alamo50
02-08-2006, 09:17 AM
By Roscoe Nance, USA TODAY
Dick Bavetta on Wednesday night will call the 2,135th game of his 31-year career as an NBA referee, surpassing Jake O'Donnell. Bavetta, 66, has officiated 214 playoff games, including 23 NBA Finals games, and has never missed a contest. Bavetta, who has a degree in finance and was a broker on Wall Street before he became an NBA referee, talked with USA TODAY NBA reporter Roscoe Nance about his career.
http://images.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/_photos/2006-02-07-bavetta.jpg
Official Dick Bavetta during the New Orleans Hornets-Chicago Bulls game on Feb. 1, 2006 in Oklahoma City.
By Ty Russell, AP
Q: To what do you owe your longevity?
A: I would be remiss not to look up to heaven and say God has blessed me with unusually good health. You're talking about somebody who tried out for the NBA for nine years, and each of the years I tried, (I was told I) was too thin, had a balding appearance, had a boyish complexion. They were looking for guys who looked the part.
Q: What is your proudest moment as a referee?
A: Every time someone recognizes me as an NBA referee. I've always felt the responsibility I take on as an NBA referee is 365 days a year, 24/7. If someone never meets another NBA referee, they're going to judge all NBA referees by me.
Q: What is your most memorable game?
A: Years ago, the big game was Boston-Philly when (Larry) Bird and (Julius) Erving would go against each other. It was a national TV game, and at the start of the second half, Dennis Johnson stumbled into (referee) Jack Madden and broke Madden's leg. I had to do the second half by myself. As the game progresses, Erving and Bird decide to start choking each other, and I eject both of them. I remember the comments by both teams were, "Maybe a lesser-experienced official would have called a technical and kept both of them in the game. Whatever possessed Dick Bavetta to do it, it was the right thing to do." That was kind of a launching pad for my career, and the NBA started to look at me a little differently with certain leadership qualities.
Q: What's the closest that you've come to missing a game?
A: Last year I had a game in Milwaukee on a Tuesday night, and I was working Wednesday in Detroit. When we drove back to Chicago from Milwaukee, they said O'Hare Airport was going to be closed the following day. I was with Sean Corbin. ... We drove 6½ hours in a blizzard from Chicago to Detroit. If we hadn't driven, we wouldn't have made the game.
Q: How much has officiating changed during your career?
A: Where it has changed is in the accountability and the scrutiny that we're now under. We carry a BlackBerrry. We have a laptop. We do daily testing. We do daily meetings. We do tape sessions. After the game, we're required to go back to our hotel and watch the same game we just refereed and submit a game report, submit a game summary, which is inclusive of critical plays in the game, pertinent plays, plays that we were not satisfied with. Years ago, that never happened. Maybe when you got around to it you put a handwritten report in an envelope. That generally only took place if there was a problem in the game.
Link (http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/2006-02-07-bavetta-questions_x.htm)
:tu
Dick Bavetta on Wednesday night will call the 2,135th game of his 31-year career as an NBA referee, surpassing Jake O'Donnell. Bavetta, 66, has officiated 214 playoff games, including 23 NBA Finals games, and has never missed a contest. Bavetta, who has a degree in finance and was a broker on Wall Street before he became an NBA referee, talked with USA TODAY NBA reporter Roscoe Nance about his career.
http://images.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/_photos/2006-02-07-bavetta.jpg
Official Dick Bavetta during the New Orleans Hornets-Chicago Bulls game on Feb. 1, 2006 in Oklahoma City.
By Ty Russell, AP
Q: To what do you owe your longevity?
A: I would be remiss not to look up to heaven and say God has blessed me with unusually good health. You're talking about somebody who tried out for the NBA for nine years, and each of the years I tried, (I was told I) was too thin, had a balding appearance, had a boyish complexion. They were looking for guys who looked the part.
Q: What is your proudest moment as a referee?
A: Every time someone recognizes me as an NBA referee. I've always felt the responsibility I take on as an NBA referee is 365 days a year, 24/7. If someone never meets another NBA referee, they're going to judge all NBA referees by me.
Q: What is your most memorable game?
A: Years ago, the big game was Boston-Philly when (Larry) Bird and (Julius) Erving would go against each other. It was a national TV game, and at the start of the second half, Dennis Johnson stumbled into (referee) Jack Madden and broke Madden's leg. I had to do the second half by myself. As the game progresses, Erving and Bird decide to start choking each other, and I eject both of them. I remember the comments by both teams were, "Maybe a lesser-experienced official would have called a technical and kept both of them in the game. Whatever possessed Dick Bavetta to do it, it was the right thing to do." That was kind of a launching pad for my career, and the NBA started to look at me a little differently with certain leadership qualities.
Q: What's the closest that you've come to missing a game?
A: Last year I had a game in Milwaukee on a Tuesday night, and I was working Wednesday in Detroit. When we drove back to Chicago from Milwaukee, they said O'Hare Airport was going to be closed the following day. I was with Sean Corbin. ... We drove 6½ hours in a blizzard from Chicago to Detroit. If we hadn't driven, we wouldn't have made the game.
Q: How much has officiating changed during your career?
A: Where it has changed is in the accountability and the scrutiny that we're now under. We carry a BlackBerrry. We have a laptop. We do daily testing. We do daily meetings. We do tape sessions. After the game, we're required to go back to our hotel and watch the same game we just refereed and submit a game report, submit a game summary, which is inclusive of critical plays in the game, pertinent plays, plays that we were not satisfied with. Years ago, that never happened. Maybe when you got around to it you put a handwritten report in an envelope. That generally only took place if there was a problem in the game.
Link (http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/2006-02-07-bavetta-questions_x.htm)
:tu