Advantage Disadvantage Page 15

  “Are you done with Elizabeth?” asked Marcus.

  “Yep. She couldn’t stand that I won’t be going into the college ranks.”

  “Well, I’m not surprised. I guess I could forgive you for being with her. Made the same mistake myself,” he joked.

  “And I can forgive you for Jamal’s early signing with EPSU. That ended my chances for that job,” replied Scott.

  “Get real, man. You never had a chance for that job. That recruiter strung you along just to secure Jamal.”

  “I guess I’m coming to realize that now. It really soured me on college jobs. I can do more of the things I like right here in high school.”

  “I hate to admit this, Scott, but you are great with the boys and Jamal has grown up considerably under your watch,” said Marcus.

  “So, you’ll come back to the coaching job?”

  “Well, if you need me so badly, although you wouldn’t know it from your team record … you haven’t lost a damn game yet.”

  “That’s great that you’ll be back, but I have a surprise for you as well. You are looking for a job, right? I have always thought that you would make a great teacher. Anyway, the principal has agreed to hire you starting Monday when Christmas Break ends as a teacher’s aide. You will probably start out monitoring study halls and conducting detention. Eventually you can sub for absent teachers. It’s a full time assignment with full benefits.”

  “Why have you done this for me?” asked a shocked Marcus.

  “It’s partially selfish. I need you back on the bench with me and I want you back as my friend. I also feel like I owe something to Jamal – he is a great kid who has taught me a lot. Finally, our school needs passionate people to lead and motivate students.”

  “It sounds ok, man. I haven’t worked in so long I won’t know what to do or wear.”

  “Just tell me that you’ll take the job, and I’ll call the principal right now – he’s waiting to hear the great news.”

  “This is so unexpected. I cannot thank you enough Scott. I am unworthy of this, but yeah, I need the job. I have been jealous of teachers like you who get to work with young people. Sure, I want the job.”

  “You have to coach with me – it’s part of the package,” Scott cautioned.

  “Of course. I hated sitting with the crazy parents anyhow!”

  “Alright, hold on. Let’s call him.”

  Scott picked up the phone and dialed the principal’s number.

  “Yes, it’s Scott Venturi. Yes, it’s great news. Mr. Imari wants the aide job and is willing to rejoin me on the bench.”

  After a pause Scott continued, “No sir. I did not tell him about that yet. Ok. Ok. I’ll have him see your secretary on Monday to get started with paperwork – he’s East End’s newest employee.” He hung up the phone.

  While holding out his hand, Scott said, “Welcome to the East End High School Staff.”

  “Hey I’ve got a question,” Marcus said, stopping the handshake. “What did you mean when you said you didn’t tell me about something?”

  “Oh yeah. Part of the deal is that you will take classes under the district’s tuition reimbursement program. The principal wants you to finish your degree with night classes and summer school. Then, after you student teach, we can hire you as a certified, full-time district teacher. It will take you a couple years – but we will help you. This isn’t just an aide job for now, it’s your future.”

  Tears streamed down Marcus’ face. He thought of his mother’s dream that he graduate from college – a far journey from the Robert Taylor Housing Projects. Even though it had been several years since his original dream died, a new path to a college degree amazingly reappeared. His mom was still living on the south side, and he could not wait to tell her.

  Scott’s eyes welled-up. What other job in the world could he make people’s dreams come true: Jamal Jonathon Imari, Alex Austin, Marcus Imari and countless others? He confirmed to himself that he was in the right place, right here at East End.

  “Hey coach,” Scott said when they finally stopped crying of joy. “Let’s watch some game tape of our next opponents.”

  “Roll the film, brother” Marcus replied.

  Chapter Twenty-nine. The Referee’s Finest Season

  Billy Rechter was having a great season. Since he became a certified state observer and rules interpreter, his schedule improved with the help of several local assignment chairpersons who were eager to please the IIAA state sports coordinators. He had already worked a Super-Sectional Final Game the year before and he anticipated the possibility of moving on to work the downstate championship. He was working a hard, tough schedule in important games in conferences around the city and suburbs.

