Post-season T report
 

Before the season, most of us predicted how many technical fouls we would have this season. How'd they actually stack up with our predictions?

I'll start. I don't get many in these parts. I predicted 2-3, and wound up with two: one for an illegal number the book (#7!) and one for a second DOG warning (both plane violations).

(I'm not counting the two unsportsmanlike Ts I had today....Y-league, high school boys.)

I had 6... 4 for player language, and 2 to a coach for ABS.

I figured I'd hit my historical average of 4-7, with most being towards the end of the year.

I had only three and two of which were on a coach in a late season game. Other was on a player for conduct second week of the season.

Only a couple of players/coaches even approached the line...

No predictions, but I think I had five, after just one last year:

1. (CYO) T for a player running into the playing action directly from the bench.
2. (CYO) Unsporting T on a head coach.
3. (JV-G) Admin T - Wrong number in both scorebooks for a player.
4. (CYO) Unsporting T for a player throwing the ball at me and hitting me in the shoulder at the end of the period.
5. (CYO) Another unsporting T on a head coach. On this particular night, my partner & I combined for 2 Techs and 4 Intentional fouls in 3 games together. :(

I nailed my predicted zero Ts issued out of zero games worked.

I learned this year that you only remember the techs you didn't call. Here are mine:

Should have tossed a coach who showed me up (twice!) after my partner whacked him.
Should have whacked a coach after he made statements like "I can tell where we're at tonight!" and "We're getting screwed!"
Should have whacked bench players for standing up during play after three warnings.
Should have whacked a different coach who also said "I can tell where we're at!"

No prediction from me
 

Five for me. I was cruising along pretty good and then had a patch of three in three games.

Three ABS, one coach lost his mind, and one player took out his frustrations on the ball..... :rolleyes:

I was < 10. A bunch early, including a player running onto the court while her team had the ball. She wasn't "rule savvy" to say the least. Her coach told her to "go in for so-and-so," so she did. Immediately.

Two in the postseason. One for a girl who swore (remember our "no tolerance" rule). She asked her teammates "who the f*** has the shooter?" while standing on the FT lane.

The other was in a BV game. Home team up by 30. Held ball late in the 4th quarter. The visiting player fell down while trying to keep his hands on the ball. After I blow my whistle the home player stand over him and talks junk. I call the T since it was right in front of me (I was T opposite the table and the held ball was at the left elbow). I tell my partner what I have, go to the table and give the details and I let both coaches know what the deal is. When I go back to my partner we have the following conversation:

Him: "Okay, so white has possession."
Me: "Why? I called a T on white #3."
Him: "You didn't call a double technical?"
Me: "No. The kid in blue didn't say anything."
Him: "You should call a T on blue."
Me: "Why? He didn't say anything. I was standing right there."
Him: "He said something, too. You should call a tech on him."
Me: "I'm not calling a tech on him. He didn't do anything."
Him: "But I'm giving you information!"
Me: "I'm aware of that but I'm not calling a technical on him."

Here's the back story on why I ignored him. The game in question was a 5:00 start. My partner, who I hadn't worked with in years but will more than likely be late for his own funeral, walked into the gym at 5:20. I wasn't exactly happy when I found out he was my partner to begin with since I knew he'd be late. When he came in he all of a sudden took on the "R" persona like "this is how we're going to call the game." Good or bad I wasn't exactly going to trust his judgment. My other thoughts were:

*If you saw the kid in blue say something, why not say that to me before I go to the table?
*I would've called a double T if the kid had said anything but I was going to give him the benefit of the doubt since he was on his backside when he was taunted.
*If blue had been called for a T after I'd already told their HC his team was shooting two, we probably end up calling a T on him when he loses his mind...especially since his team was taking a beating.

Okay. I'm done venting. :)

I've never predicted how many T's I would call, is there some kind of formula to accurately do this? :rolleyes:

Don't remember how many I did call. Only things that sticks out are:

1) I called my first one ever on a college HC.
2) Only called one this year on a HS HC, and he was up by 20 in the 4th quarter. He got his generally for being a smug a-hole.

Few things will get you into trouble like, "you should."

Besides, if he saw/heard something, why didn't he access that technical foul? If they double up, fine.

I'm remembering 5. 3 on players, 2 book T's, and no HC's. I'm bummed. ;):rolleyes:

I'll let you know when my season's over. :D

Same here.

But I do not anticipate any problems at this stage of the post season.

Peace

What? Intentionally throwing the ball AT (not TO) you? WOW, Stat-Man!

It's Just Another Foul ...
 

I know that I didn't have any against coaches (as Frank Sinatra said, "It was a very good year"). I may have had one for delay of game (defender crosses boundary after a warning) but I really can't remember.

One of my partners called one in a girls varsity game. A player called him a "fu*king ass*ole". You should have seen the look on my partner's face.

