Video of the day comes from ESPN, during a recent TBT broadcast. TBT is “The Basketball Tournament,” which is an annual open competition that typically involves alumni teams representing various college programs.

This happened during a game between Marshall Thundering Turd* alums and a team called “Heartfire” –

Appreciate the refs talking shit back to the players. Seems fair enough. If you complain about the ref the ref should be able to give it back to you, unless they stink. Not sure if Clarence Armstrong called a good game, but the soundbites were quality.

Armstrong played four years at Drexel in the late 80s and early 90s. He finished as a career 38.2% three point shooter and averaged 5+ assists during his junior and senior years. Not bad at all.

This is a funny passage from a 2015 Delaware Today profile by Michael Bradley:

“I was horrible toward referees,” Armstrong says. Armstrong piled up the technical fouls and engendered plenty of enmity from the fellows in stripes when he was a point guard for the Dragons. He was one of those guys who thought he never committed a foul. And if he drove into the lane, and there was even a hint of contact, he would plead for a call.

These days, he travels the country trying to maintain order as a new generation of Clarence Armstrong types disagrees with his judgment. Armstrong recognizes the paradox and doesn’t try to rationalize his transition from truant to officer. We all mature, and on the court, Armstrong has become a reasonable person, capable of maintaining order and relating to those who feel aggrieved by his decisions. “I got more technical fouls when I played than most players, Armstrong says. “I was on the radar as a problem guy. The notion that I am now a referee is funny to most who remember me when I played. But that helps with my approach to problem guys today.” Armstrong has averaged between 50 and 75 games a season over the past three seasons and travels across the country working for a variety of leagues. He will often ref three or four games a week and has done as many as five during a seven-day stretch. All the while, he works full time as an IT consultant for a financial services company and lives in New Castle.

Clarence Armstrong is my new favorite ref.

*go Eers