  While working a game at Cornell High School, the visitor’s coach was riding Billy up and down the court. His team was so undermanned compared to the home team he was transferring his frustration with the inferiority of his players onto the referees: a classic, but cowardly ploy by frayed coaches. As the coach continued his on-going dialog in Billy’s ear, he stopped the game while standing in front of the visitor’s bench.

  “Do you have a coach who helps you with this team?” Billy asked calmly.

  “Yeah, the sophomore coach is my assistant for the varsity team. What does that have to do with anything?” the visiting coach asked.

  “Well coach”, Billy chuckled, “You better warm him up. You aren’t going to last too long the way you’re going.”

  After the crowd stopped laughing, Billy regretted what he said although it did shut down the loud mouth coach. Billy thought back to the solid advice he received long before about talking to the crowd – do not. He could lose his chance to go downstate over something as dumb as his last interchange. It was funny, yes, but do not trade a career for a moment.

  On another night, Billy was working with a young, inexperienced crew. The assigner often decided who would be in charge of the crew (the referee or “R”) and who would be the umpires (U1 & U2) for a given game. The referee conducted the pre-game meetings, tossed the jump ball to start the game, and put the ball in play to start each quarter. Despite many coach’s misconception, the referee was not to override or pull rank on U1 or U2. In this particular game, a young up and coming referee was the “R”. By mistake, the other umpire put the wrong free throw shooter at the line for a one-and-one bonus. The player made the first free throw, and then missed the second. A teammate of the free throw shooter put the rebound back for two points. The opposing coach called timeout. A player put the ball back in play. After the throw in, a player travelled. The other team put the ball back in play and a commotion occurred at the scorer’s table. Game administration realized that they had erred in putting the wrong free throw shooter at the line a couple plays back. The young referee struggled to figure out what to do because using the wrong player on a free throw was, by rule, a correctible error under certain conditions. Billy waited and waited. When the young referee reviewed how he was going to handle it by reversing the points and getting the correct player to shoot the free throws, Billy spoke up. “It’s true that this is a correctible error, but only if the error is discovered before the second time the clock starts with a live ball. We are well beyond that time restriction, therefore the play stands and we resume from the point of interruption.”

  Experience matters in officiating. Before Billy spoke up, both coaches were arguing with the young referee. The argument ended as soon as Rechter clearly stated the rule – game on. Billy continued to display his vast knowledge of the rulebook and gained notoriety among coaches and officials.

  Under IIAA Bylaws, if a referee tossed a player or coach out of game on technical fouls, the referee had to fill out an incident report online. Most assignment chairpersons wanted to see a copy of the report as well because they usually got a call from an unhappy coach or AD. On the other hand, the state had a sportsmanship award that any coach, AD or referee could submit when something positive and notable happened.

 
During this season, Billy worked a game at Merrill High School. The Varsity basketball coach there was a known raving lunatic. Coach Peter Zach never rattled Billy. In their pregame referee conference in the locker room, Billy warned his partners to stay calm when Coach Zach hurled aggressive objections to their calls.

  It was a particularly close game and uncharacteristically, Coach Zach left the referees alone and focused on his team. He hardly raised his voice at anyone. He ultimately lost a well-contested game by two excruciating points. After Billy showered, he walked past Coach Zach on the way out. The coach held out his fist and without either of them saying a word, Billy gave the coach “fist” back. The coach’s quiet game time demeanor was unusual for him, and high fiving the referee after a loss seemed out of character for him to say the least. Billy went online when he got home and wrote Coach Peter Zach up for a good sportsmanship award and emailed it to the IIAA officials. On the way to work the next day, Billy swung into the nearby Merrill High School parking lot. He wanted to drop-off a copy of the good sportsmanship nomination directly to the AD’s office.

