With a single referee, you can't see everything
I had a pair of two very intense games, which were a lot of fun. Even moreso, because in years past things could get ugly even with the best of efforts, but people seem to be stepping up to avoid the harsher consequences that would come with misconduct this winter.
For the four games, it was sort of an up-down-up-down as far as the momentum of the games. The first game was played very fast, with little play in the midfield; not normally something you see in the "A" bracket, but it still wasn't the random send-it-down-the-field-and-hope-your-teammate-gets-there-first; there was actual intent to get the ball to specific people (usually down the flank), as players scrambled to break a 1-1 tie. It almost was broken, except for a shot that ricocheted off the inside post, but didn't appear to go in - it went back into play and not into the other side of the goal, which is only five yards wide.
Every game, I tell the captains the same thing: "Line calls will suck. Even if you see it fully cross the line, assume I'm out-of-position and play it to the whistle." Sometimes I add a little more, sometimes I know the teams well enough to leave it at that. And the reason for that little bit of info, is that with one referee, it's true. There are a few occasions, usually ceremonial free kicks and restarts that aren't taken quickly (like most corner kicks) where I can position myself on either the touch or goal line - but not often and not every time - but with one referee, you just won't have the angle to judge it correctly. Not that I don't understand when players complain about a shot in mid-air (when there's no way to get the correct angle except to be sitting on the line) might or might-not have crossed the goal line, but for the referee it's a no-win situation and you just have to hope that the players either understand or the captains remind them of what I tell them every game.
There was a bit of yelping, but of no surprise was the defending contradicted the attacking team, saying it didn't go all the way over. Only one thing for me to do, have them continue playing.
In the third game, things got really intense, although the game ended 3-0, it was far closer on the field; the three goals came in a five-minute span where the one team just became disorganized, but for the other 20, it was neck-and-neck. It was also hip-on-hip, shoulder-on-shoulder, and foul-for-foul. I thought for certain I was going to end up carding one woman for persistent infringement, when she committed two hard fouls early in the game, and a third late in the half. I was tempted to card the third, but it was a marginal foul; I probably should have carded the second, which brought an interesting comment from a player (a man probably twice her weight): "I was going easy on her, because she's a girl", basically implying that he'll play her like the guys. I was tempted to say that going easy on her was his first mistake, but that probably wouldn't have helped (even if I was right), nor would have pointing out that I really wouldn't care if he went harder on her or not, as long as he kept within the rules - mainly because I'm not sure if he would have understood where the line was regarding appropriate use of force.
But the women on both sides were very aggressive, very skilled, and it was a great back-and-forth game, with a bunch of stuff in the grey area, especially in the area of sliding. Slide tackles are not allowed in this league, and it's up to the referee to determine what's a slide. So when a player squats down to get a better center-of-gravity over an oncoming striker (one I know would normally crash through the defender), and ends up getting the ball on a hard stick - it's close; so is the situation when a player is leaning to get the ball, but not actually moving. It was tough, but the teams were playing hard, and it seemed wrong to go ticky-tacky as long as both teams were staying roughly at the same level, and happy with it.
Late in the game, on a hard run (maybe even a breakaway), I hear a player on the offensive side (the team that was behind) start screaming at me, asking how I could not see that. What it was, I don't know. The run was on the left-side of the field, and I was actually further left, so I could focus on the play, and anyone coming to the far side of the goal. Apparently the guy was run over out of my range of vision, and I missed it. The shot went wide for a goal kick, so I held up the restart to talk to him, and the captain who was trying to calm the player down. I was honest: I was following the play, I didn't see it, there's nothing I can do. He seemed to calm down, but the play went, as you might expect with a goal kick indoors, quickly to the other side of the field, and the victimized player starting riding the ball carrier; I shouted for him to ease up, but he just got more intense, and then a hard shove (with his body, not his hands) while in the corner. I blow the whistle, and he's yelling again, asking how I could call it. I bring out the yellow card, "You were riding him like a hot date!" The captain, much to my appreciation (remember my Theory of Referee Capital?) asked if they could sub and came close to literally dragging him back to the bench.
