Portions quoted from a recent ME-Hockey article ...
>the point was that if people only see Maine games either at Orono or away,
>but fail to see other games... e.g. Merrimack at N.U.  then you do not see
>Black Bearless games, and you do not see that college hockey can be played a
>different way...take my word for it if you will... but the game is very
>different when Maine is involved.
 
   Not in my experience.  Perhaps you could explain?  I see no reason to
   "take my word for it" when "it" isn't well defined and you can only
   suggest that we all don't understand and you do.
 
>sorry if I was insulting.... but trust me when I tell you that a fan cannot
>see the whole ice... a ref can... a ref can tell you how many guys are on
>the ice at any given time, and a ref can tell you who the 2 or 3 immediate
>past puck handlers were... that is who scored the goal and who he got the
>puck from and who he got it from.....
 
   Where to start?  I was going to leave the "see the whole ice" to
   others ...  too ridiculous ...  but ...  A ref might understand what
   he sees better than many fans.  Whereas many fans stubbornly see only
   their own team in a good light, some refs stubbornly think they are
   superhuman.  Thankfully, most understand they aren't and work to
   better understand their duties and improve on their execution.
 
   On the "ref can tell you the 2 or 3 immediate past puck handlers" ...
   Unless you're in some youth hockey where this is part of the ref's
   job, who cares.  I know lots of fans and announcers that are good at
   this also.  Come to think of it, you haven't described a ref, but an
   assistant SID ...  if you can also write and juggle a zillion duties
   at once.
 
   The very best refs understand what's going on around them.  Given the
   opportunity and when called for, the very best refs explain what they
   saw and applicable rules.  Trust earned.  IMHO, the very best refs
   think of themselves as part tutor and mentor, and show respect for
   players.  Even a poor ref understands that everyone's description of
   events is mostly unimportant, whether right or wrong, honest or
   otherwise.
 
How'd we get started on this?  Never mind. :-)
 
Go Maine!  Crush PC!
 
Wayne T. Smith
[log in to unmask]                          Old Town Landing
Co-owner of the College Hockey lists - Hockey-L and Hockey3