REFEREE, the Magazine for Sports Officials

THIS MONTH’S HIGHLIGHTS RULES, MECHANICS, TECHNIQUES: One of the up-and-coming mantras that should dictate our actions on the court is … call live-ball situations; manage dead-ball situations. Learn how to do those correctly in the basketball article “Call Live Ball; Manage Dead Ball: Conquer the Concept to Improve Your Play-Calling.” The issue of how (or if) officials should apply an advantage/disadvantage philosophy to interpreting the rules is not a new one. However, officials’ opinions on that issue vary widely. Get guidance on the topic in the football article “When Extreme Judgment is Necessary: Officials Must Not Take Advantage/Disadvantage Too Far.” Study which pre-conditions must exist to call a foul in the soccer article “Know When to Cry ‘Foul’: Four Prerequisites Must Be Apparent to Call a Foul.” The safety of base coaches, protection of umpires and improving the pace of play were foremost among the 2009 NCAA baseball rule changes. Get all of the rule changes in the article “Helmets Required for Base Coaches: NCAA Adopts Safety Measure as Part of 2009 Changes.” Learn more about the 2009 NCAA softball rule changes in the article “Lines Reinforce Pitching Lane: NCAA Softball Rules Committee Makes Chute More Visible.”

FEATURES: Hank Nichols enjoyed a productive career as one of the NCAA’s top basketball officials before taking on the challenge of standardizing rule interpretations and officiating practices across the country. Learn more about the former NCAA national coordinator of men’s basketball officials in “‘You’ll Have a Job for Life.’” Standards in officiating — What does that mean? Simply put, it’s a collection of behaviors professional and major college supervisors have put in place to address accountability and standardize officiating. Is it happening at your level? Find out in “Set a Standard.” We have a year’s worth of opinions swimming around in our officiating-soaked brains. And since it’s an election year, we even share our officiating picks for president and vice president in “The Absolutely True No-Argument List of Our Opinions.” Dr. Ray Bernabei, known to some of those closest to him as simply “Dr. Ray,” served as the first and only executive director for the National Intercollegiate Soccer Officials Association (NISOA). His impact on NISOA and those tied to the organization is immeasurable. Learn how his legacy lives on in “Dr. Ray.”

COLUMNS & DEPARTMENTS: Our “News” section leads off with coverage on Ed Bilik, the secretary-rules editor for NCAA men’s basketball, announcing his retirement. “Back to Basics” gives tips on how to turn confrontations into a positive outcome in “Sell the Tough Call: Conflict Resolution.” In this month’s “Last Call” article “My Wife’s a Ref — Now What?” a husband shares how it can be tough to be married to an official.