RefBlog

Finally! Finals!

Finally, we had some nice weather. Still upper-80s, but the humidity had gone down to a reasonable level, and we had a nice breeze... no strike that, gusty wind to keep us cool. The only downside is that it caught any ball high enough and immediately sent it out of play.

Unlike many of the games that preceded it on this small pitch, teams weren't foaming at the mouth to win to take someone out. Someone once said that, traditionally, championship games are played more conservatively - that may or not be true (and may or may not apply, since while the winner wins the districts, they still get to keep playing the loser goes home for the summer), but it certainly happened here. And for the second game at the tournament, it went to kicks from the penalty mark. There were goals, but about 15 minutes into the second half, they just up and stopped.

I just have to reiterate what I said earlier about kicks from the penalty mark - although if you pick a team at random you have a 50% chance of getting it right, I'm thinking I may want to put my theory to the test, that the more athletic keeper, the one that has that classic keeper look will end up winning the kicks. That was the case here, although it did go seven rounds.

I had almost no trouble at all during the game, the single card issued was taken well, and the team that was offended, after a second, was OK with it as well. Most notable confrontation with myself had to do with the setting of a wall; the defense put up a four-man wall just four yards from where the free kick was to have taken place. When the kicker asked for me to place the wall, I set them back on honest ten yards (meaning that if I'm going to err, it'll be on the side of allowing more... one of the things emphasized to me at Regionals was that if a wall is less than 10 yards, it can kill a good kick; and besides, they DID break the Laws by the committing the foul).

"Ref, you've moved us twenty yards!" It was probably closer to eleven, although I still wasn't sure if I moved them back far enough.

"You thought you had ten yards, I think this is ten yards. Next time make it close and you won't have me setting the wall again, will you?"

Worked - I never set the wall for them again.

31 July '04 - 22:46 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

"Sorry, coach; the ref is suffering from heat stroke"

I really should have been able to run better than I did, but I think the four days of high humidity, coupled with more games that I would have liked to have, have just put the burn on my body - I'm not recuperating well enough. All the refs are tired and beat, and we're just trying to minimize mistakes - I tried some self-deprecating humor to cover some of my really bad slip ups. Fortunately for me, they happened at dead-ball situations and were easy to correct.

One was reading my own card wrong about who was kicking off from where (you basically apologize and ask everyone to back to the other half again), and the second was a substitution opportunity where I whistled the subs back before realizing that yes, they were on the same team as the thrower. I responded with some humor, "Sorry, coach; the ref is suffering from heat stroke." The parents had some fun with it, and I went along, adding things like, "Can you move off the line a bit? I need to make some room for the players; not to mention, this is my second game, and I stink." It seemed like my goofs were forgiven.

I mean, I had a line for a 17 girls and a center for a 14 girls for crying out loud; I should have no problems keeping up, but I just wasn't holding up. Once the sun went down, though, I found out that, hey look, I can run again! It's just been that kind of week.

---

I did hear, from another referee, the most vile thing I think I've ever heard a coach say, to an 16-year-old girl from the other team: "You look like a man, and kick like one, too." I've worked with this ref many-a-time, like him a whole lot, and am happy to say he booted the coach right then-and-there, and then reported it to the league representative who was at the tournament.

30 July '04 - 09:27 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

Added some links that might be of interest

I've reshuffled my links list slightly, to add some things that might be of consumer interest (or stuff to buy for those who aren't economists). I've received no compensation for them - I just happen to like the stuff, and thought you might be interested in them:

• Oh, how I love my pigskin wallet! For my first couple years reffing, I used those vinyl referee wallets like everyone else, and taped them together like everyone else, and went "ewww" when they got all sweaty, like everyone else. I've had one of these pigskin wallets for two years now, and it's in fantastic shape. Kudos to Doug Harris!
  
• To counterpoint the pigskin wallet, is another handy piece of equipment I've had for several years, the custom write-on card set. Best part about these cards, you use pencils, not Sharpies (so no ink blotches on your jersey!). Also has, in addition to the standard red and yellow cards, cards for kicks from the penalty mark, and a card for keeping track of those pesky NCAA substitutions. Oh, did I mention that he customizes them for you?
  
• Do indoor or unaffiliated games? Does your high school association not have their own badge? Using the USSF badge is a no-no, so do you just go with the tennis ball look on your chest? The answer is no, you do not have to. Glenn Sogge has resumed production of Jim Gordon's very nice generic referee badge. Made to keep you looking good, and out of trouble.
  
• Not really ref-gear, but I've read one issue, and I quite liked it: The Emerald City Gazette is more than a 'zine for the fans and by the fans - it's an intelligent, and often irreverent look at soccer in the US. I quite liked it.

(more)

30 July '04 - 09:13 - - default| two comments, already - § ¶

Reminder of why I don't do tournaments

I suppose it has to be done from time-to-time to remind yourself why you don't do somethings. Grocery stores you don't like, people you hang out with, tournaments. I have a few exceptions, and I hoped this might be one to add to the list, but... well, maybe. I quite liked the level of play, have enjoyed the games, but there was still too many of them. This was coupled with, and that's no fault of the organizers, a nasty wave of heat and humidity that's just pounding the crap out of our bodies.

I turned back a bunch of games - I have no idea how people who took a bunch more are doing it. I'm turning to some bad, lazy habits, as part of survival, so I can give something to the next game - it's not fair, but the alternative is they get nothing at all, which I suppose is more unfair. Ick.

And wouldn't you know it, my last game is the most challenging; and, at first glance a younger version of the game I had on the first day: a largely hispanic team versus a team of Caucasians and African-Americans; and boy they started out like they didn't like each other. There was one player in particular, who had a special kind of venom for a midfielder of another team; he'd complain about tactics, if there was contact, he'd cry out and carry on. Fortunately, the midfielder didn't get into it at all, so I was able to spend my time coaxing the antagonist to calm down and play the game.

In some ways, it looked less like a soccer game (again, a really small field - not a good thing for sixteen-year-olds), and more like a hockey game. No fights, fortunately, but lots of bumping, collisions, and jawing. The antagonist on the home team was the one leading the charge in bad behavior, but was just under the threshold of getting a caution - I was thinking if I could caution him, he'd have to tone things down a bit, which would in turn ramp down the emotional tenor a bit. I thought I had my chance when he pushed a player in the penalty area, but dang it, the kid that was pushed embellished it... badly. Enough for a foul, certainly, and an end to his team's attack, but pulling out plastic would have seemed ludicrous in view of what was merely a two-star performance. If he didn't add the dive, it would have been an easy sell, but now it was a near impossible one (and one that would have led to more diving).