I understand why he's pissed, but I'm not sure what I could have done, being the only referee. I asked a spectator (the new soccer coordinator) what I missed, and she missed it, too. It'll be something to think about.
(more)
30 November '04 - 00:06 - - default| - § ¶
Referee News Bulletin
Probably the most unknown of the big-time referees are the Assistants. They get griped at over "bad" offside calls, but even then most people won't remember their names. One of those referees
is Nate Clement, and this article was about him just prior to refereeing at the MLS Cup Final. A game, IMHO, which was excellently officiated - yes you can make an argument about the 2nd goal and handling, but you can argue either side to that. It also showed some great communication between Michael Kennedy and his Assistants, one of which resulted the extremely just penalty kick and red card of Dema Kovalenko.
It was also a game that showed one very important that should affect all fans and participants of the game that's best shown in a picture:
Dema doing the "You mean me?" look with the red card coming out. This, my friends, is Dema out-and-out lying to the referee, and if you wonder why we tend not to believe your protests, just look at that photo. I've seen players take their red cards like real men and women - but all too often they want to pull a con job. We may laugh when we see it (especially when we have the benefit of instant reply showing him turning into Instant Goalkeeper), but he was lying through his teeth - you know it, I know it, and yes it does affect all of us at the lower levels.
Yellow Card Journalism did some fantastic photos of the game. Check out the whole collection
here. Here's a sample of some of the more referee-oriented photos they took:
Another place I'll never referee: Moldovia.
A club executive tries to run over a referee, with his car, on the pitch and merely gets fined. $1900 may be a lot in Moldovia, but what are they thinking letting the guy anywhere near the field anymore? This is attempted-freakin'-murder here, people! Other articles say he made
several attempts at the ref.
Another country is facing a serious referee shortage, and it's another of the big names in the sport (one of the members of IFAB):
Ireland. An overemphasis on coaching and not enough of reffing is causing a prediction that it's cause games to go unplayed in 2-3 years.
New Hampshire referee Arthur Jackson initially earned his claim to fame by red carding a cow, and getting that picture put on the cover of
Referee magazine. Now he's
being inducted into the state's hall of fame because of his other matches. The cow probably didn't hurt, though.
Now the not-so-fun stuff: assaults of referees in the US.
A referee was assaulted and hospitalized after terminating a U9 game in California. Apparently the coach, Mauricio Alvarez, tried to sneak in at least one older player at halftime, the referee noticed it, ended the game, and was attacked on his way to the tournament headquarters.
The referee filed charges (name the %*!# to the wall!), but the coach
was arrested and instead mailed an appearance summons for court. Said the referee: "I figured they would pick him up and take him before a judge, maybe release him on his own recognizance. That would at least put a little bit of the fear of God in him."
So who's coaching the team now?
Bruce Greenlee, the referee that was assaulted volunteered to take over the team, even though he doesn't even live in the area. Hey, USSF - start getting ready to honor the heck out of this guy.
Oh, for many of those links,
BugMeNot.com is your friend.
27 November '04 - 23:13 - - default| - § ¶
Choose your favorites of 2004
As you've undoubtedly realized, the pace of entries has slowed down considerably - mostly because I don't have as much to write about. I only ref once a week, and soon the holiday season will be upon us (or, as someone I know calls them, Stupidfest). Last year I went though the entries I liked most and called them the best of 2003; I plan to do the same this year. Partially because it's something to fill up December and January, but also because it's fun to look back at what I did and wrote about.
There's a lot more to consider this year; I wrote 234 entries in 2004, and there's more than a month left!
If there's anything that you remember, enjoyed, or talked about, drop me a line (or a comment) and let me know. I'd love to have a reader's category.
24 November '04 - 00:16 - - default| - § ¶
Dissent Day
Apparently today was dissent day. The first two games were fine; the second game was a little tougher because it was a "B" level game. Most of the time "B"s are fine, except if they start playing physical, there's a fine line between not having the skill to do what they want to do picture perfect, and an actual foul. And most players don't realize that FIFA wants you to ignore the stuff that's because of lack of skill.
