Yesterday was an odd day. For a variety of reasons (including one really good one), we were missing SIX referees. (The good reason came from Mark, who had had complete knee-replacement surgery three days earlier...BUT STILL SHOWED UP!) So, I had to ref a couple games by myself. As an ice-breaker (and with faint hopes that it might actually work to some degree), I got both teams together before the tipoff and said, "I'm sorry guys, we've had a perfect storm of a bunch of refs being out today, so please just do me a favor and don't commit any fouls." That usually gets a laugh and (one hopes) a little sympathy for my plight.
Well, the game between Serpientes and Maze Runners got off to a flying start. It was two really solid teams playing at a fast pace. After six minutes, I realized that I hadn't had to call a foul. Both teams were playing really clean basketball. At eight minutes, then 10...again, nothing. Finally, with four minutes left in the half, I called a foul. That was it for the first half, in which Maze Runners put on a late surge to break open a tight game and take a 52-39 lead. Serpientes made a run in the second half, but a short bench caused them to fall back late, with Maze Runners coming away with an 87-63 win. The final tally: THREE FOULS IN THE ENTIRE GAME! Heavenly.
In action on Court 1 (Rob's Court), Splash Pad kept their unbeaten mark going with a nail-biting 71-68 win over Blue Coconuts. The last five games of the night were decided by a total of 21 points. Icy Hots beat Underdogs, 46-41. NOVA beat Prestige Worldwide, 76-72. Swoosh got by Hoop Hooligans, 57-53. The Other Guys slipped past Los Payasos, 35-30. And Los Toxicos beat The Boys, 67-64.
I have mentioned my admiration for Nobel Prize winner John Nash, he who is said to have possessed "A Beautiful Mind." Well, my mind certainly isn't beautiful, but it is mildly attractive when it comes to noticing number patterns. Look at those games I listed. Five games, five close scores, but look closer. One game in the 30s, one in the 40s, one in the 50s, one in the 60s, and one in the 70s. Lots of different ways to play, lots of different ways to win. That's way cool!
We're heading down the stretch in what is turning out to be a great season. That's remarkable, considering the way I mishandled the first two weeks. It was like the Control Room at Chernobyl, right before the meltdown. (It's amazing how so many smart people made so many dumb decisions in such a short period of time.) We've gone three straight weeks (over 100 games) without a forfeit, blowouts are few and far between, and almost every team is adhering to the uniform/jersey rule. But, alas, not everybody. There are still three or four teams that haven't made an attempt to acquire jerseys or to even buy some cheap T-shirts and slap some numbers on them.
Yesterday, a team (of good ballplayers) showed up; one guy had a team jersey on with the team name and a number, Two other guys had T-shirts on with numbers on them. Everybody else just had on T-shirts with no numbers and one guy wore a wife-beater like he ain't got no mama. That's unacceptable. Another time, a team with really cool matching green jerseys showed up, but they had two (apparently new) guys with plain black T-shirts with no numbers. That is also unacceptable.
As of today, you have at least five weeks to have your roster posted and to have your jersey/T-shirt situation squared away. If you do not, YOUR TEAM WILL NOT PLAY IN THE PLAYOFFS! We will issue a pro-rated refund because you will be missing out on at least one game that you paid for. I really, really, REALLY don't want to do this, but I will. It's just not right that the vast majority of teams have taken the time and effort to help make the Tucson Basketball League more special than ever while a handful of teams have been slacking.