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Profiles and stories about officials and people close to officiating.
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...
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...
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 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,...
Soldier on After Tragedy
Ten-year-old Chris Stover wanted to be a soccer official, but the rules said he had to be 11. The assigner “felt sorry for him...
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...
Marc Of Distinction
He used to sit anonymously in the Silverado High School bleachers in Las Vegas during the mid-2000s, a bookish, kind man who could easily...
Referee Gets Creative to Fight Cancer
Lou Levine always teased one of his friends about his friend’s thick nest of black hair. Before the start of the basketball season a...
5 Minutes with J.D. Collins
Hometown: Hartford City, Ind.
Experience: NCAA national coordinator of men’s basketball officiating; former coordinator of officials for the Mid-American Conference and Summit League; former consultant...
Officiating is a Family Affair
Nestled between the San Diego Bay and the scenic splendor of the coastal mountain foothills in Southern California are the sprawling sun-kissed expanses of...
Solid Stance: Gerry Davis Profile
The honor hardly could be more fitting.
OK, perhaps having a behind-the-plate stance named after you — as Gerry Davis does — isn’t technically an...