I did get a card in during the first half, on another player of the same team, who neglected to play the ball at all, during an attack by the visitors - but it wasn't the player that would have benefited most from the formal caution; but you take the hand you're dealt and see if you can make it work.

Second half was calmer to begin with - the game was scoreless and apparently the coaches emphasized playing the game rather than knock the other kid's knickers off. Then the home team scored... twice, and we were back to that old theme of, "It now our last game of the season... get them!" Now the visitors were mucking things up, which led to more scores (because they weren't concentrating on the game), and a couple of cautions, including from the player who was the calm one in the beginning of the game.

Strangely enough, for a more emotionally heated game than what I had in my first center of the tournament, there was one fewer caution. Of course, there were two penalty kicks from players doing stupid things that didn't involve the ball, so maybe it evens out or maybe even goes over (the first one would have been a caution as well, but I couldn't pick out the exact player, between the three surrounding the attacker, who was the perp - thank goodness for differently colored socks!). But I have to say, it was fun, holding together a game that certainly had the possibility of getting ugly.

29 July '04 - 14:37 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

Just an interesting stat

I've been keeping track of the games I've done (needed for rectification purposes). These are the number of just USSF games I've done.

• 2001 (my first year): 50 games, highest center was U16 (six of those), highest AR was U17 (2). Center to AR ratio was 27-23
  
• 2002 (still unsure): 56 games, but the mix is a bit more dramatic: only 3 U16 centers, and one U17 middle. But I had lines a U19 game, three U18 games, and four U17 games. I actually lined far more games this year, with 36 lines and only 20 middles.
  
• 2003 (decided I rather liked doing this): up to 80 games. I started doing adult "recreational" games, with 8 centers and 15 lines. In the youth ranks (which are competitive leagues), I had a U18 middle, five U17s, and four U16s. I also had two U19 and three U17 lines. My center to AR ratio was 39-41.
  
• 2004 (not even done yet): 83 games so far, including five at Regionals (one of those was a center). I haven't done as many adult games (eight centers, five lines), but I've centered two U19 games, two U18, six U17, and seven U16s. AR for another two U19 games, seven U18, three U17, and three U16. I've had 42 middles compared to 41 lines.
  
• This means that in four years, I've reffed 269 USSF games (not including shorted games for tournaments like the USA Cup); in 128 of those games I held the whistle, and in 141 I slung a flag.
  

This list doesn't include high school - the NFHS doesn't really care how many games, and at what level, I do.

28 July '04 - 19:52 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

Girls games at the tournament

More of the district tournament today, and oh crap was it humid (that's what you get for reffing in July, I suppose). I ordered some UnderArmor underwear and t-shirts, but they're not yet in, so I just had to make due with drinking about a gallon of water, eating a number of apples, and trying to keep the sweat out of my eyes.

I had three girls games today, two centers and a line. Unfortunately, like the boys game, the field wasn't really right for them. This one was long-and narrow, which was much better suited for the boys than the girls. Typically, and I am talking in broad generalizations, women and girls play much wider than boys and men (and as a referee you don't go as deep as with the opposite gender), so if I had to make a compromise, I'd have the field be shorter and wider rather than longer and narrower. This field was somewhere around the area of 120x50, which still gave us more space than the boys from last time.

The first was a division 2 game of 15-girls, which was hard-fought, highly skilled, but otherwise uneventful. One team was clearly more aggressive than the other, which was clearly more skilled. A neat battle between brains vs. brawn that ultimately went past regulation and extra time without a goal. Penalty kicks is not a great way to end a game, because sometimes one team, especially at the youth level, will have a far greater advantage. The skilled team's goalkeeper was tall and could cover a larger amount of the goal-mouth; the aggressive team's keeper was, like me, short, stocky, and quick to challenge the ball-carrier when she entered the penalty area - good on the field, but a decided disadvantage when it comes to defending a kick from the penalty spot (I think, this is why I've only seen one short goalkeeper who played professionally (in Vancouver), Tino Lettieri, who's nickname was "The Roman Pony"). Maybe because I share the characteristics of that second keeper, I tend to like the old MLS shootout system before penalty kicks; not that they have to be used during a regular league game, but if their has to be a winner, I'd rather have it decided on a more likely game scenario than kicks from the mark.

I had a second center after a break, a 17 girls game, but in the third division - and the quality of play was evident. The 2nd division teams would have wiped the floor with these girls - but they played hard, had fun, and that's all that really matters. I was warned that the parents on one side tended to go nuts, and that their players were mouth (and they were a bit, even when winning 7-0), but we really didn't have much of a problem. There was one card against them when a player, not two minutes after I talked to another of her team about not playing the ball on a challenge, steamrolls over an opponent, followed by the inevitable shots of, "Call it both ways, ref!" Oh, man I wanted to burst out laughing.

The third was a 13 line, but it was so hot and humid, I was wondering what the heck I was thinking about taking four for the next day. And I was nuts, I compromised a principle I decided to take about not working more than three games - but it was a lot easier to enforce before I did tournaments. I guess this is just reminding me why I don't do them.

28 July '04 - 09:01 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

District tournaments

Today started the first day of District Tournaments for the entire region. Basically all the 2-4th division youth teams compete against other from their area to qualify for the state tournament (1st division has their own separate playoff system - probably because there is far few of them that they don't need to be this elaborate). This is different than the State Cup I wrote about earlier in the summer; the State Cup is done early because it needs to coincide with all the Regional tournaments, which run the same week, which is because the national championship tournament is in July; this means those in the northern half of the country have their State Cups in the beginning of the season, and the invitees are selected based on the governing body's best guess on who would best compete. This leaves the end-of-season tournament to work out the best of the lower divisions (who, except with a few exceptions in the 2nd division) don't compete in the State Cup. I've had a couple players try to explain the promotion-relegation system to me, and while the State Tournament does fit into it, it's not nearly as neat and tidy as say, the Nationwide league. For some reason, the US just has to make things difficult.

