This couple is on the ball

Weber State Coach Randy Rahe has to be careful when he fusses at an official. He thinks twice before he questions the power of an official’s eye sight. And he never, ever makes a derogatory comment about the spouse of an official.

Rahe, after all, is married to one.

Thursday in the first round of the West Regional in Sacramento, second-seeded UCLA (26-5) will play Rahe’s 15th-seeded Weber State Wildcats. And in the stands will be Rahe’s wife, Laura -- unless she is chosen to officiate in the NCAA women’s tournament, something she has done twice in the past.

Rahe and his wife met when both were young coaches in Colorado. Rahe was an assistant at Colorado College and his future spouse was coaching a girls’ high school team.

“I went to scout a kid,” Rahe said, “and she was coaching in the game before. I went home and wrote her a letter because I was afraid that if she saw me in person, she’d throw me aside.”

Laura wrote back, “Thanks but no thanks,” and it wasn’t until a year later, when Randy had moved on to an assistant’s job at the University of Colorado and Laura had taken another coaching job at nearby Estes Park that Randy got a different response.

“She was packing, going through some old stuff, found my letter and we got in touch again.”

That summer, Rahe was coaching at a college camp and needed some extra officials. “I said to her, ‘Why don’t you try?’ She jumped in and got the bug.”

Rahe, 46, said Laura, 43, progressed rapidly through the high school, college and even the women’s pro ranks. Now she officiates women’s games in the Western Athletic and Mountain West conferences.

The couple, which has two sons, will watch tape of men’s and women’s games together. Randy will ask Laura about calls he thinks went against him.

“We’ll talk about it,” Rahe said. “I have to say she’s almost always right.”

Said Laura: “I think every coach should be married to an official.” She wasn’t totally kidding.

Laura will also come home from games and tell Randy everything she’s heard during games. “Coaches are just mean sometimes,” Randy said. “And fans can say some unbelievable things.”

Rahe, in his first year as head coach, said he doesn’t cut officials any slack just because he is married to one. He didn’t get any technical fouls called on him this season though.

“One thing Laura has done,” he said, “is help educate me on what officials are looking for, what angles they are looking for, what they see in the game. One of the biggest complaints coaches have is why a particular official doesn’t make a call. I think I understand that better now.”

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UCLA junior guard Arron Afflalo was selected as a first-team All-American by the Sporting News and was chosen to the second team of the United States Basketball Writers Assn. squad.

Along with Afflalo, Texas freshman Kevin Durant, North Carolina sophomore Tyler Hansbrough and seniors Alando Tucker of Wisconsin and Acie Law IV of Texas A&M; were on the Sporting News first team. Durant, Law, Tucker and Hansbrough were joined by Nevada senior Nick Fazekas on the USBWA first team.

diane.pucin@latimes.com