) just called. He said call him because he wants to know if you can work the championship game at the Garden tomorrow (Saturday)." On a good day I don't process things well around midnight so I said, "What?" He said the exact same thing and given the only game at Madison Square Garden on my son's radar was the Big East final, I realized he wasn't joking.

I call my assignor and, grumpy but funny guy that he is, he apologizes for calling me 12 hours before the game but the upshot is someone backed out at the last minute so he reached out to me. I'm trying to calculate the timing as my bus heads towards NYC but I blurt out "Yes, I'll be there" for the noon tip. I call my girlfriend, get off the bus and she drives me back to where I parked my car since I now have to drive in to work and check my bag to make sure I have the right gear...the joys of working boys and girls under two different codes.

So...in about nine hours after I send this I'll lucky and blessed enough to be one of the three officials on the court for the NYC AA public boys' championship game at Madison Square Garden. I don't kid myself to even think I'm one of the top 10-20 boys' basketball officials in NYC let alone one of the top three but I also realize if I hadn't done the job well over the years while not providing headaches for my assignor, he wouldn't have called me. I'll just try to do what I always do: run my butt off and stay out of the kids' way as much as possible.

However, my main goal will be not to fall asleep on the court.