However, they did decide to abide by the new Law changes (more)

27 July '04 - 21:23 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

Kind of an irony

Kind of an irony, the same call I had to make regarding overriding an offside call, had to be made against me, too. Very similar circumstances to what happened before, as you could imagine: far side, crowded, played in an offside position, ball jumps to that person. You pop the flag and let the center sort it out, and he did. Nice.

What was really interesting about this game is what it takes for a team that's short four players only loses 1-0. In this case, it was a combination of a good offside trap, an opponent that didn't understand what an offside trap was, and very good goalkeeping. The trap kept their opponents outside of the penalty area, and the keeper did a nice job handing the long balls sent in. Of course, being that shot, they didn't muster too much of an offense, but add a couple more players (did I mention their opponents also had subs?), and they would have easily won that game. Wow.

26 July '04 - 21:52 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

USA Cup Diary - Recap of days 5 through 9

Eeesh. OK, technically I had more free time than in Regionals, but it didn't really work out that way. So, since this, the final day of USA Cup has come-and-gone for me, I'll try to recollect my thoughts and put together a synopsis of what happened in the days I missed:

Tuesday: As I mentioned, we went to the red flag again, but was soupy even before then. By the end of the day, I was happy for a U12 girls center on the small fields again, just because I didn't have the endurance after 2 1/2 games. The half (or closer to a quarter) came with my filling in for another referee who hadn't made it to the game yet. Sometimes the logistics of a tournament this large (700-800 teams... maybe more?) require moving from one field to another, and fields get behind... and frankly, this place is massive. So it's pretty standard procedure to fill in for someone, and have them take over when they get there. But after a mere ten minutes on the line, I was already soaked.

The US Open Cup game, (more)

24 July '04 - 11:30 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

USA Cup Diary Day 5 - Mini Entry

More soup today - went to a Red Flag for my final game.

Also went to see the US Open Cup game between the Minnesota Thunder and LA Galaxy - fun game, well officiated. MLS side caught off-guard and got nasty in the second half.

Need to get sleep - early game tomorrow. I'll write more about today, assuming I live through tomorrow.

20 July '04 - 22:28 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

USA Cup Diary Day 4 - Slogging

Yellow flag came up today... and boy was it needed. The organizers use a flag system to alert people to weather conditions, and how they affect games. It's pretty straight forward:

• Green Flag: All games go ahead as normal
  
• Yellow Flag: Add a two minute water break, this does not eat into the game time.
  
• Red Flag: Cut five minutes from each half, add water breaks; if it's a playoff game, no overtime.
  
• Black Flag: It's so freakin' hot out that all games are suspended.

I've made a joke from time-to-time, with teams that go to the tournament, about USA Cup weather, and man oh man was this is. I had a 17 boys line that, even in the morning, really slathered out the sweat in what was a not-very-intense game. The center I had for 14-year-old girls at two in the afternoon was. It was icky. Heck, it's 8:30 pm and the heat index is still 88 degrees! I was able to stick with play, but I felt my running was crap, and my positioning was even worse - I shouldn't have a problem keeping up with those girls, but apparently I'm having more of a difficult time adjusting to the humidity than I hoped.

One girl, near the end of the game, started moving very slowly after a goal kick, and then when the play was back in that end, was slow to go as well. Klaxons went off in my head, and I checked on her: she said she was fine, but her lips were shaking. I decided, rather than embarrass her by calling out the coach to take her out then-and-there, I discretely ran over to the bench and told the coach that she didn't look good, and he should sub her out... now. Fortunately he did. She didn't go to the bench, just stepped of the field, and stopped. The field manager was on the ball, and was over there shortly, but the parents didn't want him to call medical: "She's a tough girl!" Ohmyfreakinggod she'll be a dead girl if she plays while dehydrated. The field marshall said the same to the coach, I told the coach at the game-card signing, and then, while waiting for a cart, pleaded to the parents to just go over to headquarters and have medical look at her.

It's supposed to be worse tomorrow - more heat indexes into the upper 80s, high humidity, sunny... and if it rains, it'll be scattered, just increasing the amount of steam in the sauna.

I'm so cooked, it's not even nine o'clock and I want to go to bed.

19 July '04 - 20:21 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

USA Cup Diary Day 3 - Weekend Finals

12-girls final today, one year lower than last year, but then again... not every ref gets a game, let alone a center... and frankly, the game was fun. I've made a real effort to run and get into the best possible position on these small-sided games... mostly because I can, but also because I hope it'll reenforce my body to get into similar positions when dealing with larger pitches. Another reason is to reinforce what I hope is good mechanics and a work-ethic for those other referees who don't have a lot of experience. It might actually be working too, a guy I know from the last couple years said that a lot of those younger kids in the referee tent liked watching my games because of what I was doing - not just myself in the center, but how I involved the assistants. I'll try not to be smug - I find I really like it when I work with others who give it 100% out there.

And we had fun during the game, both assistants and I - joking about a little if a call was corrected; not that everyone would agree with our calls (heck, if we called it the way they wanted it, there would be five penalty kicks instead of just one... but more of that later), but I think, at least in this instance, we blended professionalism and... humor's not the right word, maybe levity - but just enough that it was clear that we were enjoying ourselves while still taking the game seriously.

And a tight game it was, too. The first goal came twelve minutes into the match, and required my running over to the AR to double check, as he had a sort of deer-in-the-headlights look. He had done some net repairs (something I often forget about in tournaments, because the schedule ends up taking precedence, under the assumption that the grounds staff has taken care of the basics... well, that's my excuse, anyway), but the shot ricocheted off the back stanchion (inside the goal) and through a hole that was missed in the side. I saw it go through, the trail AR did, but he was in a position where he wasn't sure, so after a quick check, and confirmation, we counted the goal and restarted

As I've said before, I like a good physical game, but then the home side had a few injuries that just sort of worried me. First, a player gets hurt on a fair, and frankly not too hard shoulder charge. As the coach came on to tend the player, I checked the the AR, saying, "I blew the whistle but haven't said what we're doing to restart. It looked like a fair charge to me, but if I'm wrong, this is a great chance to tell me, because we can easily call it a change of mind and a foul." She said nope, that it was a clean charge, and we restarted with a drop ball.

