Smart-alec comebacks

[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

I had intended to go watch Junior officiate last night (Feb. 11th) but our Michigan assigner needed an official for a boys' freshmen game. Easy $48 because the school is exactly 5 miles driving distance from our home.

Visitors are getting their clocks cleaned and are down by 30 points midway through the 4th quarter and have been whining all through the second half about the fouls being called against them.

Visitors have the ball and I am L, Table Side. V1 goes driving through the lane and pinballs off of 3 defenders before losing the ball out of bounds. H1 inbounds the ball to H2 but V2 who is in front of V's bench, where V2 knocks the ball out of bounds. V-HC (who is barely older than Junior, who will be 24 at the end of this month) complains about V1 being fouled in the lane. I told him the defenders had legal guarding positions and that his player had bounced his way off of the defenders as he went through the lane, to which he replied: "So it is okay for my player to be bumped by the defenders and they won't be called for a foul." I told him that is not what I said and that our conversation was over.

Two or more times up and down the floor and H1 is dribbling the ball up the court in front of V's bench when V1 hacks him across the arm. I call the foul on V1. At which point V-HC throws his hands up in the air and exclaims what a weak call I had made. To which I replied: "You may think it was weak, but not has weak as your coaching." I know I shouldn't have said it but he opened a door that was so big I could have driven a Mack truck through it and I just had to do it.

MTD, Sr.