My experience has been many of the balls presented are under inflated I keep a pump and glycerin in my bag and if they cant inflate the ball I will. Also like giving them the option that the other teams ball is proper we can just use that one. then we dont need the ball boy

Oh yeah?!?!

I bring 4 inch yellow pipe and welding equipment in case the uprights are not at extended at least 10' above the crossbar.

:D

I completely forgot about this...2 weeks ago I got a call to work a postponed game on Saturday morning after lightning had come the night before...it was a 6-man (players-not officials) game at a tiny school. Inspecting the field I went to check the padding on one of the uprights and I moved it (the upright) about 6 inches. The rain and wind had erroded around the base of the thing and it was a 4 inch pipe in a 12 inch hole. After about 6 bags of fill sand, the upright was mostly stable. Good thing too, because those 6 man games you get 2 points for kicking extra points.

No, they'd sneak in an overinflated ball for kicking.

As to how a ball could become suddenly underinflated, not hard to imagine. Somebody scuffs a cleat, raising a burr, and that burr then scratches the ball and punctures it.

I've had very new balls in good shape go down in a game....almost always regarding the inflating valve.

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We showed up at a game at a county field used by private schools only to find no one there from the county to get the equipment out. So we had no padding around the goal posts. So the coach took all the padded yard line markers and duct taped them around the pipe.

If this ever happens to you again. DO NOT PLAY on that field. You starting the game in these conditions is going to be received as your assurance that the field is safe... and when it turns out you were wrong, guess who gets included in the lawsuit.

We have too after some numbskull U sticks a needle gauge into a new ball without lubing the needle!
Ruined a $65 football!

:mad:

Other than your usual troll BS, was there a reason for yet another post of yours bashing officials?

In all the years I officiate and have used a needle (in basketball mind you), never had to lubricate the needle to take air out of it. So I call BS on BJ as usual.

Peace

This message brought to you by SPIT!, mom's universal solvent.

Always lube the needle... that's what I always say.

Must have struck a nerve, eh Bob? :D

John --

I've recently started to read the forum and I notice that many of your posts seem designed to bash (or at least to complain about) the officials.

That's not the purpose of this forum (well, all these forums). MOST of us come here to talk about situations (real ones), rules, mechanics, heck --- even equipment sometimes --- with the goal of becoming better officials.

I'd ask you to keep your comments / questions in that vein.

Not posting this to start an argument or make you angry. Honestly posting this in hopes it helps. I see you on the precipice of trolldom and I'm hoping this causes you to turn rather than jump.

(And, yes, I borrowed much of this from a similar post made by someone else on the baseball forum. And, yes, I'm somewhat familiar with your posts from the nfhs site.)

That's what the glycerine mentioned upthread is for? I used to just put the needle in my mouth to wet it.