Officiating seems to be in the news.... Hmmmm... do I smell NCAA tournament and lots of television coverage?

The News-Record has an article chronicling a former player's transformation in to a referee.

She'd like to work bigger conferences -- such as the ACC, which starts its women's basketball tournament in Greensboro on Thursday -- but for now, Fletcher is willing to gut it out in dimly lit gyms where siblings scurry along the baseline; where they play "Disco Duck" during timeouts; and where she and other referees might cool their heels in an equipment closet at halftime.

"You have to start somewhere," she says.

Sports Illustrated has a Q&A with some officials and a piece that shines a spotlight on the day to day working life of an official.

The approximately 1,900 referees who work NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball games dress in locker rooms the size of a closet, endure jeers from fans when they make the right call, catch a few hours of sleep at a hotel, then rise long before the sun does and head for the next packed arena.