[WhatWuzThatBlue]

Deja vu, all over again...

"As an umpire, you can't be good without being fair. You can certainly be fair and not considered good (no pun intended).

I've witnessed dozens of fair umpires who "even up" calls or compensate for a partner that they disagree with. In my experience, I value the partner who is talented enough to realize that the game is not always fair. Some teams (and umpires) get screwed.

In regards to the compliment you received, it was certainly meant in the spirit of professionalism. I've only encountered two coaches that tried to blast me during the pre-game. One never got to see the inside of his dugout and the other walked away feeling pretty ridiculous. Coaches love to kiss the butt of the PU in the Championship game. I'm sure you did a fair job, and all words being equal - I'll take good any day."

Carl, your line about being fair and good not good and fair is intereseting. But again, it's in the interpretation of what we consider good and or fair. I define 'good' as being the epitome of professionalism. In simpler terms - the guy they want out there when the big game is on the line. We expect good umpires to be fair but that's not the case when switched. You may be the exception and this is not a poke at the expeted call philosophy. I truly understand that like the sheriff of yore, being fair is noble. Being good keeps you from getting killed, though.

Anyway, I'm sorry that the last thread got messed up. I tried to toss my serious thoughts in at the beginning. As Paul Harvey would say, you know the rest of the story.