[Bob Proctor]

First: Did anyone responding read the article I quoted?

Second: The author states that he 1) stopped the contest, 2) spoke to both coaches, and then 3) spoke to the batter. Do you still think there's a need for a fourth step, or might you be inclined to believe that all of the uniformed personnel on both teams might have it figured out by now ... thus eliminating the need to extend it further by calling the next ball out of the zone a strike? Besides being against the rules, doesn't this sound a little like overkill to you? By now everyone knows who's in charge! The ump has taken 10 minutes out of the playing time to prove it.

Third: Talk to some long time football officials before you make statements. Every senior football official will tell you the same thing. We all have given warnings and made "corrective" comments to both players and coaches thousands of times over the years. Usually the response from a coach results in better communication, more cooperation, and better coaches ratings. Football officials who run a situation into the ground generally don't last long (...and we never have to threaten a player or "make-up" a call). Maybe that's why baseball umpires find themselves being confronted on the playing field so much more often that football officials.

In 25 years I've rung up only 2 coaches, one AD, a newspaper reporter, and a cheerleader's mom ... not to mention several players for first offense flagrant personal and unsportsmanlike fouls. Though I have made warning statements to many players, I have never invented a foul just to prove a point. That would give one team an unfair advantage now, wouldn't it?