HOT OFF THE PRESS!

I love it. I'm in the newspaper.  And it's not about a missed call. Or a rule I misinterpreted.  My local paper runs a who's who in town article every week and they picked little old me. 

It started out as an article about just my Webcomic and turned into an article about the WNBA.  I get some major airplay about my strip. It's in the PTW Sport section of the Parsippany this Week. Check it out: www.parsippanythisweek.com

Safe traveling

I realize the Daily Record broke the link on their website to my article. Below is the text to the article.  Enjoy.

What's the best part of being a WNBA referee?
The best part is refereeing basketball at its highest level. In the WNBA you have the best Division one college athletes competing in one league. This opportunity isn’t afforded to many. I recognize the blessing given to me and I cherish the moment.
  
How is officiating a WNBA game different than a NBA game?
Well, I never had the opportunity to work in the NBA.  The closest thing I can compare it to is the NBA Developmental League where I worked four seasons.  The men’s game is a lot more isolation play. The WNBA is definitely more team oriented.  In the men’s game the play is above the rim. With the emergence of players in the WNBA like Sylvia Fowles and Candice Parker, the league is destined to evolve in that aspect. 
The WNBA players are extremely crafty at fooling the referee or ‘fool the ref’ plays. I had to get use to how often the player’s flop and clamp. If you’re late in seeing two opponents lock up, more than likely you’ll get the play wrong.
 
What drove you to become a referee?
12 years ago my cousin approached me about refereeing. He worked two sports, basketball and baseball. At the time, I was still playing in a few New York City recreational tournaments. Refereeing was a great opportunity to stay involved in the game without beating my body up on the court.  I had just purchased a home so the extra money came in handy. There was referee class in the Kips Bay, in the Bronx. The program was run by S.U.B.O.A (Sports United Basketball Officials Associations), which lasted about four or five months. You started out learning the High School rules which you where continuously tested on. Later in the program they put you onto the court to referee 10th and 11th graders.  Each game was video taped and you would be critique on your position and appearance.  Back then call selection was the least of my worries.  I had a hard enough time remembering to blow my whistle when someone got fouled. Some will argue that I still don’t. I worked a lot of basketball. In a weekend you could probably work 8 -10 kids games on average.  Seeing plays over and over helped my ability to referee. I also had good people around me who pushed me to get better. Every summer I attended a different basketball camp where I was eventually invited to work Junior College basketball in New Jersey. This led to Division 1 basketball that soon led to the WNBA.

Why should children get into basketball?
Basketball is a classroom for life. It teaches so many valuable lessons. You learn responsibility, selflessness, persistence, integrity, leadership and teamwork. With all of your individual talents, if you don’t trust in your teammates, the team will never reach its full potential. 
 
What's the hardest thing about being a referee? 
Definitely the travel.  Being away from home and fighting through bad weather isn’t glamorous. Most of the time, I’m in a city two maybe three days.  It’s definitely exhausting whether driving or flying. The WNBA is unique in that they have a summer season.  The weather is a little favorable but equally exhausting.
Referees put in a lot of hours of work off the court. Staying in condition, eating right and video tape review. I try to get a tape of all of my games to look at plays. Tape review is the best way officials improve.
  
What's the most difficult foul to call?
For me the toughest calls are out-of-bounds plays. You try to focus on whether a player deflected a ball. If you don’t have the right angle you can’t tell if the ball changed direction because of a deflection. Out-of-bounds plays happen extremely fast and you can be easily fooled.
 Most people assume that Block-charge is the toughest call. Refereeing is about angles. Like every call if you don’t have the same camera angle it will look different depending on where you’re sitting. That’s why videotape review is helpful you can compare what you see to what is seen at live speed.  It’s a great tool. Referees get one shot. The television audience gets 5 or 6 times to see if the play is incorrect.
 
What's your best memory as a WNBA referee?
My best memory in the WNBA is my first game at Madison Square Garden. I was born in Brooklyn New York. I got that priceless feeling standing on the Garden floor. My wife, kids, relatives and close friends where in the audience. I can’t recall ever having that many butterflies before a basketball game. I don’t think I relaxed until after my first call. None of the other WNBA cities made me feel like this. This is without a doubt my biggest highlight.
 
What's it like working with WNBA players?
The players are great. They recognize the responsibility there blessed with. On the court the players want to win. They compete hard and they demand your best. During the game, if something is missed there will definitely be a response.
 
What's the first skill a child should develop to become a good basketball player?
Tough question.  You have to create good practice and work habits. If you start out with poor dribbling or shooting habits it becomes harder to break out of it. If you don’t have a coach, the Internet has so many free resources to help you with the fundamentals of the game. You have to practice, practice, and practice. Yes we’re talking about ‘Practice’. 
 
What's your blog's name and what's it about?
I do a webcomic called ‘Fouls and Violations’, Life of a referee uncovered. It’s the web comic that shows a fresh look at the referee world.  Outside of refereeing, I’m a freelance illustrator/ graphic artist.  I attended the School of Visual Arts in New York and I’ve worked in the creative world for 18 years.  I’ve always wanted to do a comic strip and what could be a better collaboration of two passions in my life, basketball and art.   Log on to www.foulsandviolations.net  four days a week. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.  Friday is the weekend color strip.