RallyNorth.net: High School Sports – Merrimack Valley and Southern NH

Which blog you on?
We seek your grace and wisdom.
Tech be damned comment was up under new headline, then disappeared.
By the way, I was on the Dracut bandwagon but am Abandoning Ship after they lost key home tilt to Methuen (no disrespect intended to Rangers)

Fib, step on into the Cover it Live chat, it's pretty cool and it's up and working!!!

I have to pass on Jacques question:
[Comment From Jacques]
Wo Wo Wo Pelham was beat by terrible Lincoln Sudbury in Lowell Tourney and then by mediocre Acton Boxboro. Then they squeaked by 4-9 Londonderry in the 7th place game. Cmon

Yep, saw that already. You can't win it every year. I'm just saying that Pelham has gone into Lowell in the last couple years and won that thing. That's all.

Two Pelham points:

In summer 2007, Pelham smoked Andover in summer Hoops for Hope. Lots of noise followed. Andover crushed them in playoff rematch. They have not played since.

Andover and Pelham were both at Plymouth State in summer 2008.
Andover ran the table. They did NOT play Pelham. Don't know how Pelham finished.

Hector I think Pleham only won it once when they had the Roman kid playing for them. Lowell has taken it the past few years though. Westford was definitely team to beat this year – finals against AB was a great take.

Nault was issued two technichals for giving the officials too much crap and being asked repeatedly to STOP. The game was in hand and he just kept right on going instead of COACHING. He knows it – trust me on that. When you get a technical foul for cussing at a ref and you admit you expected and wanted it afterward, you still have to abide by the rules and sit. When he was asked to sit and he said no i have to talk to my player and then was asked again – he said something to the effect of…you know what – this is why you guys don't get the big games.

Officials don't like to be insulted ior showed up – especially when it is not in the heat of the battle but making a travesty of the game in the waning moments of a 20 pint blowout.

Other refs may have used a different tactic to deal with it, but to each his own i guess. Rick knows he was wrong and just wants to have fun and win this thing again. The pressure is mounting…

Nault was issued two technichals for giving the officials too much crap and being asked repeatedly to STOP. The game was in hand and he just kept right on going instead of COACHING. He knows it – trust me on that. When you get a technical foul for cussing at a ref and you admit you expected and wanted it afterward, you still have to abide by the rules and sit. When he was asked to sit and he said no i have to talk to my player and then was asked again – he said something to the effect of…you know what – this is why you guys don't get the big games.

Officials don't like to be insulted ior showed up – especially when it is not in the heat of the battle but making a travesty of the game in the waning moments of a 20 pint blowout.

Other refs may have used a different tactic to deal with it, but to each his own i guess. Rick knows he was wrong and just wants to have fun and win this thing again. The pressure is mounting…

I'm sure I wasn't the only one to hear Paul Neal drop the loudest F Bomb you've ever heard at the beginning of his first timeout vs CCHS last Friday night. The whole gym heard it, but no warning or anything from the officials. I've been told you basically have to throw a punch at an official in the MVC to get tossed. It's time to stand up to the MVC coaches, boys and girls, and start showing that there is some order and respect in the ranks. As a spectator, it is frustrating to see a coach breaking every rule there is and not getting a T. If you're reading this, you know the coaches I mean. Might be time to go to 3 officials in the MVC too.

Agreed on three officials. HoopRef95 and I have said it more than a few times on this blog the last two years. If you get three guys that know the 3-man system – it will be a better, more controlled game.

As far as Neal goes and dropping the F-bomb – - I have to ask if it was directed to his team or was it directed to the officials. I ask that, because then it would be handled much differently, but should be handled no matter what.

I can guarantee you though if officials start to crack the whip a bit on the coaches, there will be the apologists out there saying that the refs overreacted or just wanted to be the show. That is unfortunate but the truth. And i can telkl you with certainty, the guys that ejected Coach Nault on Tuesday are not the type looking to be the show.

