Predicting the Future - Ref style

I went to a Jr. A Tier III game last night.  I was there to collect data on the game, like what the referee was doing, work/rest ratios, stoppages, and so on.  My reason for doing all the "geeked-up" type stuff is that I want to break the game down into its most basic elements to better instruct hockey referees.  This is key to really giving a guy an edge where he may need one.  Either physically (for example, do you know how many times a ref in the 1-2 system will sprint the ENTIRE length of the ice -- all 200 feet -- in any given game?  I do.), or mentally (do you know how many times a linesman will have to be aware of icings/offsides in any given game?  I do.).

What does this and a hill of beans mean to you?

It means you can predict the future.

Before you go on further, I want you to read this [link] (please be sure to come back :)

Did you know that Gretzky stepped down as the coach of the Coyotes today?

(hint/hint: He was really, really good at being one step ahead of the competition)

Gretzky's Last Game as a Player (and other stuff):

Q: What does all of this have to do with each other???

A: Being one step ahead of the play (or...predicting the future).

The best refs are the one's who are one step ahead of the play.  They anticipate actions, retaliations, sometimes really bad shtuff, and even what type of game you are going to have.  Now, I am not quite as good as Carnac (that Johnny Carson picture up there, for all you young punks, he was on the Tonight Show before Jay Leno -- hehehe), but with my arsenal of data, I did correctly predict the 3rd period of last night's game.  Pure luck?  Nope.  You would be AMAZED how uncanny it is that hockey games move in predictable patterns.  Game in, game out, season in, season out, they move in very predictable patterns.  There happened to be a supervisor at that game last night, and I told him exactly what was going to happen in the 3rd period.  I was right.  No luck involved.  Just a bunch of yellow legal pads full of notes, stats, skating diagrams, and situations. 

Wanna have that edge?  Wanna predict the future of your games, be one step ahead like Gretzky and Nate Lawson?  Come hang out with [me].

Or just watch old Tonight Show reruns.