RULES, MECHANICS, TECHNIQUES:

Soccer
Few Changes to a Healthy Game:
Re-Entry, Substitutions Among New NCAA Rules;
Putting Together an Academy for Local Referees;
Late and Off-Ball Challenges

Baseball
Be Ready With Runners on Base:
Interference, Rundowns:
Just Two Possibilities Umps Must Consider;
The Ins and Outs of Substitutions;
Five Minutes With … Mike Winters

Football
Punted, Dropped or Placed:
Rules You Must Know When the Ball is Kicked;
A View from the Land of Oz;
Five Minutes With … Mark Perlman

Basketball
Is it the Toughest Call?:
Breaking Down the Rules on Blocks and Charges;
Good to Great;
Don’t Play Dead During Downtime

FEATURES:

Gold Whistle Award 2002: Larry Young
Even though he’s umpired a World Series, Larry Young’s greatest satisfaction comes from helping others. The veteran MLB umpire spends his offseasons officiating Special Olympics basketball games and his “Larry Young and Friends Charities” benefit hundreds every year. It’s no wonder NASO named him this year’s Gold Whistle Award winner.

Add Muscle to Your Mind
Successful officials have mental toughness, that quality that allows them to concentrate on the game at hand and block out anything that might distract them. How tough is your mind? Learn how to “beef up your brain” and improve your mental performance.

20/20
You can condition your body with exercise and sharpen your mind with study, but you can’t officiate if you can’t see. Now, there’s a program available to enhance your eyes. Vision training expert Harvey Ratner explains how it’s done.

Basic Training: Crunch Time!
The heat gets turned up in the final minutes of a tight game, and your performance should get turned up, too. You can’t afford to coast through to the final whistle or the last out. During end-of-game situations, you must sharpen your focus and finish strong!

COLUMNS & DEPARTMENTS:

Publisher’s Memo
Gas Up and Make a U-Turn

In Black & White
Can’t Call Them All in the Real ‘World’

The News
Mel Narol Succumbs to Fatal Heart Attack

Back to Basics
The Right Way to Accept Games

Getting It Right
With a Little Help From His Friends

Tools
Making the Offside Call, HoopsRef.com, VibraLITE 3 Watch, Assignment Secretary 1.2, More Than Merkle

Profiles
Mascot Calls Games, Captures Dream

For the Record
NFL Europe, Minor League Baseball and Women’s United Soccer Association rosters

Classifieds
Camps/Clinics; Books, Manuals, Cassettes; Equipment/Apparel; Miscellaneous

Last Call
Goose Bumps and Shivers