Sometimes Bad Is Bad

When a basketball game begins, spectators can usually tell there is a difference of opinion between officials and players as to what constitutes a foul.

Generally officials will call things fouls that the players would rather they not call, but since each official is different, the players adjust. One official calls a push at the lightest touch of a hand, whereas another allows more contact during the flow of the game as long as it doesn't impede the other player's ability to perform his role within the rules.

When players who like a loose game find themselves refereed by officials who don't, what we often see are frequent whistles during the first few minutes as the players learn how the officials will call the game and the officials learn how much players will press against the edge of the rules without going past the line. Whistles then taper off as the boundaries clarify, or as the players who can't adjust draw enough fouls to sit out for awhile in favors of players who can.

But a sure sign you are watching officials who are just plain bad at their jobs is when players can't adjust because of inconsistent standards and they remain frustrated throughout the game. And there are just as many play-stopping calls in the fourth quarter as in the first. While tonight's local contest between the young women's teams was enough of a blowout it didn't matter, the officials' poor performance probably directly affected the outcome of the young men's game. And as a true sign of their ineptitude, it would have affected the outcome of the game no matter which team won.

I suspect we won't see these gentlemen in stripes again here for the brief remainder of the season.