Refs -- make the call

In less than a week the state boys' basketball tournament will begin, and every high school player and coach will try to achieve their season long goal -- winning the sectional and possibly winning the state title.

I promise you emotions will run wild and deep in every player who takes part in this tournament. And with that said, I want to point something out.

Now this blog is not an attack by any means. It just a concerned spectator speaking out.

I believe that officiating needs to tighten up. I have witnessed two games in the last week where I saw the officials letting the kids get away with almost anything. I watched a kid get intentionally tripped going up court with nothing more than a simple foul being called. I watched four players nearly beat each other into a pulp fighting for a rebound and a second shot and the ref never called anything.

Now I'm not saying that the refs should be calling every touch or every little push. I myself am a fan of letting the kids play and not calling anything unless it is worth calling. But I am not a fan of letting the players go out there and beat their opponents into the ground like this is some kind of street ball game. I played the game in high school and I was in the post, so I know it can get rough, but if the officials don't start calling things sooner or better than what they have been, someone is going to get hurt badly.

Then there will be a another host of problems to deal with than just a simple foul call.

I understand that there is a lot of pressure on the refs when the game is close and it's only a point or two that separates the winners and losers. But that doesn't mean you slack off and let the kids do what they want and not make a call. If you see two kids going at it rougher than they should, call the foul, or a double foul for that matter, and warn them to calm down. If they continue, then penalize them harder. Don't let them continue to doing what they are doing, or someone is going to get hurt.

Let's remember one thing -- although the players, the coaches, the schools and the fans don't think it is, high school basketball is just a game. There is no money to made or lost on a game or endorsements to get if you win a championship.

This is still the one place where basketball is what it is -- a game that is supposed to be fun.