Agreed on three officials. HoopRef95 and I have said it more than a few times on this blog the last two years. If you get three guys that know the 3-man system – it will be a better, more controlled game.

As far as Neal goes and dropping the F-bomb – - I have to ask if it was directed to his team or was it directed to the officials. I ask that, because then it would be handled much differently, but should be handled no matter what.

I can guarantee you though if officials start to crack the whip a bit on the coaches, there will be the apologists out there saying that the refs overreacted or just wanted to be the show. That is unfortunate but the truth. And i can telkl you with certainty, the guys that ejected Coach Nault on Tuesday are not the type looking to be the show.

Couldn't agree more, guys. I absolutely love the MVC and will watch a great league game before any Celtics or college game, but it's gotten out of hand at this point. There are some great coaches in this league, but they've been allowed to say/do whatever they want in this area. Faz is an incredible coach, but gets more latitude from officials (“Oh that's just Faz being Faz”) than anyone I've ever seen. I dare someone to count how many F bombs come out in a single game. Ricky and Paul have now moved into that same category, maybe not w/the same language, but certainly w/their words, actions, and demeanor towards officials. Then whoever they're coaching against then feels like they have to stand up for their team so they match the intensity and vocal levels. And then often officials realize they can't allow only one coach to get away with it, so the other coach gets the same treatment. It even extends down to assistants- I've seen MVC assistants (Central and Andover specifically) get away with things that some head coaches couldn't do in other leagues. Don't believe me? Ask some coaches and fans from outside the area who travel here for games on a regular basis. This blog is obviously MVC-centric, but that doesn't mean we can't be honest about it, right?

A final contributing factor (which is no one's fault and is actually one of the many positives about the league) is that the atmosphere is loud and electric in these matchups b/c of the fans, and so screaming becomes the only way to communicate with anyone (players, officials, etc.) But the bottom line is that there is no where in Massachusetts where officials get shown up more than the MVC. The answer is simple: Enforce the rules evenly, consistenly, and early enough in the season to prevent a pattern. But until there are enough officials willing to do it, the ones who do get singled out as “too strict” and don't get the big MVC games. Faz's act would never fly with strong officials who didn't know him and weren't from the area. Can you imagine if two good NCAA officials from a different part of the country were asked to do an Andover game? There would be a quick conversation very early in the game about how to voice his concerns and one of two things would happen. He'd either a) follow the suggestion, act accordingly, and they'd have a good working relationship and be able to communicate with each other; or b) he'd get T'd up, realize it's not working and that he's hurting his team, and then he'd act accordingly. He's a smart guy, and is always looking to help his team. The tail is currently wagging the dog on that one, and until area officals make a decision to apply a consistent standard of acceptable behavior on the sidelines, nothing is going to change. If the coaches have become the show (and they have- ties flying, exagerated gestures, over-the-top language, complaining on every call, waving off officials in disgust, etc.), it's only b/c someone is letting them.

Wow, Ouch, that hurt, because you are absolutely right! Guilty as charged your honor.

read my latest post on the officiating pleease

I'm an old man Hector so I'm not great at this- I just looked and wasn't sure which post on officiating you're referring to. Can you point me in the right direction?

Hoopref- I didn't say anything to you personally- no need to get sarcastic or defensive. Just one man's perception of the officiating-coaching dynamic in the MVC. If I sounded self-righteous or condescending, I apologize. Agree to disagree if you want, but know that there are many people who know a lot more about basketball than me who feel like much of the over-the-top MVC coach conduct goes unchecked. Not by all officials, but by some. Too many, I'd argue.

MVCguy you are gracious and awesome and knowledgeable. I love your insights and observations and strongly suspect that most other blog visitors do too.
Not to worry.

MVC- I was not taking it personally or being sarcastic. I think you are right. It is not easy to manage the sidlines and I admit I need to do a better job.