  “Rechter, what are you doing here?” the AD asked. “Did you throw someone out of last night’s game?”

  “No sir. I wrote someone up for IIAA’s Good Sportsmanship Award,” replied Billy.

  “From our school? You’re kidding me,” said the AD as he shared a laugh with his secretary.

  “It’s from the game last night. A close game, well coached, hard fought by both teams. It is for Coach Peter Zach. He left us alone, focused on his team and was classy enough to acknowledge me in the parking lot even after a tough loss. It is easy to be a good guy when you win, much tougher when you lose. Coach Zach let us do our job without interference, while the opposing coach begged and argued about each call.”

  “Well, Billy. I am sure Peter will appreciate the nomination, but there is a better explanation for his quiet demeanor last night. Just for the record, this week Peter picked up laryngitis!”

  The three of them laughed until their sides hurt.

  Chapter Thirty. Big Deception, Higher Ranking

  Deep into Chicago’s winter, the team plowed through the regular season with slushy parking lots and sometimes-harrowing team bus rides to all points around the city and suburbs. Frank Worrell’s reluctant successes continued in his daily columns, TV shows and internet blogs. Advertisers looked forward to the rest of Windy City Daily’s special sections for the basketball season: Season End Summary, Conference Playoffs, State Playoffs and All-Area Team Selection. Companies reserved space in each of these publications and often sponsored the TV show as well. Revenue was pouring into the newspaper’s coffers. Not all profits accrued because of Frank Worrell, but certainly, a huge portion was due to his prep coverage.

  Just as Frank and Bobby G. suspected, East End High School flew through their easy non-conference schedule. In conference play, Coach Venturi’s team lost only two games in a sensational season. East End failed to rank in the top twenty teams until they won their first nine games. All of these provided wide winning margins consistent with Bobby G.’s plans. Frank slowly lifted East End into the Top Twenty. Bobby G. made a large profit betting on East End. Gang treasurers who placed bets on other games could not understand why Bobby G. never offered them action on East End games. However, the bookie smartly kept them happy by tilting other moneymaking games. When the team finally established themselves in the rankings, but lost two conference games, Frank punished them with a severe drop. Two steps up, one-step back. Meanwhile, Bobby G. was building his war chest to move in for the big kill.

  Detective T.J. Battle was visible during many high school games. Was he investigating something or just checking out the progress of some of his grown up NAU players? Everyone knew Frank Worrell from his prep TV coverage. The detective approached Frank and told him he had heard many rumors about a gangland war breaking out over sports betting. He was wondering if Frank had heard anything.

  “A half a million dollars for my expected cut is no chump change,” Frank thought to himself. Therefore, he was nervous to hear that the cops were investigating Bobby G. before the Advantage / Disadvantage plan completed. Frank’s partner had to be around to execute his end of the deal, at least long enough to pay the sportswriter off.

  “Nope, don’t know any bookies who take bets.”

  “You know a guy named Bobby G., right? He is a street agent, maybe involved in sports betting too.”

  “I know him because he hangs around the summer leagues sometimes,” Frank offered.

  “He’s not a bad guy, but he’s not so good either. Really, he seems unaffiliated with any gang. We are looking at several other guys.”

  “Yeah. I know he’s a little shady,” replied Frank.

  “Well, here’s my card and phone number. I know you have your ear to the ground. If you come up with something I should know, call me.”

  “Yes, Detective Battle. I sure will.”

  Frank was relieved that Bobby G. was not currently involved in the gang wars that rearranged the balance of power and money, and that he was not the focus of the Chicago Police Department investigation. He needed Bobby G. to stay in business and stay out of trouble for the rest of the high school season.

