saofficial(Aust): I must say that I have read both pages of this thread to this point and cannot really understand your point. Sure safety is the primary issue, and I believe most of us who have been doing this for some time have that as the first priority. To spend all this time quibbling over what can or cannot be seen in a few photos has really become tiresome. If you actually wanted to improve as an official instead of seeking some sort of notoriety or other hidden goal, then you have plenty of folks with decades of experience on this board from whom to draw. I urge you to adopt an accepting attitude and strive to improve so that you can indeed look out in the best way possible for the safety of the players.
And just as a historical note, if you can discern some difference between “when in question” and “when in doubt”, then you are indeed a better man. I was there when this “when in question” phrase hit the NCAA rule book. David M. Nelson, then the editor of the NCAA rules book, was the featured speaker at a rules clinic in Houston some time back in the early ‘80’s. He promulgated a series of “when in doubt” rulings that he was going to bring to the rules committee for the following season. Mr. Raleigh Girourd, a very iconic Cajun referee from the Beaumont Chapter who was made of the same humor as Red Cashion, piped up and told Mr. Nelson that while every now and then he may be in question, that he was never in doubt. All in the place fell over themselves laughing, especially Dave Nelson. The next year, all those proposed rule rewrites came out with the phrase “when in question”. The moral of this true story? Don’t take yourself so seriously, lighten up and work a good game.
