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Profiles and stories about officials and people close to officiating.
“I’ll Never Forget”: Officiating Legends Recall Their Most Memorable Game
It is June 14, 1998, at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. The Chicago Bulls are playing the Utah Jazz in Game 6...
Pati Rolf Moved From College Coach to High Level Official and Has Never Looked...
A lime green toy pig, gifted to Pati Rolf by the distraught motorist who accidentally struck her on snowy Minnetonka Boulevard in Hopkins, Minn., nearly 50 years ago, endures all...
Former MLB Umpire Larry Young Brings Training to the World
Larry Young retired as an MLB umpire at the close of the 2007 season, bringing down the curtain on a career that spanned 24...
“Reggie The Ref” Is More Than Just a Nickname
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Nicknames are part of sports. “Hammerin’ Hank.” “The Greek Freak.” “A-Rod.” Sports officials go the same route.
“Reggie the Ref.” Catchy nickname,...
Fruits of His Labor
The 44-year-old Julio Rivera- Torres, who now lives in Vancouver, Wash., began life in a small village called San Miguel Del Ojo de Agua...
Hall of Famer June Courteau has Left an Amazing Mark on Women’s Basketball Officiating
A well-read woman with an insatiable desire to cram yet more knowledge into her mind was sitting poolside at an Aruba timeshare dwelling in the summer of 2015. Simply reading doesn’t...
Meet Barry Mano: ‘One Breath Of Scandal Freezes Much Honorable Sweat’
NASO President Barry Mano was featured on the cover of Compliance and Ethics Professional (CEP) Magazine and was interviewed for the issue by NASO...
6 Transcendent Moments for Sports Officials
For some of us, officiating is a vocation, for others it is an avocation. For almost all of us, however, it is a passion that offers feelings of...
At Home — with Referee Staffers
Just because the COVID-19 pandemic has put a temporary halt to work at Referee’s physical offices hasn’t meant a stop to the work of...
How Bill Vinovich Fought to Return to the NFL After Massive Heart Trauma
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HEART OF THE MATTER
By Peter Jackel
Shawna Vinovich sensed a finality in her father’s voice as she overheard snippets of...
Crystal Hogan is Right At Home in Men’s D-I College Basketball
Ask Crystal Hogan to discuss her nearly two-decade journey as a basketball official, and she’ll rattle off a long list of names, locations and...
Iowa Wrestling Community Helps Official Get to Championships
In Iowa, wrestling is practically a family affair, almost a religion.
It’s a place where every kid with a little ability and a steely attitude...
NHL Referee Finds Success as Elite Amateur Golfer
At 7:18 on the morning of June 14, Garrett Rank stood on the 10th tee at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on Long Island, preparing...
There Will Never be Another Red Cashion
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Psychologists call it word association. They say "peanut butter," you say "jelly. " They say "mother," you say "father."...
From The Chair: Effective 21st Century Communication
Joseph Rost was a dis-tinguished scholar in leadership studies and was noted for his conception of followership. He defined the leadership process as “an...
Ten Basketball Officials, One Family
I t's ten basketball officials, one family as Cal Von Rueden, 15, recently joined the ranks of this basketball officiating dynasty in the greater Milwaukee...
Long Journey from Minors to MLB World Series
As their school bus approached their home on Holman Avenue that November morning in 1986, Chris Guccione and little brother Steven were distracted by...
John Parry Mixes Business and Humor
It's 2007, and rookie NFL referee John Parry is tossing the coin for a game pitting the undefeated New England Patriots against the undefeated...
Going to War with Joe Crawford
NBA fans’ character sketch of Joe Crawford has been drawn in indelible ink. They long ago dismissed him as that referee with a centimeter...
Focus on the Future: Joan Powell
Joan Powell sees the scene, and in it, she sees something more.
Volleyball courts, yes … they’re there, as far as the eye can see....
Profile: NFL Referee Clete Blakeman
NFL referee Clete Blakeman lights up the room and the field. That’s what his crewmates say about him. Tripp Sutter, a Big Ten official,...
FIFA Referee Mark Geiger
By his own proud admission, the man is a nerd. Conjure images of that wisp of a kid you remember from high school who...
‘I’m Still Here’
A boy with hoop dreams, the scope of which he could never have comprehended would one day come to fruition during those halcyon days...
Roger Ayers: Trials By Fire
With flames raging beyond a door he emotionally prepared to enter with his partner, Roger Ayers tightened his hands around the fire hose that was about to be activated...
