The Quadratic Formula

28 seconds into the game, Red misses a shot--no iron, just glass. The ball rattles out of bounds, and it goes to Red. The shot clock is mistakenly reset. So, with 7:32 left in the first quarter, we already have a significant delay. My partner goes to the table and slowly--very, very slowly--we count off the shot clock to put 2 on it.

Why not chat with the players? I mean, we're just sitting here waiting for an inbound. It'll set a fun atmosphere. Calm things down, create a positive atmosphere.

I chat with the Red in-bounder and her defender for White.

So, do you have finals this week?

RED: Yeah.

How are they going?

RED: They're okay. I'm going to fail my math test tomorrow.

Oh! That's bad.

RED: I can't ever remember the quadratic formula.

WHITE: The quadratic formula? I know that.

Well, this is a chance to show some sportsmanship. White 44, can you help Red 21 with the quadratic formula?

WHITE: Negative B, plus-or-minus the square root of B squared minus 4AC, all over 2A.

RED: 4AC! That's the part I always forget!

Thanks, 44. It was nice of you to help her out.

(At this point, the shot clock is finally fixed and we in-bound the ball--just a little more confident that Red 21 will do well on her math final.)