So I heard a player from the losing side whine about the other team playing dirty, and all I could do was roll my eyes. They didn't play dirty, no they weren't technically clean, but nobody is at that level; moreover they didn't even play that physical a game. But people need excuses I suppose.
The third game brought out two cards, the first because guys sometimes can't deal with women who play as physically (or more) as they do. One of the women in the game was very solidly built, but also had the speed to use her body physically - she did it hard, but she did it clean (and, strangely enough, she only came in hard against the men, which may have been a good thing, because she would have cleaned the clocks of the other women on the field). In the first half, a guy challenged her just as hard, and she cried out wanting a foul; I rebuked her, rather loudly, and she just got what she dished, and both were clean. There was ary a word from her the rest of the game; she continued to play her game, and seemed to understand what I would and won't call. Second half, instead of yelling, the male player keeps running and shoves her blatantly. Out came the yellow card, and out of my mouth came "Take a break!" (you can do that in this league); I've never done that before, never been able to sell it - I think I was channeling a bit of Sal, because he could do that at will.
Then was the dissent; the team that had the pusher was behind by three, scrapping for a goal, and getting reckless. Challenges from behind, whacks to the ankles, and I fouled them appropriately. One of the players (after a foul from a player who knocked over another player from behind) got loud, and then got carded.
Whine whine whine - not sure why, but it continued in the next game, with a woman who was getting challenged. I've mentioned before that a friend (and assignor of mine) wants the USSF to do more teaching to referees on how to handle women; partially because they foul different, but partially because the range of how they're treated is so varied; she came out of the "any touch is a foul" camp, which I don't think the USSF wants (certainly not FIFA).
We also had a goalkeeper that was playing very aggressively, not at people, but at loose balls. Maybe a bit too aggressively, when he dived to the left for a loose ball, but was a tad late as a striker took it, touch it more center, allowing the keeper to drive, Superman style, back to the other side, and then beaned himself with the goal post. Ouch.
23 November '04 - 08:04 - - default| - § ¶
What needs to happen
I don't watch ESPN, except for the occasional Champions League game (only EPSN2 does MLS, and they get pre-empted for pointy-ball), but I have to handle it to Mark Stein, who uses
soccer as a model of what the NBA should do. I would say that it should apply right down the line. If it was done Stein's way:
- Artest would get a year-long ban.
- The others who went into the stands would get 10-game suspensions.
- The Pistons would have no fans allowed in the next time Indiana comes to town.
The later would hurt the most, because of the money involved:
Such measures have never been taken Stateside, but the Pistons would never forget the message. Not only would its home-court advantage be wiped out in a late-season matchup with its fiercest rivals, but Detroit would also lose the six to seven figures of revenue it generates from every home game.
Might that work at the high school level, too? Money-wise? No. Embarassment and shame factor? Maybe. I think Stein has the right idea.
21 November '04 - 14:24 - - default| - § ¶
Thoughts on "The Throwdown in Motown"
I don't normally watch television news - mostly because it's just not news at all. I read the newspaper (although it's via their webpage or through AvantGo), and listen to NPR because not only is there content, but context. But for some reason today, I found myself, while flipping through channels, on an early TV news show that was reflecting on the recent
fight between Indiana and Detroit in the NBA that carried into the stands with fans, and what it meant for high school sports.
There was concern over the spillover to youth sports, and how the high school sports administrations were going to deal with it. There were interviews with a high-ranking high school sports official, and an assistant coach of a high school wrestling team. I have to admit, I'm pretty cynical when it comes to people pleading (or bleating) about sportsmanship; especially when it comes from high school organizations, because at least when it comes to soccer, they're the worst. Maybe it's different than other states, but because ours is a quasi-public entity, copies of the association's minutes are available, and I've never seen anything but slaps on the wrist given to coaches or administrators who break sportsmanship rules. Recruiting rules, and boy will be laid down, but act like a jerk and publicly criticize people who can't respond, and you get, at most, a reprimand.
