Basketball Wars, Part 3....and a week of Milestones....

Just when you think things cannot get any uglier in the lowly world of Junior High/Middle School girls basketball, last night tops it off....

Not going to mention the schools involved, because frankly the host school has been very good to me, in both Baseball, where I do many of their top league and non-league Varsity games, and Basketball, where I pick and choose the lower level games that I want....note to myself, I will never officiate another game involving the Junior High of the visiting school...again, but that has no reflection on the host school, where I usually enjoy working.

Knowing the visiting school involved, my partner Mark, a diminutive man with 17 years experience officiating basketball, and I knew this would be an ugly double header.  These days girls JH teams, for the most part are bad, and out of control when it comes to knowing the game and how to play it...there are exceptions, Wayne Trace, Celina, Crestview, all come to mind...good teams, with good coaches, that know how to coach and discipline.  From here on out, with the exception of last nights home team, and those 3 mentioned, I will not accept contracts to do this level...sure the pay is good, but the headaches are not worth it....anyway here is how it folded out.

In the opener, the 7th grade game, things were out of control play wise, but despite it's length, time wise, we were done from the 4:30pm start at about 6...still way too long for a JH game.   When the second, 8th grade game started, I knew instinctively that we were in for a long one.   The short round coach, resembling a  bowling ball, was a pain in the ass from the get-go.  A little round black man, who thought standing on the court 3 feet out from the bench was appropriate....and bitching about every call and move, was likewise.   Meanwhile his girls, at least three of them, 8th graders all, were big girls, who towered above the coach, Mark, and even one or two of them were as tall or taller than my 5' 11" frame.  The home team, while more skill talented, would not match up with the bigger girls from the visitors.  The game, as ugly as it was, would remain close, and much to Mark and my dismay would drag into an overtime session, before finally ending with the visitors winning by three of four points, but that time I could have cared less, we just wanted to get off the floor with our hides intact.

Midway through the game, I forget exactly when, Mark "Teed" up the bowling ball...giving him a Technical Foul in layman terms.  The bowling ball was not deterred, and continued bitching.   Shame on me, I usually tried to work the alternate side of the court away from him...although in reality in a different world and place, I would have probably given the mouth a head butt, and rolled his sorry little ass down the floor...it would not have been much of a challenge, even at my age.  Finally Mark had had enough and sat the coach down...realizing another Technical would have sent the coach to the showers, and cost him $160 in fines from the state association, and a session in anger management/sportsmanship.  Mark gave him a verbal lashing instead....in retrospect he or I should have tossed the bowling ball and left him to pay his 2 game suspension and fine.  The tongue lashing provoked some yells and muted slander from the inner city side of the gym....I could picture in my mind some black white violence if this kept up...after all there was no security, I mean a F'ing Junior High Girls Basketball Game?  Give me a break....this should not go on, at any level, but especially this brand.

As I was standing in front of the largely black visiting crowd during a 3rd quarter time out, I and one of the fans were talking....he tells me, "You know your partner should not have yelled that way at the coach"?  I nod my head in agreement, and reply, "No, he should have kicked his ass out, long ago your coach is a buffoon"...well as luck would have it, away from us, two fans, both black, began having a go at each other....no security, Oh Shit!   Finally after other "fans" rushed to the stage, where the real action had began, school officials to their credit ended the minor fight....by this time I had walked over to the scorers table, and told the home coach, "If this shit doesn't cease, we are killing this game, and leaving"....he had no argument with the proposition.  The game did continue however, as the crowd, while still loud, settled down, and were satisfied to yell, scream, and generally, make asses of themselves, without further threats of violence.

It was 7:45 by the time the mess was done...3 hours 15 minutes for a double header that usually take 2 hours to 2 1/4 hours...BS was what it was.  Mark and I, sticking around for another 15 minutes to let the crowd leave the building and lot, both agreed we with never do another game involving the visiting school and the little bowling ball coach.  Like I said, in retrospect, we should have tossed him and done the paperwork.  Sure that might have caused a mini riot....but this little clown should not be coaching at any level...he sucks as a coach, and I assume as a human being.  Mark this down as a learned lesson.....

More December Milestones____

I mentioned early this month that December was as busy as it gets in the Houseworth and related surname families when it comes to births, deaths, and other anniversaries .... this week is certainly no exception.

Last Saturday would have been dad, Stan Houseworth's 94th birthday, Christmas Eve will mark the 39th since the night he died at age of 55.  This week however, is loaded with more pleasant markings...

Sam Houseworth, the oldest son, turns 30 tomorrow, December 17th.....born in St. Marys on a snowy morning back in 1981....he will finish up his Bachelors Degree at The Ohio State University in the spring...kind of a family tradition, finishing up college in your 30s....right along with mom and dad with that.  On the day after Sam was born, Patricia and I celebrated our 5th anniversary...this Sunday marks 35 years since we were married in her hometown of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, in 1976...and a record warm day for the date...temperatures were well into the 60s, a rare day indeed in Wisconsin, even the southern part, that late in the year.

Meanwhile yesterday was brother Mike's 65th Birthday....he was born 11 months or so after mom and dad were married, he was hatched out on December 15, 1946....one of the early day "Boomers"

Tonight it's back to basketball, but both this evening and tomorrow, it will be boys High School action, while at times more intense, at all times more in control and more enjoyable than the disasters of the past two nights.

enjoy your weekend...back later>>>>

photos-December Milestones...top Emma Callies, Patricia's grandmother along with us on 12/18/1976 at Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, "Uncle Sam" Houseworth, who turns 30 tomorrow 12/17 with the newest member of the Houseworth Clan, Kasyn, last week in Centerville, another of Patricia and me in 1976, and brother Mike Houseworth and me, in the Spring of 1958...playing for the Venice Elks, in our childhood hometown of Venice, Florida.