Be the Referee: Ball Over Backboard
By
Brent Rice
MHSAA Assistant Director
December 16, 2021
Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.
Below is this week's segment – Ball Over Backboard - Listen
A basketball player has the ball in the corner, ready to shoot a 3-pointer, when a lane opens up along the baseline. She starts to drive, only to have that lane closed off.
She puts up a shot that goes over the corner of the backboard and goes in. Two points, right?
Not so fast. Any time the ball passes over the backboard, it’s out of bounds. A shot, a pass, even a rebound that bounces up and over – the play should be whistled dead. The ball is considered out of bounds off the last player to have touched it.
So even though the shot comes from a player in bounds and goes in … wave it off. The ball can’t pass over the backboard. If it does, it’s now the other team’s possession.
Previous editions
Dec. 9: Winter Officials Mechanics - Listen
Nov. 26: Instant Replay - Listen
Nov. 11: Tourney Selection - Listen
Nov. 4: Receiver Carried Out of End Zone – Listen
Oct. 28: Volleyball Back-Row Block – Listen
Oct. 21: Soccer Disallowed Goal – Listen
Sept 30: Field Goal Falls Short – Listen
Sept. 23: Volleyball Obstruction – Listen
Sept. 16: Catch or No Catch – Listen
Sept. 9: Intentional Grounding – Listen
Sept. 2: Pass Interference – Listen
Aug. 26: Protocols and Mechanics – Listen
Be The Referee: Tournament Selection
November 11, 2020
This week, MHSAA assistant director Brent Rice explains how officials are selected for assignments during the MHSAA Football Playoffs.
Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.
Below is this week's segment - Tournament Selection - Listen
Today we are going to talk about how officials are selected for the MHSAA Football Playoffs. Just as the best teams advance in the tournament week after week, the best officiating crews advance in the tournament in much the same way.
For a crew to be eligible for assignment, many requirements have to be met prior to the season – submission of their season schedule, making sure that the crew has completed the annual rules meeting, as well as a football rules test.
Much weight is given to ratings – each crew is rated by schools following each game – as well as observation reports where officiating experts go out and either watch crews work live or on video in making sure that the best crews advance throughout the tournament
Past editions
11/5: You Make the Call: Missed Field Goals - Listen
10/29: Automatic 1st Downs - Listen
10/22: You Make the Call: Illegal Kick - Listen
10/15: Toe the Line on Penalty Kicks - Listen
10/8: Disconcerting Acts - Listen
10/1: Ball Hits Soccer Referee - Listen
9/24: Clocking the Ball from the Shotgun - Listen