Soon after, a player on the same team was shielding a ball so her keeper could pick it up, and ended up going over the keeper with the attacker on top. I told the keeper (who did get the ball), to keep the ball for a moment, talked to the attacker, then the defender, explaining if I called the foul, they only have one choice for the restart. I'm not sure if she quite understood, but the keeper did.

Soon after that, another player on the same team goes down, and needs the coach to come out after she and an attacker went up for a header and collided into each other. In another aside to the AR: "Am I missing something here, or are we just having bad luck with them getting knocked about? Am I being too lenient?" Again, another vote of confidence. I tried to express in my pre-game that I am not proud, and that if they think I'm wrong, they need to tell me - I'd rather get it ugly but right.

One more injury, this time from the other team, and one that pulled me in two different directions. The home team has the ball deep inside the penalty area, and could score at any second, and then a visiting player comes to me saying she has a bloody nose (she did, too). Typical young kid training says stop the game immediately to deal with bloody nose; referee desire to not take away a legitimate scoring chance from home (a drop ball would kill the type of chance they had to score - a player was moving left-to-right on top of the goal area with the ball, looking for an opening). The bleeding player was not a defender, so this wasn't an unfair advantage... and I wanted them, especially in this game, to have their fair shot. So I asked the player to stay there (I wasn't going to move), and gave home a few seconds... which they used to score and tie the game. Phew! It happened so fast that it turned into a non-issue - I followed the player to the bench, and told the fourth official to inspect her uniform when she went back into play.

This was clearly the first time our fourth official had done this sort of thing, too. Unlike State Cup, there is no training for fourths in the USA Cup, and if you don't watch professional soccer at all, you might not know what to do. Our fourth got in a little late, so we started without him, and I gave the quick mini-training at halftime (well, not quite, I asked him to drop the AR flag and just hold his hand up, like he would for an indirect kick, when telling me I had a sub).

"Here's a quick list of duties you'll need to know as a Fourth Official. First, and you know this already, it's deal with subs. Just hold your hand straight up when there's a sub ready. I'll look at you every dead ball, so just be ready for it. Second is to help us out with things we may have missed - do some subtle signals for balls out of play, especially if the senior AR is at the other end of the field and there was a quick transition - and let me know if there was any misconduct happening, although if that happens in this game, god help us. Third, and this is probably the most important thing, is lie to the coaches: when they start complaining, do what you need to, to keep them from going overboard. Say things like, 'Yes, I understand. I'll let them know as soon as I can.' Whatever. Actually, the most important thing is to get us water at halftime or after the game, but since the water tank is back at the ref, tent, I think we can excuse you from that."

At which point, the senior AR pipes in, saying it wasn't that far for him to get us water.

The second half looked like the visitors would take control, dominating play and scoring eighteen minutes into the half... but then one of their players had a brain fart. After the keeper outstretched her hands to grab a ball, unsuccessfully, she did the same thing, but got it. Opps - penalty kick... which was saved! Nine times out-of-ten that's it - after the keeper saves the penalty kick, the momentum becomes firmly entrenched, but in the final six minutes of the game, the home team scores three times, to tie, take, and then extended the lead to a final of 4-2. It was a magnificent come-from-behind win for any team, of any age.

18 July '04 - 20:05 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

USA Cup Diary Day 2 - When Mom is on your side

Games start getting older on Monday - there's less of the younger kids (of the older kids, I've seen plenty of State Badges, which is pretty typical here). The referee shortage situation was much better today; the only club lines I saw were where they were supposed to be, when another referee was running a bit late. So I had three more of the younger kids, all centers. The first was a 12-girls, and it was pretty typical: a lot of fun, not a lot of challenge. Then I had a couple of boys games:

The first, a 12-boys, must have thought I was picking on one of the teams, because two of the biggest calls I made went against them. The first was early, an obstruction against the keeper which nullified a goal they thought they made: an attacker on a corner kick was standing directly behind him, not playing the ball - on a ball the keeper would have saved otherwise (how could I tell? He was looking forward, not at the ball at all). The second was a call they thought would be a penalty kick, but I ruled an indirect - against for impeding. Not denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity, but it was a pretty good one denied, and an ineffectual indirect free kick.

I wasn't totally against them (I wasn't at all, actually) - I reamed out one player in the first half, who after being beaten on a hard charge, rode the player in the back for a while. As a referee, you don't normally want to card at that age - although I think those who say never are dead wrong. The reason being is that they really should be learning the game at this point, and if you're not creating those teachable moments (even if it's with a raised voice, which mine was), you're not doing your job. At halftime, the junior assistant said that his Mom agreed with me for the bitch-out session; when the kid's Mom is on your side you know you're doing a good job.

The third game was a playoff between a pair of eleven-year boy's teams... although it turned into a bloody slaughter. Well, considering what I write about sometimes, maybe I should say that. But when the game ends 11-0, the term slaughter certainly applies. I felt bad for the losing team; they were beaten on all fronts: organization, skill, size, and speed - but they didn't give up. I also had a yelling session, after the eleventh goal, when the celebration including the miming of a shoe shine - absolutely unnecessary, and everyone heard it. Sometimes, the difference between a card and not a card is how you react to the initial outburst from the ref: any complaints, attitude or continuing of the celebration would have brought out plastic - but they immediately stopped. I actually ran into the goal scorer on my way back to headquarters, and he apologized. I explained why, this time in more detail, why I came down. I think we came to an understanding: close game, early in the game, OK (maybe a quiet word from me if it took too long), double-digit lead, not OK. Sometimes kids don't think of being on the other end of a blowout.

17 July '04 - 19:52 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

USA Cup Diary Day 1 - Small Sides

Apparently during USA Cup Weekend (the actual big tournament doesn't start until Monday) there are a lot more small-sided games. They actually have two maps of the National Sports Center campus, one for the weekend, where several additional fields are split for small sided games, and the map for the rest of the week.

Normally, I don't do games for eleven and twelve year-olds - I've only ever done one outside of tournaments... and they're fun. For the most part, no hassle, no fuss, all fun. OK, not much of a challenge, either, but what the heck. You gotta have some fun between what will become very difficult games as the tournament progresses... or not.

I had the most interesting check-in I've ever experienced... although the it was caused by a game already going on while I was checking in the team. As I finished the last player in the checkin, two of the players in the 19-boys game streak past us, and start fighting right next to the girls who were about to play. The coach panics, I get between the combatants (which is rapidly rising as more players join in) and decided to put something into practice I neglected to do the last time I saw a fight in a game... I took numbers. As it turned out, the AR on that side had the same ones, but it's an improvement from the last time something like this happened.

