The game must go on

Friday evening my throat caught fire and Saturday didn't bring relief. No, Saturday brought various aches, pains and exhaustion. Yes, the first nice day of spring here in Bellingham and I caught myself the bird flu.

Unfortunately, with the late scheduling of the State Cup I was unable to bribe or swindle anyone into taking one of the matches this morning. So, unwillingly and still depleted from my Avian Sickness, I made my way to the pitch and managed to officiate a game. The match itself was uneventful (a relatively mild 3-1 contest) in which I may have called 10 fouls total...may.

With about 15 minutes left in the match I asked one of the gals from the visiting team if they often played without assistant referees. She said, "No, we usually have 'em. Why?" I replied, "Every time the ball goes out of play, all your coaches yell about who's ball it is as if the referee needs help."