Basketball officiating has always been challenging.I’ve always maintained that young kids playing Mid America Youth Basketball are the hardest to officiate because the quality of play is, uh, less than stellar. Often there’s no flow and the play is erratic at best, and there are vastly different skill levels on the court. As players move up to high school and […]

Sports leaders of all stripes tinker with how to make their particular sport more attractive to the general populace. The game of baseball has been around for a long time, and those in charge continually think about ways to increase interest in it. Major League Baseball (MLB) is unusual among the sports world in that it allows its two leagues […]

My agent I.M. Slick dropped by the other day and asked if he could take over my column this week. I told him, “That depends. What do you have in mind?” Here’s what followed. I.M. Slick: Have you heard of a game where you have to pick between two very difficult and sometimes bad alternatives? Joe: Yeah. Slick: Let’s try […]

When K-State was upset in the first round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament, some fans didn’t like Coach Bruce Weber’s decision to sit star senior guard Barry Brown when he picked up two quick fouls in the first five minutes of the game. Never mind that more than 90 percent of college coaches in America sit players when they pick […]

Remember the saying “The thrill of victory and agony of defeat”? That applies to the season-ending loss for the Tabor College women’s basketball team at the national NAIA tournament. The Bluejays won the regular season KCAC title this year, and the subsequent conference tournament championship for the fourth year in a row. That is an amazing accomplishment at any level […]

Perry Warden, who graduated from Tabor College in 1993, recently decided to step away from officiating after 35 years. I had the privilege of officiating basketball with Warden some years ago, and he was one of the good guys. Warden gave me permission to share his letter, which should be of interest to anyone involved with sports. Here are some […]

It’s amusing to see how behavior evolves in sports. When the public address announcer introduced the starting lineups in basketball games in the 1970s, players would dutifully run to the free throw line or center court line and wait for the rest of the introductions to be made. Somewhere along the way in the last 20 years, players at both […]

Dear Joe, I found the Super Bowl less than satisfying. Boring Dear Boring, What’s the problem? What do you have against great defense and punting? Next time, change channels and watch the Puppy Bowl. Better yet, turn the TV off and do something constructive. ———- Dear Joe, I’m sick and tired of watching Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft […]

The NFL had to be pleased with the two conference championship games recently between the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams and the Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots. It’s the first time both championship games required overtime. TV ratings were good, the games were highly entertaining, so all is well, right? Well, not so fast, my friend. […]

I don’t like losing … at anything. OK, maybe I’m a little too competitive. I hate to lose, whether it’s playing checkers, ping pong or any sport. Well, hate is a bit strong, I suppose, but losing irks me. When I was a kid growing up, my dad let me beat him from time-to-time when we played ping pong. Eventually […]