Apparently Northwest Airlines (which has been ranked the worst in the world by Salon) had a computer problem at the Minneapolis airport, and they totally shut down for a good chunk of yesterday, canceling most flights into the city. Since the USA Cup depends on out-of-state and out-of-country referees, it put them into a serious crunch. When one AR didn't show up between my first and second game, I volunteered to pitch in until he came in... except that I stayed for the entire game... and was offered more when I went to get my schedule for tomorrow. Travel issues do happen from time-to-time, and they're usually sorted out by Monday. A potential hassle, yes, but the benefits of working with such diverse officials seriously outweighs it.

16 July '04 - 20:14 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

USA Cup Bound

Actually, I've already arrived - I went ahead and decided to do the whole shebang (the USA Cup Weekend, as it were). I'll see if I have time to do a journal like I did with Regionals - I do have internet access, so I may be able to keep this relatively up-to-date, too.

15 July '04 - 15:46 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

Offside overruled

There's a section in Pierluigi Collinas book where he talked about having to override an offside call; he describes that because of the field, when he went to talk to the coach that was going to end up conceding a goal because of his decision, it looked, unintentionally, like he was going down on one knee to plead. The reason being is that while the player was in an offside position, he saw the ball being played by the defense, and the AR didn't - which is why let play continue. I had a similar situation happen to me, although I didn't have to make such a grand gesture.

It was a 19-boys game, and strangely enough I didn't have to run nearly as much as I did with the 15's. Ahh, the lack of "boom ball" - and it pretty much went without incident. It was nice, to do a game laden with that much testosterone, and come out scott-free. It was even nicer that I was able to make that decision about the flag without much fuss, either.

I've got one more game until the end-of-season tournaments start. This means a lot of games in a short period of time - then a big long wait until high school starts.

15 July '04 - 15:05 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

Muddy, yet rock hard

You know a field is in poor condition when it's been rained on literally all day, yet is still rock hard. After watching the rain pour all day, I thought immediately that it was a cleats type of day, for both the 17 girls line, and the 15 boys center I had to do, but once I went to the field, I was unsure. Once the field had been used a bit and was coated with a bit of muddy slime, turf shoes would be out, but cleats would still be uncomfortable. In the end, one has to opt for a bit less of comfort when it comes to running, rather than risk a whole lot more when you get all muddy from slipping.

There was another issue - the games were scheduled an hour and a half apart, except when you reach 17, the games run the full 90, so there was no way possible the second would start on-time. Add one team not having their roster ready by game time (and if it's not ready, league rules say you don't play), and the use of the field as a launching pad for fireworks... well, we were lucky to get the second game started on-time.

The games themselves went pretty much without a hitch - which is good because I had a warning about both teams from the assignor. The first team had a warning about an overzealous parent; I had a talk with the coach and was confident that if something happened, he would take care of it. I had worked with this team before, and the parents were very opinionated, but it didn't bother me (parents usually don't - coaches on the other hand...) - then again, I was a center last time, so it was easy for me to scoot away. The second warning had to do with a coach on the 15 boys team that had given a ref some problems; no problems for me, because apparently that ref kicked him out and sent his pass to the league - good for him!

You can tell though, that kids emulate their coaches. Because they liked to complain - and it was silly, because they were at the point where they wanted to give up attacks just to raise the foul count.

"They just did the same thing we did, why didn't you call that?"
"Because when you did it, it stopped their attack dead. You guys played right through it. Why do want me to stop the play and let their defense reset?"
"But they just did the same thing!"

OK, they're fourteen and fifteen - but most teams, even at that age, realize what the advantage call is, and will hound you if you blow the whistle instead of letting the play go on. They also complained about being called for fouls more often, but they were the more aggressive team; nothing wrong with it, but that's the risk you run. But what the heck, part of my game is man management, so I was a little more judicious with the advantage to make the one team happy, and let the squads slip and slide all over the place, which led to some very easy falls in the penalty area; no calls, all of them, despite protests (if every little touch lead to a PK... oh my).

14 July '04 - 10:17 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

Watch Tryouts

I'm picky about watches - about most my of equipment, actually, but I've been thinking about watches lately, because I've had to go through a transition. My favorite watch, my Optimumtime Football Watch died... again. I loved this watch - a big, no huge, face that was strangely comfortable. When it timer mode, one button set it to a 45 minute countdown, and had a button just for adding extra time. It was a watch for referees. But it had a problem, it died twice; and it's just not worth it to try it a third time.

The first time it died was only a couple months into my ownership - I sent it back to OSI and another was shipped in it's place. Now, almost two years later, it died again - and it's not the battery. Now that it up and died completely, I'm wondering if the two problems I had (once in the State Cup) when it stopped counting down, was my hitting the button, or merely a warning sign. It's time to move on.

So after some searching, I'm trying another watch, with another big face, but not nearly as thick or heavy, the Timex Ironman Sleek 150. It's a bit more money, but I've never had a problem with Timex watches, and this one also comes with (if you get the right model) with the velcro strap that'll keep me from complaining (like I did with my emergency backup watch). I guess we'll see how that one works for me.

I really wanted an Addidas watch - I have one for my right hand when I center, but how it got here I have no idea. I found it on sale at a local sporting good store, which is amazing, because you can't find any of their digital watches for sale on this continent. Only in Europe - which is a bummer. Or maybe not, because I'd be too tempted to get get this one.

13 July '04 - 13:37 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

College Game

One of the more interesting things that happened during Regionals was a talk with an assignor, who admits that she has to put referees on games that she doesn't want to, just because there aren't enough refs to go around. She prioritizes her games between those who need "real referees" and those that can get by with "just bodies"; the decision is based mostly on the temperament and expectations of the teams. Sometimes she takes one "body" referee because she knows that there are six others in that family that'll take games, too.

The alternative? A drastic reduction of games for the players. The choice is pretty simple: accept the situation or get more referees. I don't know how I can harp any more about the later - the only way to beat a bad referee is to join our ranks, so there are enough "real" refs out there to flush out the "bodies."

