Preps Coach vs Officials

Well, if you make "him look like the asshole he really is," that is reporting the news, no?

 

Indeed. I should have activated my sarcasm filter. That was meant with tongue firmly planted in cheek.

 

I love how the coach says, "I'm not saying this because we're 2-8 in the conference."

Bullshit, pal. Look, the coach had someone find you so he can have a forum to bitch and moan about refs which is an easy cop out because his team is 2-8. If his team was 8-2 or 10-0, I wonder how pissed he would be about the refs?

Let the guy bitch, nod like you're actually listening and give a fuck, and when he's done, walk away, go to a bar, get a beer, find a girl and move on with your life. Oh, and on your way home to the girl's place, hit DELETE on your recorder.

 

And if you're one of those guys who takes your girl to the games with you, you've already eliminated that step. Now about the beer? Whoa, that's for another thread.

I don't believe in being the middle man between the coach's rant and it being published. Coaches are judged by wins and losses and when the losses mount there's always a search for a multitude of excuses. Rarely does the coach say, "I suck." There is a difference if it's a D-I college or pro coach ranting. Go ahead and have a field day. Prep coach? Hit the delete button.

I've been to enough prep games to have formed the opinion that there are bad officials, but I've never seen one with an agenda against a particular team. Does it happen? Anything's possible. Hell, I might go out in my backyard and find $1,000. Unlikely, but it could happen.

I've officiated in the past, and sometimes you cringe at an assignment, but you never, ever say, "Yippie. I've got Shithead's game. I'm going to screw his team."

 

I didnt say run it. I said IF you run it...

 

our paper has a stance that we simply don't publish coach's comments about officials. too often, coaches go off out of frustration. one game i covered, his team was so slow on defense, it committed like 26 fouls. To him, it was cuz his team was on the road against a good team.

 

It just sounds like a can of worms. You're dammed if you do, dammed if you don't. I'd follow my first instinct and just leave it out. Even though he said it and you can prove it, you know damn well that if it runs and he gets nailed for it, it will be your butt that gets metaphorically kicked for it. It's not detrimental to the story, it's not omitting the facts from the story ... if nothing else, I'd hold onto it until he really blows up and use it then.

And I'm very interested in how to record on an iPod....

 

I think the folks who say not to print it are missing the story.

I am willing to bet it is against league and state association rules to criticize officials.

I would pursue it, call the head of the officials' board, etc.

It's not like you overheard it. He asked to talk about it.

 

BillyT, I think it's only a story if it appears the officials flat out F'd up a key play that affects the outcome - a la the Oklahoma game, or the last play in question was a dubious call, ie, a kid's shoe that appears to be on the three-point line but his shot is counted as a three on a call that could've gone either way.

Because more times than not, I'm willing to bet, it's just coaches venting frustration for their teams' failings or coaches' perceptions being skewed. It's like the coach who in the postgame spouts off in instant glee about a key stat or fact (that was the last time we beat them since 1979!), when, after digging up facts, you find out the team actually beat them in 2002, three years before he arrived.

More often than not, those coaches are exaggerating, and if they go back and watch game tape and see some of the plays/calls as the refs might have seen them a day later, they'd admit, OK, I see.

 

If a team is 2-8, chances are it wouldn't have won most of the eight games it lost even if the coach was officiating.

 

why don't you simply ask your SE what s/he wants you to do with it?

 

BillyT, he asked to talk about it because the guy was frustrated that is team is 2-8 and wanted to place the blame elsewhere... on the officials.