So I found myself rolling my eyes at an assistant coach (the classic "attack dog" when it comes to high school sports) and an administrator from an organization that, in my humble opinion, does little to promote sportsmanship now.
What the people at the television station didn't realize is that this incident will not cause players, fans, or coaches to act much worse - because they're only a few steps away from that level anyway; sometimes I think it's only the fences between the field and the stands that keep similar incidents from happening. As a referee, I tent to lean toward what would happen to me if I was on a field if something like that happened, and I started thinking: nobody's counting, but I'd bet the majority of incidents, at least at the high school level, happen to referees. I'm just guessing of course, but most fights at high school events get some sort of media coverage, because it's a big deal and provides lots of concerned faces to splash over the TV screen - but I see (just at my local paper) more incidents directed toward refs than other players - although with far few column-inches.
As a referee, aside from the outright physical assault, I've seen pretty much all of it: threats, vandalism (thankfully to nothing of mine), slurs, general name calling, and probably other things I just can't think of (although it seems pretty comprehensive). I've had police out to two of my games (both high school), and received escorts from both of those as well. Of the games I've had to (or, when an AR, just been involved with) terminate early, it's been either the co-ed rec league that I do just for man-management practice, or high school games. Coaches on a daily basis act like manipulative jerks in front of the kids they're supposed to be role-models for; the ones who act like they should are in a tiny minority.
If they think "The Throwdown" could cause problems with future high school games, then they are totally blind to the situation now. God help us if they think the present is acceptable.
21 November '04 - 00:14 - - default| - § ¶
Guess it's not quite right yet
The indoor season's schedule is in full swing, which doesn't mean a whole not to me, since that still only means one night a week - but oh well, it beats doing nothing (or studying, as the case turns out).
It looked like the first game was going to be a doozy, maybe ten seconds into the game, the main striker for one team (as it turned out), steals the ball off the kick-off, and blazes down the field for an up-close-and-personal shot against the goalkeeper; one of the defenders tried to muscle in for a clean charge, but misses, fouling the guy badly. I'm tempted to go with a card right away, but look to see how people react - both the fouler and foulee.
Now I can see you asking, "I know why you watch the fouler (if he behaves badly, you react similarly to reinforce proper behavior), but why the player who was fouled?" Well, I'm certainly no expert, but in four years I've seen games go well, and go badly, when a yellow card comes out that early. While it's certainly a good rule of thumb to blow the whistle early in the first few minutes of a game (five to ten during a full 90); it's also possible to set the bar too low for what's a yellow . And while those bars can be lowered in a game, it's awfully hard to raise it; while I knew I wanted to protect that striker from future fouls that cost scoring chances, but I also didn't want to make a prima donna out of him.
Like the few seconds you have to call or not call advantage, I had to judge the situation quickly. The striker got up calmly, looked at it, and asked:
(insert dramatic pause here)
"Is it direct or indirect?"
Whew! So I think not pulling out a card was the correct choice; and I did follow up on my pledge (to myself) to protect him, by awarding a penalty kick when another player knocked him down - inadvertently but avoidably. The Laws allow some flexibility for skill-level, but there are some limits.
After that, the game was calm - they all were. It was the calmest four games I've had in that league in quite some time; even in the final session of last winter, when players were risking yellow-card suspensions, games got testy, but these were... just games. Two of the other games had only a single foul apiece; I hardly needed to be there, except to call the occasional two-line violation (those who remember the old, and new, MISL will remember the three-line violation: no player can kick or throw the ball over all three lines without it hitting the boards, the ground, or a player; because we're on a pointy-ball field, without a center line, we use the hashmarks (but only on goal kicks, and goalkeeper punts and throws) instead, instead of trying to judge offside). It probably was a good thing, because going into the third game of the evening, I started feeling my hamstring tighten up - I thought I had worked it down to a level I could work at again, but apparently not. While I have all winter to get it to heal, it's kind of a bummer, because I want to start pressing myself a bit more.