The reason I write about that, is that I'm getting the feeling that I'm being tested this year. One of the compromises assignors have to make, I've learned, is that sometimes they'll put a ref their confident with with a pair of "bodies" on the lines, because the center will be able to hold the game together; prior to that he'll have experienced lines, to report back and give the assignor a inkling if he's ready for that level, and ready to deal with working with a pair of "bodies". This year, I've had more first-division youth games than I've had in the last three years combined, and received middles in higher-level adult matches than I've ever had - complete with a couple State-ARs. It's a possibility.

Yesterday I had my first college-level match. It wasn't really, NCAA soccer is a fall sport, but I've known a couple former college players who said that during the summer the teams plays club ball together (and if the coach happens to walk past, then what the hey). I don't know about the coach, but that was essentially what I had: one was a youth team that went to Nationals several years back, and still play together, the other was a local college team (I'm unsure of the division) - both playing in the top division of the adult women's amateur ranks here. I have not reffed at this level in the middle, but having lined a few games, and watched several from the stands, I decided that it's best to just ref my normal game, adjusted for women.

Women foul different, at least what I've seen (and confirmed by others), the most common fouls are hip checks, and pushes after the ball is cleared - so that was what I looked for. Also, considering the level they play at, my definition of trifling was left at what it was for Regionals: let them play through the contact, don't reward the defense by stopping an offensive play.

I'm unsure of how my game went, however. One one hand, I don't think I ever lost control - but on the other, I had the feeling that they wanted a tighter game (but on a third, belonging to one of those ARs with a State badge, he didn't get that feeling at all). If you watch a college or pro game on TV (or live), you players complain to the ref... a lot. Was it gaming? Was it normal complaining? And more importantly, did it actually mean anything that I was missing? I didn't get a whole lot of feedback saying I was missing stuff, so I suppose that means I did... what... adequate?

Maybe I'll get a few more cracks at it, to see how experience helps me read the game.

12 July '04 - 12:01 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

It's the penalty box, not a gift box!

There's an old joke in the Renaissance Faire circuit: If you copy a bit in the same show, it's plagiarism, but if you copy a bit from a different show, it's research. Watching other referees for bits of "research" is a pretty common and worthwhile practice. Good referees are good for a reason, and if you can adapt it into your own game successfully, you turn into a better referee, too. The most common "tricks" in the ref's tool bag have to do with positioning and verbal skills - both fall into the larger category of man management. Positioning can have everything to do with where you are at set plays, to where you want to be when a team is in a xyz formation, to when and how to charge in on a hard foul to keep people from butting heads. Verbally, it can be anything from trying to placate a coach, or to using humor to put down a situation.

For the most part, I'm a pretty quiet ref, although I've gotten louder as I've gone. In that talking to the players can really help sell calls. A bit of, "Careful 10. Careful 10. Careful 10!" works well for avoiding a foul, as well selling the call.

"But I got all ball!"
"It's not the tackle I called. You rode his back with your elbow - it's what I told you to be careful of."

He can't say I didn't warn him.

We had a scheduling mixup yesterday, and had four refs show up. One of them, the one who was to center the first game miscommunicated the days she could work, and the assignor thought she turned back the game. I had a 16 boys center after the first game, so I volunteered to stay back and let them all get in a game; I also did it so I could run my hiney off in my game, which, considering it was humid with an 86-degree heat index, would be a good thing. When my game finished, my jersey was about three times as heavy as when it started, so I guess I had a good workout.

The most important part of the game? I was able to use a phrase I picked up from Regionals:a striker from the team up 3-0 (and somewhere between five and ten minutes left) get a teeny-tiny push as a defender comes up on him inside the penalty area. Tiny. Far less than the bodies being knocked around when this comment was made. He cries out looking for a PK call,"My god, ref! Are you not watching anything?"

There was no way in heck I was going to call it, so I use the phrase. "Hey, it's the penalty box, not a gift box! Santa Claus is nowhere nearby. Just play through it."

He's flabbergasted. Despite the flippancy, I just told him to stop being whining and play in a nicer way than spelling it out. He looks at me, says a simple, "Gee" then goes back to playing.

This is not to say I had a perfect game, but it's nice that both coaches, including the one that lost 3-0, compliments you on the game and your work-ethic. It felt good, too.

09 July '04 - 13:37 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

Regionals Diary Day Seven: Finals

Because the tournament is sponsored by Adidas, they apparently have special dispensation to, er, dispense of the traditional pinstripe uniforms for the solid blacks of the German manufacturer's - boy is this stuff lighter than what OSI produces. The irony is that I'll never be able to wear this for an affiliated game again - but what the heck. I'm a ref geek, and always willing to take home a bit of gear.

The game where I was the fourth included an in-state team, so there was a large crowd, and television cameras from the local news shows. This fourth, because of these two factors, made this a bit different than the previous ones, and I had be helped out by the senior AR a couple of times on protocol and issues. Thank goodness for refs more experienced than I! It was a fun game - the first goal was scored less than a minute into the game, followed by the tie-making goal in the 10th minute. And then nothing - plenty of post and cross-bar rattling, but nothing in the net. Into penalty kicks we went, and the home team ended up taking it all. A great game all-around, and I hope I did my part to keep the off-field shenanigans from affecting the rest of the crew.

I'm finding it's difficult to write about a game from the perspective of the fourth: your primary job is to placate the coaches, both of which were pretty low-key; the benches (how exciting is it to write about having to remind the players a dozen times to wear their pennies when on the bench - although it became more important when we got closer to kicks from the mark), and working with the field-manager to keep restricted areas around the field cleared. It's not - but it's stuff that would be very very difficult to do without a fourth - and there's something about having the badge that makes the orders a little more authoritative, even if we have no authority in and of itself. Having tried to do that at an AR without a fourth earlier in the tournament, and then this one (which had umpteen more things to do because of the crowd), it's hard to imagine that German Bundesliga doing without one for so long.

The trip back was uneventful - but it was nice to spend a few hours back with the people I'd spent most of the week with. Strangely enough, we didn't get sick of each other, and I hope I'm allowed to go back again next year. (more)

08 July '04 - 12:07 - - default| two comments, already - § ¶

Regionals Diary Day Six: Spectator

As I expected, I didn't get an assignment today. It's a bummer on several levels, but none of them malicious. I'm worried that I'll think of this as a tournament where I lost two games through no fault of my own; where I didn't get any of my games observed so I could pick the brains of the experts (again, nothing malicious - just too many games and not enough assessors and mentors). The chance of being assigned to a final is even more remote, so for this and Wednesday, I'm likely to find myself in the role of spectator.

