Valid Appeal Or Not?

[Dakota]

Originally posted by wadeintothem
I can almost see what probably happened.. it probably turned into a useless noise fest with many talking about anything other than the rule at hand and in the confusion the wrong ruling was grasped onto..

Yeah, I've been a party to these kinds of "discussions," too. Everybody talking, hardly anyone thinking, no one listening. Entertaining, but pointless.

Originally posted by wadeintothem
but to be honest, rules clinics are IMO virtually useless

I have great sympathy, respect, and appreciation for the guys who try diligently to put on useful clinics that can actually improve the level of training among the umpires, but my experience (with just a couple of exceptions) mirrors yours.

The exceptions are the all-day or multi-day schools.

The mere clinics are pro forma, but unfortunately, so few would come to a clinic that was long enough to actually be useful that the clinics tend to be hitting the highlights of changes with maybe one or two troublesome rules or mechanics discussed.