Monday, December 05, 2005

Bantam Weekend

On December 3rd we had bantam weekend. It was a chance for those of us with less experience with the bands a time to hone some skills. I got a good workout and a lot of opportunity to work on positioning which was needed for my future assignments. I did have a first for my officiating career during the weekend; a penalty shot.

A team from Little Rock, AR had a tight game going with the team from Nashville. Nashville was ahead by one goal with less than a minute to go in the game. LR pulled their goalkeeper and went with the extra attacker on the ice. Somehow Nashville made it out of the zone with the puck and was able to get a shot on an empty net. The shot was wide of the goal but for some reason the LR defenseman threw his stick at the puck. It's amazing that when you see this happen it's like everything is happening in slow motion. It took me a good two seconds to realize "Hey, you have the bands on, you have to make this call!" I throw up the arm and blow the whistle and then have to take the time to process what just happened. The player throwing the stick did not change the path that the puck was traveling; however he was there between the attacking player and the goal so it wasn't an automatic goal award. Amazingly I got that call correct on the ice and had to read the f-ing rule book afterwards in the locker room to make sure of that.

Turns out I was right and my partner was able to quote it almost verbatim before we found the rule. I am still amazed to have been able to assess that correctly right at that moment. That's all my ego needs is a boost that demonstrates that I evidently know what I am doing. Thankfully I still realize that I have much to learn and review. Hopefully that mentality will stick around for years to come.

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

First time with the bands on in 05'

It's been a while since my last officiating post. Well needless to say the season has begun. I'm on game #22 so far. Not quite as many games as fast as last year but the season is far from over. By the end of the weekend I will be closer to game #30. I drew Collierville High School vs Chrisitian Brothers High School in my first game of the high school season. Going into the game everyone knows that Collierville (the defending State Champions) are more than likely going to win and probably by a large margin. So, I actually expected the game to be fairly lax and easy. It turned out to be far from that.

It was about half way through the second period when there was a questionable hit that sparked a fight. Next thing I know one of Christian Brother's players is trying to get in between the fighters. So I ended up handing out two major penalties for fighting and game misconducts. The guy that jumped in got a game misconduct also for being the first to intervene. Needless to say the coaching staff was upset at the third man call but what can you do? (I have been there before and in the middle of a 6 man brawl due to the guy that is just coming to help break it up. It is really a one of a kind experience to watch two goal tenders duking it out though.)

After that set of calls though the game seemed to police itself which was a great feeling that a referee only gets "once in a blue moon". Too bad they all can't go that way.

Monday, September 05, 2005

Last trip to Biloxi

Well since everyone has seen the news it's easy to realize I won't be back in Biloxi, MS in the immediate future.

I spent the week of August 22nd thru the 25th there. Luckily I was scheduled to leave and come back on Labor Day weekend for the opening of the Hard Rock Casino so I wasn't there during the storm. Needless to say all of the hard work I did that week preparing Hard Rock was all for naught. The building was flattened by our good friend Katrina that decided to come through and remodel the coastal front and many lives with it.
It is totally a surreal experience to be able to look at places that were there one day and completely wiped out of existence the next.

One of my big bosses from Las Vegas was in town checking things out so we spent quite a bit of time with him that week. His one stipulation while we were in town was that we had to eat at local establishments the whole time we were there. No, O'Charley's or any other large chain restaurants; we had no problems finding good meals all week at many interesting places. It's hard to fathom that all of these places were completely leveled after the storm. One of the places we ate had been there for something like 125 years. I guarantee it is there no longer. It is a shame though it really had character.

I always enjoy my time while I am in Biloxi and usually get to make my trips to Mobile, AL, and Pensacola, FL, during the same time. Hopefully I'll get to go back shortly and the place won't look like a total war zone.

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

Mohegan Sun

Spending a week in Uncasville, CT this week. Mohegan Sun has the largest casino floor I have ever been on. My feet have the blisters to prove it. I never thought I would have a problem with the shoes that I have been wearing, but boy was I wrong. The Casino of the Sky was my favorite as far as decoration goes. I however loved the Casino of the Earth because of the cool ass wolves on top of the slot banks. Someone told me that they are on timers and one of the employees told me they howl when someone hits a jackpot. During the whole week I was there I only heard them howl once so I would believe the later was true.

While I was there I made it out to the US Naval Submarine Museum in Groton, Connecticut. It's kind of sad that it might not be open much longer. It receives no funding and depends on donations to keep the doors open. I found it interesting to see the history of subs and learned some things that I was not aware of.

Thursday, June 23, 2005

Yosemite Valley

I was out in Coarsegold, California for a week and on one of the last days I went sight seeing. Here's a couple of shots I took while I was in Yosemite National Park. It only took a 5 mile hike to get the picture of the grove of giant sequoyahs but I think it was worth it. They're truly unbelievable in person.

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Tuesday, March 08, 2005

Hey Ref, Where Have You Been?

It's been a while since I laced up some skates. The new job has had me out on tour, so far the list is:
Shreveport/Bossier City, LA
Atlantic City, NJ
Montgomery, AL
Birmingham, AL
Jacksonville, FL
Las Vegas, NV
Tulsa, OK
Oklahoma City, OK
Biloxi, MS
Mobile, AL
Pensacola, FL and the list keeps growing and growing.

I finally made it out to the driving range today. I have had my new irons for about two weeks now and haven't swung them until today. My golf game is going to need some major work to get it back in shape. Speaking of shape it is that time of the year again. It is time to start skating when available and hitting the gym to cut weight and get the body reshaped again. I have to pick out a work out regiment which I haven't decided on yet. I will put out an update when I have figured out what I am going to use.