I almost called one against a girl in a varsity scrimmage. She "boxed out" a three point shooter into the bleachers, and strongly disagreed with my foul call on her. Her tone, her facial expression, and her body language, almost got her a cup of tea in a scrimmage. Later in the scrimmage my partner had to speak to her after another complaint, at which point her coach took her out of the game and sat her on the end of the bench with the junior varsity players. In a scrimmage, that's better than a technical.

Whatever happened to sugar and spice and everything nice?

Like Moths To A Flame ...
 

In how many of these situations did the nine nonshooters go behind the division line?

Probably most if not all. And not our problem either way. But then again you have your article to promote. ;)

Peace

Coming To A Town Near You ...
 

You can see right through me. I'm heading out on a national article signing tour in a few weeks. Mention you're a Forum member and I'll give you a 10% discount. I'm already booked on Letterman, Fallon, and Kimmel. I'm going to ask Mark Padgett to write a few jokes for me.

I wouldn't know. I know for a fact none of them went inside the 3-point arc or below the free throw line extended, and that none of them committed any unsporting acts during the free throws. That's all I cared about.

Ed-zackery
 

Agreed BNR. I couldn't care less......or is it, I could care less?

No Soup For You ...
 

That's it. No 10% discount for you two when I come to your town on my national article signing tour.

That was one of the other issues. He arrived late, wanted to be "the guy in charge," but when it came time to T up a kid I was the one who "should" do it. As far as I was concerned he could've called the other kid for a T if he wanted but then he would've had to deal with the fallout with the HC for ringing the kid up nearly a minute after the incident.

Did Miss Congeniality spend the rest of the contest watching from her team's bench?

It sounds like it really does not matter.

Could care less vs. Couldn't care less

It sounds like the regardless vs. irregardless situations. Both are right but people are convinced one is wrong. ;)

BTW, I agree with you. Never cared as I never tell players where they ultimately go. They go where they want to go. I only stop them from being directly on the lane line.

Peace

I had that this season. 2nd tech on the kid. Unfortunately I forgot he had one so I didn't get to do the fun ejection signal :(

Please tell me he called a flagrant technical.

Best Seat In The House ...
 

Of course. Was there any other choice? Double secret probation?

No, sir. The link you provided says to stick with "couldn't care less." Same with "regardless." The others are indeed wrong.

(A fun one in these parts is "unthaw.")

Why not? Is there any reason you can't give a flagrant T after a run-of-the-mill T?

Irregardless is in many dictionaries. And the link I listed is more about what is accepted by culture than giving more of a reason why one should or should not be used.

Peace

In most dictionaries, irregardless is listed as a non-standard word. Because irregardless has a prefix, ir, and a suffix, less, that mean the same thing, they actually change the meaning of the word to caring about something or considering something with regard, when the word is used to demonstrate a person's lack of caring or regard. You are correct about the cultural acceptance of irregardless, but that doesn't change the fact that it is technically incorrect, and its use should be avoided in all but casual communications.

I have read that it is not technically correct. Again, it really depends on who is saying it and where you are saying that word. Language is fluid and changes all the time with slang and dialect. Nothing new here.

Peace

I hear what you are saying, but it wasn't really deserving of a flagrant T. The kid tossed the ball over his shoulder in my direction -- he didn't gun the ball at me trying to hit me. A stupid play even if unintentional, and no one complained.

No, It's Not A Ponzi Scheme ...
 

I'm on a personal campaign to bring back the word, "Groovy". It's a cool word, and even sounds cool to say it, it kind of flows off your tongue.

Now if all Forum members can try to use this word at least once every day, and if they can get two others to so the same, and if they can get two others to do the same, etc., etc., then we'll get, "Groovy", right back into circulation. It never should have left everyday language usage to begin with.

Language DOES change, and what becomes so commonplace can sometimes become accepted. Technically, "Can I have some water?" is incorrect, but so few people say "May I" anymore that it may soon become accepted by use.

Not so with irregardless. I have never seen a credible grammar source or dictionary--and I have looked extensively--that suggests "irregardless" is accepted or interchangeable with "regardless." All recommend, much like the Oxford dictionary: "Irregardless is widely heard, perhaps arising under the influence of such perfectly correct forms as irrespective , but should be avoided by careful users of English. Use regardless to mean ‘without regard or consideration for’ or ‘nevertheless’."

It is however, clearly understood what the user is saying when they say "irregardless," and it is boorish to correct the user. But I think it would be GROOVY if we all used the more proper word.

Oh, and I didn't make a pre-season prediction, but 3 Ts. 2 for substitutions, 1 for unsportsmanlike spiking the ball after a call.