  Toward the end of the season East End finally received their due, more than their due, actually. They had a 21 - 2 win/loss record, but Frank knew that their pre-conference schedule was chocked full of easy, non-competitive teams and their conference was soft this year. The public was ready to believe in the quality of East End’s basketball team. Frank ranked them second in the final season’s poll, well ahead of much better teams. The trap was set. Frank and Bobby G. had to pick the game to close in on the kill.

  Frank was finished with his contribution to the Advantage/Disadvantage plan when the final season ranking issue appeared on newsstands. He was exhausted from the long season but he was on the brink of acquiring big money. He felt excited. He called Nancy.

  “Ronnie Edelman,” she said on the phone, “the planetarium is open tonight. Get over here pronto.”

  “I’m not in the mood tonight,” and he hung up the phone. Now, he felt excited and liberated from the grips of Nancy.

  Chapter Thirty-one. The Regional System

  The state administrator grouped high schools by size and geography for each of the four classes in IIAA State Basketball Playoffs, the original March Madness. Scott Venturi attended a “seeding” meeting with the other sixteen coaches assigned to their section. The higher the ranking, the easier games that team would have played in the first few rounds. Some coaches legitimately voted based on their perception of strength, but others lobbied with their friends to inflate their rankings.

  The highest ranked team played number sixteen, second played fifteen, and so on. East End was clearly the best team in this section and the coaches easily voted them into the one-slot. However, the fix was in for Luella High School. With a record of 8 wins and 17 losses, they somehow ended up seeded fourth; high above three teams with winning records. The coaches involved argued that Luella’s schedule was much tougher than the three teams, but Scott understood what happened – the fix was in big time. The friends of the Luella’s coach colluded to dishonestly rank his team. Luella unfairly was able to win their regional title because of this advantage. Eventually a better team beat them, but the coach orchestrated two wins by politicking, not coaching and talent. The Luella power play disgusted Scott. Was this the spirit of amateur athletics?

  East End would host the opening round for three teams and themselves because they were the top seed in their own regional. The athletic director appreciated this assignment because for each game, the school would bring in over one thousand dollars in net revenue after paying the referees, security personnel, and scorers. Moreover, the home team usually dominated the crowd in the playoffs and that could only help their team.

  Bobby G. thought correctly that East End would breeze through the early rounds. He was getting ready to pounce. Frank
had done an outstanding effort executing his responsibilities of the Advantage / Disadvantage scheme. He purposely underestimated East End early in the season, and inflated the team ranking to number two in his season ending poll. Homers and gangbangers alike were anxious to bet on East End, equally falling for the unearned status. In the early rounds Bobby G. did not accept any bets on East End although many homers tried to make back season losses. He was patient. After East End captured the Regional Crown, Frank published his State Playoff prediction column. Of course, he picked East End to win the State Championship. This reinforced the setup that he and Bobby G. worked so hard to cultivate.

  “Frank, I told you we deserved a ranking at the beginning of the season,” Coach Venturi said as the sportswriter interviewed him after the Regional Championship.

  “Coach, you were right. I am a little late getting onboard, but I am with you now. Gotcha winning it all in tomorrow’s column.”

  “Finally, East End is getting our due props” Scott said naively as he smiled.

  “Perfect,” thought Frank, “let them be overconfident. Bobby G. just has to pick the right game.”

  Chapter Thirty-two. William Rechter’s Playoff Assignments

  During the last week of the regular season, the IIAA posted online the assignments for each playoff game. Referees pounded the website during that week as the IIAA slowly dripped out the officials’ schedules for the Regional Games in each class. Billy was not too concerned about the early round location assignments. He was confident that he had a shot to go downstate for one of the class’championships. Regionals were just warm-ups for veterans like him.

  At the end of the first week, Billy received his sectional assignments. These games were more competitive and less predictable. Conversely, the regionals weeded out the very weak teams, but the sectionals were better games. When Billy came home after working his sectional championship game he went online and found that he was assigned to the Super Sectional at the United Center (UC) in Chicago, “the house Michael Jordan built”.