I know, I know ... believe me, over the years I have heard them all. It is almost time for the 14th annual Gus Macker 3-on-3 basketball tournament and we again are short GusBusters, the lifeline of Macker.

And what I am referring to are the reasons why people CAN’T be a GusBuster. “I have kids playing,” “I am playing,” “I can only work mornings,” “I can only work afternoons,” “I can only work on Saturday,” “I can only work on Sunday,” and the one I have absolutely no chance with – “Some of the fans are completely out of control and I don’t want to take the abuse!” That one leaves me helpless.

For what will be the 14th time, over 1,600 players and thousands and thousands of fans will be taking control of East Main Street from a Friday afternoon to an early Sunday evening in what has become one of this area’s signature events. And, yes, we are the one of the Macker staff’s favorite venues as we run a very smooth, and thorough, operation.

However, we are again facing a Buster shortage, a very severe Buster shortage. It has gotten to the point where next year we may seriously need to consider greatly reducing the number of teams so as not to overwork the Busters, who, by the way, are strictly volunteers.

Yes, they do get a nice package of “goodies” as our way of saying a big THANK YOU, but the more Busters we can secure the less chance of people getting overworked.

When signing up to be a GusBuster, there are many options. You can be on a red court where you actually blow a whistle and make calls, or you can be on a yellow court where the players make the calls and you serve as a mediator. And we encourage all GusBuster to get a partner that they can share their court with.