19 November '04 - 10:23 - - default| - § ¶
The funeral
I'm not going to go into a lot of detail about the funeral; I don't think it's necessary. One of the preachers asked everyone who knew him from soccer to stand up, and I think people were shocked that there were over twenty people (referees, players, and administrators) who came out. I have a feeling that it made much more sense in the way he was buried.
A soccer ref to the end: he was buried with a Manchester United hat, red referee jersey, and a yellow and red card in his hand; people signed a soccer ball and went with him.
I can't think of anything more appropriate.
17 November '04 - 10:51 - - default| - § ¶
Death is the price we pay for progress
I just learned tonight that my friend Sal, who've I've written about a few times here, has died of cancer. I've been trying to visit him on a regular basis, the last being a few days ago, after he was moved to hospice and was too tired to watch the soccer games I taped for him; I knew it might be the last time I saw him alive when he didn't want to watch Manchester United versus Manchester City.
I have sort of an odd relationship with death, it's much different than many other peoples. I mourn differently. I will miss him terribly, but I'm not a crier (and I am about many other things, which makes it odder). I once heard the phrase, "Death is the price we pay for progress" and it makes sense. Death is also a reminder to hold and cherish what we have, because everything is fleeting; if you're lucky, it'll be a long time down the road, but sometimes it can come and shock you.
Sal's illness was a shocker. Although the cancer might have been around for some time, the symptoms were sudden and drastic; he went to the hospital, unable to walk; and found that the cancer had metastasized to other parts of his body. He was positive and upbeat, and the treatments seemed to go well. He was discharged from the hospital after a little more than a week, but then went sent back the next day, and admitted to hospice.
I started playing soccer late; I watched throughout my childhood, but never started playing until I was an adult; Sal reffed the leagues I played in (the ones I'm reffing now), and I think more than anyone else, he was the face of the league. He remembered everyone (even me before I picked up the whistle), and was keenly interested in all levels of play, including the league full of overweight bumbling hacks like myself. He loved it, he lived it, and yet I didn't even realize until now, reading his obituary, just how far he'd played it himself. He played in the 1956 and 1960 Olympics and even was a professional player (probably in El Salvador). I can't imagine being that humble.
I've heard that the league I'm in is planning a yearly tournament in his name. I think it would be fitting. I also need to find where he bought his pants, because I think it would also be fitting, in a way he'd enjoy, if we all reffed in those, like he did, next week.
(more)
16 November '04 - 00:03 - - default| - § ¶
Another forfeit
I've had three games in three weeks where one of the teams has too few people to play. Not sure why; this time it was because at least one person was pulled over and had his car towed, although I'm not sure if it would have mattered, because there's a minimum of women that need to be on the field to make the game legal. The other teams had twelve people, so they just split themselves up, and still asked me to ref it - which was nice because it game me something to do, even if it was just running around (there was one foul, a handling that was pretty obvious and didn't need me there). As I said, it was nice to have something to do, because I certainly couldn't play at their level.
The second game was a legit game, and was pretty interesting; one team primarily from the Middle East, and another primarily of Caucasians. The former played much more physically, but pretty much kept themselves at a constant level (this made reffing them a challenge, not for them, but in what reactions they might get from the other team), and one that I was reasonably comfortable with. What looked like it might have been a blowout in the first half (3-0) by the Caucasian team became very tight in the second (it ended up being 5-3), and the only yellow card came, as expected, when one of the defenders couldn't handle the play of his opponents; nothing big, but an arm grab when the striker was trying to turn around him. Easy card, fun game, no real problems.
11 November '04 - 22:36 - - default| - § ¶
Referee News Roundup
It's about as "Man Bites Dog" as a referee can get:
a ref accused of taunting a player. Not right, to be sure, but it's amazing that it gets the attention while day-to-day abuse of the refs goes basically unchecked, and it takes a strike by the referee association to do anything about it.
