A few years later I learned firsthand that Bavetta was indeed a jerk: Bavetta was addressing a preseason meeting of the CBA's coaches to go over some new rules and new interpretations of some old rules. When he was finished, he asked for questions.

It seems that several of my players had been complaining for years about some of the CBA refs' after-game activities. Given the relatively small cities that hosted CBA franchises, there weren't many appropriate nightclubs and bars to choose from where the players could party after the games. Those refs who were likewise interested in the same nocturnal pursuits were faced with the same limitations and subsequently frequented the very same venues.

Given all the available alcohol and female companionship, there were bound to be rivalries and confrontations between the players and the refs. Edgy faceoffs that the players swore subsequently influenced the refs' on-court judgment.

So I brought the subject to Bavetta's attention, emphasizing that it was never a healthy situation whenever refs and players tried to romance the same women. Didn't Bavetta think it would be best if the CBA refs were prohibited from frequenting these venues?Bavetta's response was to start laughing. "What's the matter, Charley? One of the refs got a girl you were after?"

Everybody joined in the laughter, and that was the end of that.

Early in the subsequent season, one of my players moaned when he saw that a certain ref was working the game. "Charley," the player said, "last week that guy was drooling all over the girl I was with at a club in Tampa Bay, and I had to get up in his face to make him go away. I'm telling you, man, it's gonna be payback time."

Sure enough, after the player merely shook his head after the ref tooted him for a charge that clearly should have been a block, two back-to-back toots signified a pair of technical fouls and banishment.

"What did I tell you, Charley?" the player said as he headed for the locker room.

The other team converted both techs, and we eventually lost the game by one point.

Thanks, Dick.