One of the things I really wanted to catch, was one of those games where the teams are more interested in beating each other up than playing the game - you would think that at this level they would be more interested in the game, and they are, but sometimes emotions take total control. It's not unusual to hear referees around here issue a card count that includes a red and four cautions, maybe even two of the former. One referee, I was told, issued five red cards in one half - normally in these cases you think the referee lost control, but he, I was insisently told, "nailed" the game, impressing oodles of unbiased officials (who knows about the biased ones). I haven't seen a single red issued - it's disappoiting not because I want to see the soccer equivalent of a slasher film, but because I want to see how these referees deal with it, work with these players who are already on an emotional bender, and keep them from going absolutely bonkers. Sometimes it's these meat grinder games that teach you, when you're an observer, so much, because the referee is using all the tricks in his book, and if you're observant, you can say, "Oooh! Maybe I can use that...". And frankly, I'd rather see it happen a few times from the peanut gallery before having to go thorugh it myself.

Those of us without games did do something very good, however - we went out to watch the games from other refs in our delegation. (more)

07 July '04 - 08:48 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

Regionals Diary Day Five: My Last Games?

I really hope this isn't the end of my games here, not only because I'm having so much fun, and because the games and experiences are great - but because it would also be such a downer to have my last game be the one I couldn't make.

I had three lines (being a lowly Grade 8, not unexpected, and I wasn't disappointed), and the first was a 15 boys in the morning. The game didn't mean anything in the standings, both were eliminated from advancement to the semi-finals, but it was a chance to take a win home from Regionals. It turned into a blow-out, with the final score being 10-1. But that one score came out of some very hard work from a team that didn't give up. We were all very impressed. Can I say we were pleased that they scored? That they were able to get something in the net for pride's sake? Well, I'm saying so anyway.

The second game, a 13 boys game, was the opposite: two undefeated teams tied for first place in their bracket, and even on all their tie-breakers. It literally was playoff game, because the loser had to go home. It was a beaut, too. Lots of good hard play - they played better than many U17 teams I've seen. The play went back-and-forth, but one team was starting to edge out the other by the second half, and then smashed in a goal through traffic. It wasn't pretty (but then again, most World Cup qualifying games aren't, either), but it was enough, and they won 1-0.

I had a game immediately after - they were scheduled 90 minutes apart. I let the scheduler know, in case of any issues; officially it was still a round robin game, and if it ended in a tie, we were told to leave it there, unless tournament officials came and said otherwise. We got a little bit of a late start, and we (appropriately) added a generous portion of stoppage time to account for the goal, and some slow-moving substitutions. When we finished, I had two minutes to get to my field, which I saw was already walking the teams, World Cup style, up to the center of the pitch. I went to double-check with the fourth that they were set (and that the replacement didn't have to be elsewhere), then returned to referee headquarters to double-check with the administrator (make sure he remembered and wasn't pissed off), and get myself unpacked.

I'm trying to be optimistic - there's a washer on the floor, and I'm washing all of my stuff in hopes that something comes in tomorrow.

06 July '04 - 10:53 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

Regionals Diary Day Four: I'd Like to Package That and Bring It Home

There was a scheduling mixup last night, and the computer omitted games for one of our delegation, so two of us, including myself, dropped a game so she could do something. People, unless they're on the fast track, only have two or three games a day, so it's no loss that I went from three to two. Besides, it's the right thing to do.

So I ended up opening with a Fourth Official for a 19 boys game. The center referee, in his pregame, asked us to run this like it was a professional game - these kids, if not already in their possession, were looking for college scholarships - and being the age they were, were playing at a very high level. So when one of the bench players yelled, "That's horse shit!" - I only told him that we were told to crack down on that, because this is still a youth tournament. In the second half, it came out again, but much softer.

"I'm still going to say it's horse shit."
"Fine with me, as long as the people in the other field doesn't hear it."

Contradictory from what we were told yesterday? Maybe - but it's a different standard, and that's also the way the center wanted it. It was also, despite the profanity, much better controlled than that 15 girls game.

I then had my first, and probably only center of the tournament (I wasn't expecting one, and until this year, most first years didn't get any). It was probably the hardest 70-minute game I've every had, which makes sense, considering the venue. Not in running the game - I felt comfortable in my calls and the game was well in control (cautions are not a rarity, even at this age, considering the level of play going on, but I never came close to pulling out plastic). What I wasn't happy about was my positioning - not being the fastest runner, I didn't feel I was able to get close enough to play; and these girls pushed really hard, and really fast. I was better in the second half - which is per usual for me. I don't know if that means I've gotten the kinks out, or the teams all slow down, but I was much happier.

The best part of the game was a late advantage call I made. I'd like to package that call up and take it home - because I could have a crappy game, unpack it, come out shining. Four about 7-8 yards from center, and the ball spits up a few more yards, where it bounces off players from both teams. One team scoops it up (the team that was fouled), and I call advantage - another player from the same side swoops in, and just charges down the field for a goal. My AR and Fourth told me I was applauded for my judgment from the team that scored; with 13s, it was one of those iffy locations, not normally given - but it seemed the right call (and I guess it was!).

I hoped to have one the mentors come watch a portion of the game, since it's my only center, and I'd like to get as much as possible out of it, but it doesn't look like it happened - all but two were in the other complex.

05 July '04 - 08:00 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

Regionals Diary Day Three: Let the Games Begin!

Apparently there's been a change this year, and everyone is guaranteed a center - which is one more center than I was expecting. I'm looking forward to it, but I'm also glad that I had the games I did today, because it'll get me aquatinted with the style of play, and the stakes involved. Basically these are State Cup games, up several notches - there was a lot of money put into traveling (and probably just to be in the tournament), not to mention a lot of prestige and the honor of playing for your state.

