Quote:
Originally Posted by molson
Then why don't they just use better refs?
(I know the obvious logical answer to that, but I'm curious what yours is)
Why not just hire refs that get all the calls right, like all the parents can do from the stands?
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Goes back to the numbers here as much as anything ( a drumbeat I've steadily pounded for a number of years now). We have more schools, and therefore games, than we can accommodate with competent officiating.
In football a big part of the solution is still getting resistance and will probably have to be mandated by the governing body eventually: move games from the traditional Friday night to a Thurs/Fri/Sat schedule, allowing the better officials to work more games. Most people are lukewarm about that concept UNTIL it's their ox getting gored with a move, then the resistance usually kicks in.
Honestly, after what I've seen in the past 5-6 years in basketball, I'm not sure there IS a solution outside of reducing the number of games themselves (indeed, in the past couple of years I've suggested that reducing from a 10 game football season to a 9 game regular season as part of the relief there too but that goes over about as well as a blown call on the final play of a title game).
It makes football look rosy by comparison, and that's with me seeing primarily state tournament games (where in theory, you're getting the upper half of the officiating pool). I'd likely be in the morgue (via heart attack or stroke), prison, or awaiting trial if I still tried to watch 20-25 regular season doubleheaders a year like I used to.
I believe another part of improvement would be for the governing body to fund additional supervisors of officials, above and beyond the individual officials associations. The amount of oversight is variable at best, and accountability is limited, that needs to be addressed.
The use of replay review is gaining momentum at least at the championship level (after a notoriously blown call in a football title game where more than ample tech was available for it to be used) I believe it will eventually become commonplace, if not mandated in phases over time. The extreme variance in the capabilities by venue makes that one a tough nut to crack I won't deny, but with the majority of home fields in Georgia now featuring artificial turf (as of last season), the cost of at least rudimentary mandatory camera coverage shouldn't be THAT out of reach frankly.
There isn't one magic answer, but there are a number of steps that could be taken to move the needle back in the right direction at least.
On the downside of all those ideas? The governing body here makes Congress look capable and unbiased by comparison, so anything that makes even the slightest bit of sense coming from them is nothing short of a miracle so I won't be holding my breath. There's a better chance that they'll fiddle while Rome blazes and participation and support steadily dwindle.