I am a Tackett guy. He is a former official, I assume he believes what he is going is best but I think about everyone else disagrees with him.

By a good source I was told sometime ago that a certain KHSAA official picked his "buddies" that he officiated college games with to work the championship games before the season started which caused some animosity. When "politics" starts from the top, where do you think the changes need to start?

You are out of your league on this one.

 

But you said it yourself that you don't like the politics about it and I completely agree, as I think most would. If the person who does the rotating of the officials is the commissioner then it is his call. I have heard the same private rumblings about officials but they will be ostracized if they speak out. A lot of people are aware of this issue but nothing changes. So either they make a fundamental change or you will continue to see championship games plagued with bad officiating which may or may not decide that fate of who takes home the hardware.

By a good source I was told sometime ago that a certain KHSAA official picked his "buddies" that he officiated college games with to work the championship games before the season started which caused some animosity. When "politics" starts from the top, where do you think the changes need to start?

 

I think it is a quick fix. The Officials need to organize and stand up to the KHSAA and/or the Commish needs to base the selections on merit with no ifs ands or buts.

When they started using all star crews instead of regular crews the problems started to multiply

I think it is a quick fix. The Officials need to organize and stand up to the KHSAA and/or the Commish needs to base the selections on merit with no ifs ands or buts.

In Defense of the KHSAA and the Commish, It is my understanding that years ago (when there were only for classes) The big three of the officiating associations Lexington, Louisville, and Northern Ky used to get a championship game assigned to them each year and the fourth game was given to one of the remaining associations in the state. One of the other associations sued or threatened to file suit and they came up with a more "fair" way to spread out the championship assignments. Therefore they pick 2-3 officials from each association. If anyone can provide more info or clarify if this is still the way they do it I think it would answer a few questions about the quality of officiating in the championship games...

Officiating is down in playoffs this year. Tonight was no exception in LexCath-Belfry game. The impact lacked the drama of he NCC Mayfield game. But it was obvious it was not the A-team by far.

No good way to pick.guys for these games. Have to trust the asignor. I know one basketball guy that was rated no 1 for years and tackett said to not send him back?

The problem really is with the training of the officials. Some associations are better than others. IMO, if you're not good enough to work a state championship then get better! The kids deserve the best. Quit placating the mediocre.

Politics, plain and simple.

It is but also hard to rate officials as the buddy system is in full.force with coaches and the supervisors

The officiating crew BG saw in the Championship game was the worst one they had all year. Shouldn't be that way.

It's the same in every sport; the good ole' boy network is alive and well.

No good way to pick.guys for these games. Have to trust the asignor. I know one basketball guy that was rated no 1 for years and tackett said to not send him back?

 

It is but also hard to rate officials as the buddy system is in full.force with coaches and the supervisors

 

By my call name, I think you can guess that I will side with the officials. Here is the question I ask and I put you in the assignor seat- do you want the 25 year high school official that only does high school games( freshman , JV too) went to many camps early in his/her career and has worked playoff games or the 10 year younger official that works primarily OVC-MIdsouth conference college games, familiar with technology( microphones, timing pieces, etc ) goes to officiating camps in the summer and will work some Friday nights? Don't give me " the best official" BS - make the frickin' call and tell me who you choose and why.

There is no doubt KHSAA is having to 'reload' the referee ranks. Gven that it seems there should be effort to make efforts to:

 

a) Get top officials for top games - especially the semis and finals

b) Do what can be done to ensure crews can work together, even if for the first time. The officials are team and need to work as a team.

c) Do what can be done to get basic rules correct (example the Mayfield/NCC punt).

d) Not use the playoffs as a training ground for less experienced officials.

 

During the playoff I saw:

- A clear foward pass ruled a fumble. It was crappy ad-hoc shuttle pass but it was clearly behind the line and was a forward shuttle pass attempt. Maybe it was initentional grounding but it was without a doubt a pass by rule book definition.

- A pass interference that a completely neutral referee just observing the game from the sidelines said - "as a referee I usually stick up for my fellow refs, but they blew that one big."

- A live play flag changed to a dead ball call.

- A phatom facemask called from 50 yards away.

 

Its a hard job. Those that do it are not doing for the money for sure. But get the basics when it comes to understanding the rules correct. Keep the phantom calls to bare minimum. Missed calls are one thing and part of every game but phantom calls are bad. Team work as a crew is critical, knowing how to work together and knowing the correct coverage demands that officials know their 'position' and how it relates to the other officials coverage on each play.

 

Again, its a hard, mostly thankless role. Thanks to officials for giving up Fridays and weekends for basic pay and trying to do the best they can. This is not an individual issue as much as an organizational one.

By my call name, I think you can guess that I will side with the officials. Here is the question I ask and I put you in the assignor seat- do you want the 25 year high school official that only does high school games( freshman , JV too) went to many camps early in his/her career and has worked playoff games or the 10 year younger official that works primarily OVC-MIdsouth conference college games, familiar with technology( microphones, timing pieces, etc ) goes to officiating camps in the summer and will work some Friday nights? Don't give me " the best official" BS - make the frickin' call and tell me who you choose and why.

 

I reject your premise that "the best official" is a BS thing to say. The OP's original point is absolutely right, there needs to be a clear way to evaluate officials. Are they in always in good position? Are their eyes where they should be? How is their demeanor? Do they know/apply the rules properly? I don't know how that would work, but there has to be some way.

 

I get that the assigner has a tough job. I get that officiating isn't easy. I understand that it is getting harder and harder to get people to do it. I get all that... However, there are too many situations where officials are not in position, don't know the rules, etc. In the regular season, it makes sense - officials are spread thin. In the playoffs, and especially in the championship games, it is inexcusable.