Street Ball

I don't know about you but football and basketball are not the games any more that I grew up playing.  I was taught that as a safety in football defense you had to know where the ball was all the time.  Basketball was a game played by those who followed proper rules for boxing out and if you touched someone that was a foul.  I believe that is what Mr Naismith intended when he mounted that peach basket on the barn and started pitching balls into it.

It kills me to hear a defender in football say all the rules are made for offense.  In my day any one who was beyond the line of scrimmage had a few lane in which to run.  That is what I call rules made for the offense.  Today a pass receiver goes down field the field both the defender and receiver are pushing back and forth I just don't know who could possibly get a penalty when everyone is at fault.

You know I made the comment after the Rocky Mount-Hunt basketball game that it was the worse officiated  game that I had ever seen.  It is hard to call a foul on one side when both are chest to chest and contact every where.  One of the things I like about the new gym at Rocky  Mount High School is the Press gets to sit court side  near the scoring table.  Down there you get to hear what's going on.  Some times you get screened off and don't see who took a shot but when something big is going on  everything in basketball happens at the scoring table.

Friday night P J Proctor for Fike committed a foul with about four minutes left in the game.  The Rocky Mount score book showed that was her fifth foul while Fike's that was only her fourth.  Bad situation when the score books don't agree .  A very good group of officials asked those on press row what we had.  I don't keep up with the fouls but Justin Hite from the Telegram said that was only her fourth foul.  Proctor was allowed to stay in the game which was the right call but those who had heard the buzzer sound for her fifth foul thought the Gryphons were getting the shaft.  The officials sorted out a problem and came up with the correct answer.

You can go to just about any play ground where sports is played most of the time fouls are called by those playing.  You are sort of a baby if you call a foul on the other team when ever they block a shot.  That play ground mentality has come to TV  and if it makes good on TV then it filters all the was down to kindergarten.   If it is a high light on TV then it can't be a foul.  Whether it is football or basketball contact on both sides leads to calls made sometimes and then the same play let go.  What is an official to do. 

Both basketball and football are being played today in such a way that if you decide you want to be an official you are asking yourself never to be right.  Any one play is judged by one side as a good call and the other side what a bum you are.  Is that what we want officials to have to live with.  Please let's all start playing by the rules and when an infraction occurs we all can see and know what the official is going to call.