If I may rephrase...

I am not sure what that has to do with umpiring.

I'm no fan of any of the light blue shirts. I do like my gray shirts with the charcoal pants.

..and the last shall be first.

Yeah, I too first clicked the link and was already in Pavlovian mode to criticize and demean... but... I watched and know what it is like to TRAIN and ORGANIZE said activities, and so far for my 7 million volunteer hours have recieved nothing. Occasionally, a student says "Thanks" or "Good job". That's enough.

I see guys giving their time to HELP some new umpires get better. Part of learning this craft is filtering good instruction from bad. Probably MOST of what this group was getting was good instruction. Was this group BETTER after these sessions? I'll bet yes.

As stated before, amazing how many working amatuer umpires and organizations have no and offer no training. I applaud all the instructors in this video and congratulate all the attendees for caring enough to work to improve.

And can I get an AMEN and "Goodnite Chet", 'Goodnite David, "Goodnite Harriet", Goodnite Johnboy", "Goodnite Thread"


This program has been brought to you by Proctor and Gambles Pork and Beans, any re-broadcasting without the explicit approval of the NFL, AFL, CIA or MOUSE is strictly forbidden.

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And that's the way it is ...

In the end, extremist viewpoints, no matter where they are grounded, are dangerous. Extremist conservative, extremist liberal, extremist Muslim, extremist Christian, extremist tree hugger, extremist NRA member, whatever. I don't want to have lunch with any of them.

And as SDS stated earlier in a different way, in this country 99% of the population fits in to about 1% of the left/right political spectrum.

Mandatory crazy link included for your viewing pleasure... The Flat Earth Society -- Home

Now Kevin, THATS the way it is... goodnight.

I think extremist it the wrong word. It implies that McVeigh(for instance) took a legitimate belief too far. McVeigh was not a conservative gone wrong. He was an evil homicidal maniac. He murdered men, women, children and babies.

I am a conservative. I believe that the US Constitution does not allow many of the things that the Federal Government does. I REALLY believe that. I believe that I should speak out about it and try to elect people who will obey the US Constitution.

Did he believe some thins that I believe? I am sure he did. He probably believed in things that all of us believe in-that cannot explain his actions. He was evil-THAT explains his actions.

I like the polo blue, with the dark grey pants. I do not like the powder blue.

Thank you, Bob.

... For weighing in, and for letting us air it out a little and letting us police ourselves. It worked out okay, didn't it? We got to find out that none of us are extremists.

do you need a Kleenex, now... you have some stuff running down your cheek...LOL

everyone know appearance is everything... the guy with the pony tail might be able to umpire, but the way he looks will get him crap.

Dude, not only do you not know this guy, but I'll bet he has been working baseball since you were a little boy and even earlier, possibly before you were born. He could more than likely umpire circles around you, and I'm certain that he has forgotten more about umpiring than you know. The way he looks got him all sorts of good assignments over the years, and his appearance never cost him a thing.

I don't have anything running down my cheek, except a little snot. Oh, wait...that was just you.

What if the umpire's a woman; is a ponytail okay?

And here are two partners (and I have had both):

A) Clean-cut guy and physically fit. He gets out of the car with badly wrinkled, non-uniform light gray pants; faded, sweat-stained purple mesh cap, canvas belt and faded navy t-shirt. He's wearing mostly black running shoes and black and gold and white pattern socks. He goes to his trunk and pulls out a balled-up, faded navy shirt with no association patch and says, "We're going navy, right?" and pulls it on. He was finished. I thought he went to the trunk to get started. (I was standing there in my charcoal slacks and black t-shirt after having called for black on black with charcoal the night before.)

B) Very overweight guy with a large moustache and one of those Frank Zappa things under his lip, and a ponytail that he eventually tucked up under his cap. He walked to the back of his car and opened it up and it looked like a men's store with a whole rack of shirts, slacks and jackets, and stacked up drawers and bins---all perfectly organized. He pulled on a clean, pressed Honig's uniform (right down to the poly-wools); a clean, creased, new-looking cap; a pair of shiny, all-black Reeboks. He was impeccable.

I would rather go onto a field with an impeccably dressed 280-pound version of Frank Zappa than a careless, slovenly, but well-groomed and physically fit version of Ray Liotta.

So appearance is important, but the uniform is drastically more important than the grooming or fitness of the man wearing it.

Matt - first, congrats on your assignment (I'm retired Army) and understood everything you said! :)

I guess one question we need to ask - are you an exception to the rule or the new breed?

I am very conservative in my beliefs and as you know, being that you're in the military, first impressions are important. I'm sure you've had your share of "issues" due to your decisions - and that's natural.

Some (me included) are pre-disposed to their ideas about long hair, facial hair, tatoos, etc. Until the playing field is leveled (in the future, if it ever is) there will always be two sides to this....and there is really no sense trying to talk the other side out of their opinion.

Just my $02.

PS - we have this discussion annually on the basketball referee forum. Same issues.

Having lived in a mid-market midwestern city (Des Moines) and a similarly sized military city (Colorado Springs), I can say definitively that the military city is more conservative than the midwestern city. In fact, I would be hard pressed to think of a midwest city of more than a quarter million that would be considered "conservative" by any measure (cultural, social, or political).

And while I've certainly met my share of liberal military members, the correlation between military service and conservative politics is quite strong.

The problem starts when you see everything as having only two sides. That's why you are limited in your scope. There are far too many people with far too many concerns for there to only be two sides.

Open up and look around. You're only here once; you gain way more when your eyes are open.