[BigUmp56]

Please keep Steve and his family in your thoughts today, brothers. He's having surgery to remove his tonsils, which are cancerous, and the cancer has spread to his lymph nodes. He sent me a message yesterday and seemed pretty distressed over the ordeal. Steve has a bad heart and is scheduled for an aortic valve replacement in November. His heart condition makes this a high risk surgery. When he wakes up and feels up to looking at the forums again, a few kind words from his friends here would go a long way in helping him to recover. We go back and forth here over umpiring issues, and sometimes forget that we actually share a bond more common than that of umpiring baseball.

Thanks, guys,

Tim.