Quote:
Originally posted by mcrowder
I love this board.
However, I think it sucks that we spent a lot of time discussing this on the public section of the board, asking the powers that be for interpretations, and are now being told to pay money to find out the answer. Screw that.
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mcrowder: Let me make several points, please.
First, I posted in the original thread the FED interpretation of what constitutes a "lodged" ball. I announced that it would be one of the first plays when the FED puts up their 2005 interpretations. You didn't have to go to the paid site for that information. Tim's article explains something of how the FED works and the reasons behind the thinking of the committee.
BTW: In response to another poster, let me say I read every message in the original thread several times. The "main idea" was not what the umpire should do if he called "Out!" and then discovered the ball was lodged. I'm at a loss to understand why a FED umpire -- now -- would call an out when he saw the fielder's glove careening across the infield.
Second, I will never understand the hatred some few brother officials have for Offiicating.com. We spend thousands and thousands of dollars to support the seven boards that make up the Forum and to search for knowledgeable officials who are willing to share their expertise with others. We perform the same services as
Referee magazine -- only we do it in a timely fashion.
I would think that everyone in the officiating community would want us to continue to grow. We provide accurate, informative, educational, and entertaining articles, all of them designed to improve the quality of officiating around the world.
Why is that bad?
Unfortunately, we are not wealthy individuals, so out of our own pockets we cannot sustain the cost of the services Officiating.com provides. Like
Referee, we ask those who use those services to pay a nominal fee. We have been in this business for five years and one month; we have published nearly 4000 officiating articles in that time. We are extremely proud of the work our writers, located in 24 states and five countries, do.
Third, as an experiment write a letter to Bill Topp excoriating
Referee because they charge for their services: "How dare you and Barry Mano want to take my money to defray the thousands of dollars it takes to produce your magazine each year. You should do it free." Your letter will never be published.
On the other hand, that is not the case at the Forum. If your post is within the bounds of decency and good taste, your complaint will remain for all to see. The old saying comes to mind: "You're biting the hand that feeds you" when you denigrate the site that is the reason this Forum exists.
Finally, many of you officials reading my post attend training camps; those are rarely free and -- unless they are in your association -- never free if the clinicians are nationally known. You pay dues to your local association and to your state association. Some of you live in states where you must pay dues to the National Federation. You purchase rule books and case books. You buy manuals, like J/R, the BRD, PBUC. You get DVDs and tapes and audio Cds, all of which provide training, all of which cost money to produce, all of which cost you money to own.
Officiating.com has nearly 100 of those items, all of them "authored" by successful, well-known officials, all of them designed to help you and me improve.
Why is
that bad?