Halitosis

On February 24, 2010, I ran a series of strips about the subject halitosis. What inspired my thoughts was my inability to get teams out of the timeout huddles. There where things that really annoyed coaches. Like blowing your whistle, which in some leagues you’re not supposed to do. Or speaking loud or shouting to get there attention. This is also annoying and totally work against you.

So one day, I decided to have onion soup for lunch and skip the breath mints before the game. When a team didn’t leave the huddle, I spoke very calmly, “First horn.” Two players spun their heads around and said, “What the f&%#@.” Incredibly each player would back further away from me the more I encroached on their huddle.

I had another discovery that game. Coaches avoided long conversations with me. I think they where afraid to tell me, ‘You stink’. In fear that I would give them a technical foul.

What a thrill, a game with little to no conversation with coaches. I’m not sure it would work every game, but for forty minutes, life was grand.

Jack Plunkett

Long time women's college basketball referee Jack Plunkett passed away this season of a heart attack. Jack Plunkett, 56, is survived by his wife, Sue, and five children. The family lives in Jenkintown, PA.

Fellow division 1 official Warren Harding said, “Most people can’t name all the referees that worked the last three Final Fours. That’s because the greatest impact you make in life are not in your accomplishments but in how you help others around you.”

I met Jack Plunkett this summer. He was one of the instructors teaching about mechanics and positioning. He critiqued my performance once. He didn’t say much. He said enough. I never got an opportunity to speak with him again. What has been more profound to me is how after his death he has been able to impact so many. In a short period of time, I learned how wonderful a person Jack Plunkett was. Jack Plunkett, you should know that your peers have spoken so impeccably about your influence in there lives. You are loved and the referee community misses you.