[bkbjones]

Yah, I was supposed to work this (with the guy who eventually was the base umpire - talk about stealing money, just stay in C and close your eyes). Lost the game about two days before so I could go do a game that ended up 21-2. Of course everyone deserves good umpires, right?

I thought mine was bad. Little did I know what would transpire that night.

From a friend of a friend of a friend who is also an umpire, I heard the first report of this game.

Lotsa folks have said lotsa things. Everyone has been thrown under the bus, from inner city leaders to the coaches to the umpires. The coach of the winning team had to change his phone number. He's been excoriated in the press. Others in the media have said (paraphrasing) there is no need to impose tougher "mercy" rules. The losing team new they had lost - but as they have said many times, they will get their retaliation on the basketball court next year (their boys and girls programs are perennially extremely good).

Could the umpires have done "something?" Sure. They could have made an even bigger mockery of the game. The strike zone was enlarged, but not to nonsensical proportions. And, why have everyone step off the bag? In the first inning? Second inning? That makes a mockery of the game, too.

This game was like "The Perfect Storm." Everything fell just right -- or just wrong, depending upon one's perspective.

The other thing that hasn't been discussed much is the grief some of the Woodinville girls have taken from faculty members at their own school. These are self-righteous folks who don't give a damn about athletics anyway. It's shameful. (disclosure: I am a resident of this school district, and my son -- the one who has sired our first grandchild -- is a 2000 graduate of Woodinville. My daughter graduated from their archrival two years later.)

One thing is for certain about this game. The only people pi$$ed off about it are adults. The kids from both schools were fine about it, and they will be fine when they play again. Unfortunately, Franklin has had to forfeit some games because of various issues. The kids will survive, while adults continue blathering. Of course, we don't play these games for the good of the kids -- just ask all these self-righteous adults who would NEVER let THEIR kids do something like THAT.