And the English language is one of the most difficult languages because the language has so many different words that mean the same thing. And if you look to our people across the pond that tend to speak English too, but have many different sayings or standards of speaking, I find it funny that people get all upset when we use terms that have variations in speech. If I go to other parts of the country or world, no one is making a big issue out of these words the way we do in this country. ;)

Peace

Couldn't agree more. After studying other languages, I can only imagine how difficult it is to learn English. And you're spot on about other languages. There are so many variants of many world languages. I readily admit my anal retentiveness about grammar. My mother was a high school English/grammar teacher and I grew up with constant correction. But that's a story for group therapy, not this forum! ;) And it was most definitely NOT groovy to have her teach in the same school I attended...

There it is. If you put "ir" before a word, it becomes that word's opposite (e.g. irrational, opposite of rational). When one says "irregardless," one means "regardless." That alone is wrong... or irrational.

There seems to be a debate.

Peace

That's A Knife ...
 

My son-in-law is from Australia. I have no idea what he's saying half of the time. What language do they speak in Australia?

African.

Peace

Out Of Africa ...
 

Not a language. Not a country, but we all come from there. All of us. Every single one of us. We are all cousins. No two people are more distantly related than 50th cousins.

Any chance this thread might meander back to the original topic?

A few seconds before this, he was frustrated over a no-call, and had I not said something, he was set to slam the ball in disgust.

When he threw the ball at me after the period ended, I could only think that if this was his way of thanking me for being preventative, he could have the T-party I prevented the moment before. Of course, his coach tried telling my partner how the kid was the most docile player on the team. :rolleyes: But both my partner and assignor had no problem with the call. (This particular assignor wants reports on all unsporting technical fouls.)

I had this in a MS Girls game in the fall. I let an AC say way too much (yeah, I know) during the game and it left a bad taste in my mouth. And my partner's halftime advice to ignore the AC -- while a short-term solution -- did little to address the main problem. On the way back home, I told myself I would not let this happen again and made sure to write about it in my journal.

Is this a regular journal or an officiating journal?

Too much thinking. Warn once, then T. You don't have to justify something as obvious as this.

I did not keep track of mine, but I was at about 7.

In church league, I whacked a coach, 2 kids. In HS, I whacked a coach who wanted to be "T"ed, An assistant & I whacked a kid for cussing. I also got a MS Assistant coach.

I have learned the art of patience....I hope. In past years I have been around 20.

Me too, almost.

Zero Ts, 5 games.

Not even close to correct, but at least 1 order of magnitude. 50 generations is only (approx) 1000 years.

Out Of Africa ...
 

Hey cousin MD. Ever hear of pedigree collapse? We can discuss it at Thanksgiving dinner. Bring a bottle of wine. And some yams. Yeah, some yams. That's probably what our distant African aunt, and uncle, ancestors had for their Thanksgiving dinners.

Hopefully Uncle Harry won't bore us with his vacation slides, like he usually does.

Pedigree collapse - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Straight Dope: 2, 4, 8, 16 ... how can you always have MORE ancestors as you go back in time?

An officiating journal. I got the idea from this site, actually. :)

Me too. I probably don't use it as well as I could, but it's an extension of my tax/game/travel spreadsheet, so it's easy to maintain.

Scattered Pictures ...
 

I wish that I had kept a journal when I started officiating back in the olden days. Man, the stories that I could tell you guys ... Where are my car keys? What were we talking about?

What do you write down? How much do you write? How do you use it?

I usually start each entry with the date, host school, level, and partner's name.

It's not exhaustive, but I generally try to include information such as:

• Anything the partner shares about his/her officiating background (i.e. partner has officiated 9 years; calls varsity, but also likes to help out newer officials in sub-varsity games).
• Was the game very physical?
• Did I have to make any tough calls?
• Were there any unusual situations? if so, were they handled correctly?
• Did my partner offer any useful/constructive feedback during or after the game?
• Anything else I found noteworthy or significant.

Last year, as a rookie, I also made it a point to identify 2-3 areas in which I thought I did well and 2-3 areas I wanted to improve in the next game. While I didn't follow that as strictly this year, I did make it a point to record anything good or bad that stuck out in my mind regarding my on-court performance.
___

How much I write depends on the games, largely. A blowout game where the clock stays running most of the time with a minimal number of calls to make doesn't need the same amount of writing as a game where both teams are rivals, the game is very chippy, and my partner & I have to serve up IFs or tea for two.

I suppose my writing has a twofold purpose for me. (1) I want to see if I really do work on improving the areas that I (or others) identify for improvement. (2) I like the idea of having some sort of running log of my officiating career.

It's A Tell All Book ...
 

Maybe someday you can write a book, True Confessions of a Basketball Official.

Maybe they'll make a movie out of it someday. Remember, insist on no brown M&M's.

Can I play you in the movie? Some say that I'm a dead ringer for George Clooney. Wait? I'm being told ... What? A ringer for a dead George Clooney? Never mind.