Or
when there's no referees to be had.
I've said it many times, for the most part I just ignore anything coming out of South Africa when I do news searches, because it's always the same thing: "The refs all suck, blah blah blah" along with some abuses (
many times physical), and then wonder why they can't get better ones. The would-be hosts of a future Men's World Cup have some additional problems, a bit more basic:
The groundkeepers need to figure out what a regulation soccer field is like. Goals that were too short, mis-marked fields. I expect this in American high school soccer; but maybe SA's referee detractors should fix their own problems, first.
They're not the only ones with violence problems, of course,
Romania is apparently having some serious problems; including one referee received a head injury and lost four teeth for doing his job.
"'We had people threatening to shoot referees, death threats, and nothing was done. The violence is extending and it's becoming difficult to convince people to become referees.'"
Gee, I wonder why.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is being charged for improper conduct for comments about the referee after a 1-0 loss to Manchester United. Hopefully the FA will also do the same for
Sir Alex Ferguson (the prat) who did the same thing a few weeks later (and seems to do more whining than coaching).
In the, "When I retire, I'm going into politics" file (also known as the art of lying),
Liran Strauber claims to have said the following to the referee, in protest of a second yellow to a teammate:
"...he should try and be fair because it seemed the balance was tipped to one side"
BAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA! Yeah, has
anyone heard a player, who himself described as running to the referee, be that polite.
I call bullshit.
09 November '04 - 22:54 - - default| - § ¶
Enacting the policy
In many ways, it was just a fun game to ref. Teams were running hard, playing physical, and for the most part, clean. One player, however, took it just over the limit twice, and now, as far as I know, gets to be the first person to enact the new red card policy.
Or not; it didn't say what happens to someone who collects two yellows, but that's not up to me.
I was reffing the Intermediate A (as opposed to B) bracket; the game before was just a scrimmage, because one of the teams was too short to field a team (this is the second time this has happened in what's very early in the season). One of the players dislocated his shoulder, but took it very matter of factly; I think this concerned me more than the injury. "Oh, it happens all the time," said one of his teammates, "when he plays basketball, he reaches behind for a pass, and it goes 'pop'." So nothing out-of-the-ordinary as far as the play on the field, but his shoulder is a different matter.
The next game, being a real game, promised some more excitement. Early on, when the keeper went for a loose ball, a striker slid in for it as well. Normally, not a big deal, but in this league, it is one: they don't want any sliding towards other people, and they especially don't want challenges on the goalkeeper when s/he's doing goalkeeper things (as opposed when the goalkeeper has not used the rights of the position, and is essentially just a field player in a funny shirt). It's early in the season, and this was one of the things that commonly doesn't get communication from team captain to player; the contact was also minimal (wouldn't hurt a fly), so I asked for the keeper (who was a bit miffed) to hold the ball, while I lectured the striker. At half, I talked to the keeper, who was okay with my decision; there was an implicit understanding that I wouldn't take any more shenanigans with a vulnerable keeper, however (even if there wasn't, it was understood by me, which is what counts here).
But before the half ended, and we had that chat, a player on the opposite side committed a blatant yellow-card offense: the two-handed, over-the-shoulder pull on a striker. Easy card, and no complaints from the guy who got it. Second half, though, things got interesting: the game is tied at one with seven or eight minutes left when the keeper (the same one who was slid into) dives on a loose ball; the player with the yellow also goes for the ball, but is late. How late? His foot didn't go under the keeper, didn't go into motion while the keeper was in the air, but instead started after the keeper landed on the ball, and proceeded right into the crack of his buttocks. Oy vey: out comes the second yellow and then the red. He complains, but not about my card: "Did you see what the fucker did to me?" It obviously wasn't the keeper, because he's face-down on the carpet engaged in unwanted sexual contact with your cleats, and I didn't see anyone redirecting your foot. Not worth arguing, I point for him to leave the field. No complaints for the rest of the team (at least not to me - invariably if there's any, it goes to the on-site coordinator) - they just wanted to know if they had to play short the rest of the game (they do, making it six-on-five).
