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Profiles and stories about officials and people close to officiating.
Dale Scott Redemption
Half sleep-walking through darkness to the refrigerator in his Santo Domingo apartment in the dead of night in January 1986, all Dale Scott wanted...
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...
Gold Whistle Award Winner: UMPS CARE — Helping People is an Easy Call
It is often said every dark cloud has a silver lining. Good things come from the darkest places sometimes. In 1999, one of the...
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...
Frank DeFord, Longtime Supporter of Sports Officials, Dies At 78
We at Referee magazine and the National Association of Sports Officials are much saddened by the passing of Frank DeFord. Frank received accolades, honors...
His Plate is Full
By Dan Ronan
Dan Bellino’s phone, email and text messages never seem to stop. His schedule and life are packed full, 24/7/365. He’s been a...
5 Minutes With Gerry Davis
Residence: Huntington Beach, Calif.
Occupation: MLB umpire; owns Gerry Davis Sports, which sells officiating equipment and attire.
Experience: MLB umpire since 1982; worked MLB World Series...
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...
Chance Encounters of the Life-Changing Kind
Today, Jim Reynolds is one of MLB’s most accomplished umpires. His resume includes 16 postseason assignments, including two World Series, plus two All-Star games.
But...
NFL Line Judge Jeff Bergman is All Business
Just as Jeff Bergman was starting to relax under the soothing stream of warm water that early spring afternoon in 1983, he was startled...
One and Nearly Done
G
was both excited and nervous as I took the field for my first high school
game in late summer 2014. It was my third year...
Referee Voices: Bert Smith
As part of the 2021 NASO Sports Officiating Summit @ Home, NCAAM basketball referee Bert Smith detailed for the virtual audience his career path...
Defining the “It” Factor
Rules knowledge, mechanics and making the right calls are important. Missing any of those elements can break your career, but having them won’t make...
FONZY
By Dan Ronan
major League Baseball umpire Alfonso Márquez was driving April 21, 2005, to an early season game in Tampa, Fla., when he got...
Ron Garretson: A Life in Officiating
With the ‘Godfather of NBA officials’ as his father, Ron Garretson learned from one of the best in the business. Then he made a...
Like Father, Like Sons
Politics had the Adamses. Big band music had the Dorseys. Acting had the Barrymores. And officiating has the Crawfords.
Umpire Henry “Shag” Crawford retired in...
John Wooden: An Interview
You might wonder why a magazine for sports officials interviewed a coach, even one as legendary as John Wooden.
Through our decades of experience,...
Home Bruns
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Tiger Woods and Randy Bruns have more in common than you might expect. All three have been to the pinnacle of their...
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...
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...
The Joan Powell Effect
Joan Powell has been everything in volleyball — player, coach, official, conference coordinator, national coordinator. And she has excelled at every level.How influential? How...
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,...
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...
Fighting The Pandemic With Skills Learned As a Referee
As a member of the Professional Referee Organization (PRO), I had the privilege of working the Women’s World Cup in France in 2019. Being...