Since everyone knows refs are underpaid and underappreciated I'm gonna give them a clue as they can't afford to buy one themselves.
Look, I sincerely appreciate the fact there are peeps willing to be refs despite the modest pay, long hours and cumulative aggravation, but--
They still need to do it right. Simply being there isn't an excuse for laziness, ignorance or incompetence.
Was that harsh? Tough.
Before I give the clue away let me add most of my criticism is aimed at the refs who should be the best. And since I'm in a giving mood here's an opinion; the crew that worked the D2 matches on Sunday at NEO ought to replace the crew working D1--and it should happen yesterday. The D1 refs are too cozy with too many of the players and teams they officiate and they routinely commit the cardinal sin of watching the games instead of officiating them. And no, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to make that observation, just a modicum of intelligence and a smidgen of experience. Some of the same can be applied directly to some of the current NXL refs as well.
Foundation for the free clue: every layout to one degree or another has lanes where one can either predict close action or, once games commence, observe such action; running down the snake or as at NEO, hauling down the d-wire, are common ones. And yet, somehow, this reality never seems to make any impression whatsoever on the refs who blithely continue to miss call after call after call in those circumstances for the harsh "reasons" enumerated above.
When one player is running down another player what does the typical ref do? (Fooled you. That was a trick question because the typical ref is clueless so he doesn't know it's happening until it's too late.) What he does is turn his head toward the player being run down and waits until that player is shot and then signals him eliminated and then, he may or may not, bother to check the player who did the running down to see if he got shot too. At no time, except by serendipitous fortuity [try a dictionary] is a call made that distinguishes between who shot who first.
Free clue: in order to make correct, accurate and frequently critically important calls in those situations referees can cooperate and communicate! This is apparently a novel concept as the current crop of refs seem determined to observe only their zone as if wearing blinders. It seems one pair of eyes can only watch one player at a time so if you need to see what happens to two players in a short span of time the easy answer is get another pair of eyes on the job. You see, one ref watches one player while the other ref watches the second player and they use communication to determine who shot who first. It's crazy, I know. If I need to elaborate on exactly how this would work drop me a line and I'll explain it for you. Feel free to sign on as "Embarrassed Ref."