I did wuss out on handing out another yellow card. I gave lecture on a player on the other team for a slide tackle, then didn't follow-through with a card to a woman who did the same. I should have, but, as I said, I wussed out. It probably would have made a better post-incident selling of the red, although ultimately it didn't matter.
07 November '04 - 21:08 - - default| - § ¶
Two more tame games
In two weeks the schedule goes into full swing, so for now they're giving out only a few games, so all their refs work. I'll have a few more next week. I've been doing the intermediate brackets lately, and the B-teams the last few weeks; randomly drawn. So far, tempers have been well in check, although I had what was normally a mild-mannered keeper get a little nasty - he got some overzealous contact, and I blew the foul immediately. The foul-ee went to apologize and got a short earful of unsavory language. I stepped in, stared at the keeper (which I correctly estimated was enough), and then talked to the other guy, saying I knew that he was just trying to apologize.
Other than that, the games were easy to do - I'm trying to run harder and deeper, which I always do in indoor, but moreso now, partially because I'm doing fewer games, but partially so I can keep that pace once I'm back into four-game nights.
Things will heat up - teams haven't had the chance to start hating each other yet.
03 November '04 - 22:46 - - default| - § ¶
Hospital beds always make you look old
It seems like I've spent a good chunk of my life in hospitals visiting people. Usually it was my brother; he had severe spina-bifida (enough so that he was in a wheelchair his entire life) and hydrocephalus; he averaged close to a surgery a year up until he died. There's something about hospitals and hospital beds that make you look old - older than you were a day or a week earlier.
I wrote about Sal earlier, and I went to see him today for the first time in the hospital, and the first thing that struck me was how thin he'd become, even for something that hit him so suddenly (at least in its outward manifestations); the good news was that his attitude was the same positive, friendly one that I'd been used to. It seems wrong that the guy who's sick ends up putting me at ease, but that was the case. He said that he's not depressed about what's happened - a bit overwhelmed because it happened so quickly, but he's in good spirits. Apparently he has cancer and a bone marrow disorder that have combined into something new and different - and something that the doctors don't have any history on - so they're giving him radiation treatments, and will be improvising as things move along. In a way, it seems rather appropriate for a soccer referee.
A bunch of other refs showed up shortly after I did. They brought cards in, signed by the players he's reffed for the last umpteen years. That's one advantage of doing unaffiliated game: because you're not going all-over the region, the players get to know you - and for the most part it's going to be in a positive way, because we get to be seen more as humans than overlords.
I dropped off my first tape full of Fox Sports World programming; at the sound of it, he started rattling off player and team commentaries - most of whom I could identify, but that would be the extent of it. It may not be flowers, but I think it'll do just as well.
02 November '04 - 13:48 - - default| - § ¶
Last Comments
alex (Might not be goin…): From my standpoint then I would stay home….Soccer i…CSR (Might not be goin…): NOTHING is as important as family!
TheRef (You know it's too…): Yes, and potentially violent ones at that.
Matt (You know it's too…): Have you ever actually had problems with players th…
alex (Teaching styles): ouch….that sucks. It is amazing to me how much dif…
TheRef (More cancellation…): Here’s what happened: Games on Saturday were all ca…
alex (More cancellation…): You have to love spring soccer….I am not sure what …
Fritz (More cancellation…): With the euro2008 coming up I wonder if you refs ge…
CSR (Day two of the ne…): Well. . .on a field that wet and muddy, there’s no …
Bob (When coaches invo…): Good for you. The fact that he told such a stupid l…
Alex (When coaches invo…): This is a classic story….As soon as you mentioned l…
Sean M. (When coaches invo…): I think this goes with, “Call it both ways,” “Safet…
CSR (When coaches invo…): Perhaps your friend should re-read Law 18. Like ma…
OhioRef (Referee News Roun…): I found this comment on your YouTube link to the Vu…
CSR (Referee News Roun…): I agree with you re: the Collina comment. I was al…