My first game was a 15-boys - but these were bigger, faster, and harder than any 15 boys game I'd seen. And I'd even seen one of them before! Normally, you don't do teams in your own state, but since you don't actually make calls as the Fourth, it's allowed; even if there's an injury, you call referee headquarters and they assign a replacement - rest assured, it won't be from the same state. I hope I get the local team again later in the year, because I'd like to make a comment about setting up cones, and see if the coach remembers me (there was a hole on the field that was filled, and made reference that all the refs do in his home state was put a cone over them). It likely won't happen, but it would be fun. This game was pretty straight-forward, and got me (well, hopefully) acclimated to what I should expect.

The line, as senior assistant, taught me more stuff that I needed to learn. (more)

04 July '04 - 10:57 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

Referee News Bytes

Only a few items of any interest lately (although you can judge the quality), so I thought I'd throw in the stupidest thing I've ever heard on television with regards to the referee. The gem was found on the MLS Direct Kick package broadcast of Chicago and Columbus:

"I'd like to remind the referee that this being the first foul of the game, he can't card for persistent infringement yet." (note: recited from memory, actual wording my be slightly different)

"Duh" doesn't go far enough for this one. Ohmygodwhatastupidmoronhowdidhegetajobontelevision works a bit better, I think.

---

The big news in the referee world is England's blaming of Urs Meier for their loss against Portugal in Euro 2004. This is really pathetic stuff, people:

• The British Parliament is wasting money putting out resolutions complaining about the referees.
  
• The tabloid newspaper The Sun published the man's address, both email and street, causing him to get over 15,000 emails and a multitude of death threats
  
• How bad it is? After recommendations from the government, he's gone into hiding.

What a sad display.

---

In the ongoing story in Victoria, Australia concerning the hijabs, or headscarves with their women players who are Muslim. If you've read this site for a while, you'll remember the original brouhaha. The problem had to do not with the headscarf itself, but if it needed to match the rest of the uniform - the federation clarified the issue, and said it doesn't matter; game on. Someone didn't listen, and now he's suspended. He won't get much sympathy.

03 July '04 - 19:30 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

Regionals Dairy Day Two: Training Day

The TV show Night Court keeps coming to mind today. I keep thinking of Judge Harry Stone, in the first episode, telling his staff that yes, his was the very last name on the list of people to become judges, but that his name was on that list, which makes him qualified. I'm telling myself that now.

I pretty much know that I'm in poor shape - or pretty good depending on how you look at things (certainly much better than four years ago). But compared to the other referees here, I'm pretty close to, if not at, the bottom of that list. It's pretty much what I expected, though, and I'm willing to work with that. I know it's nothing worth getting upset about.

Besides the physical portion, which I made it through today, we went though several other stations, covering administrative duties including paperwork (getting it done correctly is heavily stressed - apparently even moreso this year because, on top of needing everything documented for insurance purposes, everything goes into a computer now to aid in assignments for upcoming years). The second seminar was on the duties of the fourth official, which included much of what was covered in the State Cup (how to placate the upset coach), but also when and where to become involved on the field, and when to move to different benches in different situations (like when a goal is scored. Thing to keep in mind, the jerk card can always be played, but you have no authority as the fourth - no whistles, no cards, nothing - so use finesse and try to have the coaches appreciate you, before having to get nasty. The pet peeve here is to have the balls bagged, so they can't get onto the field, unless you need to stop the center referee from restarting the game, in which case kicking it onto the field is a great way to get his attention.

Third was FIFA Panel referee Terry Vaughn who covered positioning for fouls, penalty kicks, dealing unruly players (which is more positioning and verbal communication). Top notch stuff - I hope I can remember it.

Still up is opening ceremonies, which shouldn't be much different than a parade. Cute comment, though: "Enjoy the applause - it's the only one you'll get this week."

... several hours later (more)

03 July '04 - 16:33 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

Regionals Diary Day One: Travel

This is the start of the diary I wrote while at Regionals - I don't promise it to be representative of anyone's experience but mine, or even half-way realistic. But it seemed a great thing to write about.

---

It's quarter-to-one in the morning, and we've finally got our rooms (dorms) and the morning schedule. They want to do everything as a delegation, which makes sense, since mobility is limited (we're about 20 minutes from the fields), and because everything is on a pretty tight schedule. Hopefully things should be pretty smooth tomorrow, er, later today. Check-in for the tournament starts at 9am, and the first round of training sessions don't start until 11am or noon - something like that. I don't have an official schedule of events yet.

I just hope the people in charge are like me, in that they are breakfast people. Not that they eat a whole lot, but that they need it early on or problems erupt (myself, I get very very crabby). I guess we'll see.

One issue that may prove troublesome is that there are only two showers on the floor. It may not have been a problem (but I think it probably was) with college students who get up and leave at different hours, but all of us will be getting up, leaving, and arriving at pretty much the same time. I suppose I can count myself lucky that short hair gets washed much faster.

02 July '04 - 10:31 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

Sometimes no ARs is fun!

I heard from someone a few weeks ago that we had more than 1000 fewer referees in the state this year. At the time, I scoffed because the number was so large. Yes, the number of refs fluxuate from year-to-year, but the number he was talking about came to roughly a 25% drop in officials. As far as I knew there were no major issues in the state with regards to soccer referees, no major change in child labor laws that would keep potential new referees from joining; I chalked it up to rumor and went on with my job... except one of our referees for that game didn't show up. I blew it off and went on with the season.

I'm starting to think about that rumor again. This is my fourth year of refereeing, and in that time, I can think of only three occasions where I went though a game without one or both assistants. My first year, it never happened; my second year, at a tournament (before I decided that most tournaments are evil) I had a 16 Boys match without assistants (one with playoff implications, no less); last year, I went from Junior Assistant to center with a pair of Club Lines for my first adult middle. This year, I've had more bizarre happenings when it comes to officials than the last three combined:

• My first youth USSF game this year, one AR never showed up.
  
• A rec-level game (ages 15-18) run solo with Club Lines.
  
• An adult game where the second AR never showed up.
  
• A 17-girls game where the assignor couldn't find referees that were even in puberty (one came 25 minutes into the game, after finishing his first).
  
• Another 17-girls game run solo last night.

Before the last adult game I centered, I saw in the four field complex (all of which were being used), five referees for four games (more)

01 July '04 - 09:22 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

I'm back

I got back last night - I've got plenty of stuff to write about, but I need to copy and edit it a bit. I've got one entry that I wrote prior to leaving, so I'll probably post that, first... not to mentioned more games tonight.

01 July '04 - 07:15 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