I am presently working on a book  in conjunction with a referee friend  highlighting the lighter side of what goes on between basketball coaches and officials during games. So far as we know this has not been done before. I'm in the process of contacting coaches around the country to get their input. We're hoping to get all 50 states represented and we're also contacting officials to get their stories.

I've written one book and hundreds of articles as a former reporter and newspaper editor. In my spare time I've coached basketball at the high school and Division I college levels. This project combines three of my passions: laughter, writing and basketball.

We'd be particularly interested in some of the more amusing interactions between coaches and officials during your career. We're not looking for anecdotes that would be embarrassing or disrespectful to either, but for the genuinely funny, spontaneous stuff that sometimes results in a shared laugh. Maybe it was a one-liner, maybe it was something a little more involved. Either way, we'd really like to hear from you.

You could help us out in a couple of ways. We've set up a new website to collect stories. Go to http://www.hoopstories.com to see what I'm talking about and submit an entry; or if there's a coach or ref colleague you think we should talk to, please go to the website and shoot us an email with his or her name and email. And if you know a coach or ref, please forward him or her this message or the website. We're sincere and interested.

Thank you very much and please pass the word.

Roger Carroll