I made the paper
 

I made it into the on-line version of the local paper.

http://www.bellinghamherald.com/gall...368226-t2.html

This coach is one of the VERY best there is, his argument was well within the limits and was in a very sporting maner. I always ejoy working his games.

Bugg

Was he right or wrong?

Nice glasses. ;)

I was gonna be polite and not mention those...

Why??? ;)

Face time on the net! Well, almost.. mostly we can see the coach's face and not the blue. Where was the photographer's priorities?? :)

But don't leave us hanging.. what was the rest of the story? Let's hear the play.

P.S. I am jealous, we still have snow on our fields except for the indoor fields that the school district will not pay to let the kids play on. We hope to start the season on Apr 22.

Dang!! We will be in playoffs by then!

Well, there are certainly worse things to do to get you in the paper. I'm just glad they didn't put down your name!

out of curiosity, what the hell is on your face?

Unfortunatly we can't start till late April, regular season is a whopping five weeks long. "Playoffs" are our two day state tournament here in Anchorage first weekend of June.

How do they know which two days Alaska will be thawed out? :eek:

The game situation: R3 @ 2nd, R4 @1st, two outs. Double steal, B5 bends down in the box and as she does her butt moves into the F2's legs, clearly interfering with F2's attempt to make a play on the runners. I immediately rule interference, the batter is out. The coach came down and calmly discussed why I should not have made that call, and I calmly told him why I did make that call. I like this coach, years ago he taught me how an umpire needs to properly deal with a coach.

1) Listen to the coach's argument.
2) Tell them what you saw -- don't sugar coat it, filter it, embellish it, or bull**it. Tell the truth, stick to the facts.
3) Listen to the coach's counter argument.
4) Tell them what rule you are using -- it is important to know the rules because every good coach will know them, and every bad coach will need them corrected. You may not know the rule number (that is not important) but you must know the rule, and it helps if you know the rule book wording.
5) If the coach wants to protest don't take it personally.
6) Move on and continue the game. Remove that event from you mind and start afresh.

While I am sure that the coach disagrees with what I called, I am just as sure he has accepted it and will not use it as an alibi for a win or loss, and most importantly he will not hold it against me in future games. This coach is a true class act and one that all coaches should emulate.

BTW, we agreed the stick with my original call and ruling.

I guess those keep the coach's spital out of your eyes!

Very good advice to give to another umpire. A conversation between a coach and an umpire does not need to be interpreted as a confrontation. Hear what the coach has to say, and let it be just that - a conversation.

it starts with looking professional.

Now I dont know if you have some condition that requires you to wear ski goggles when working... they look so bad, I almost think you must.

But those things look atrocious and unprofessional.

And they should be off when talking to a coach.

It can be a tough call! :D

nice glasses imo.

It's not a real good look.

I had a game day before yesterday. I had the bases with a partner I had never previously worked this. I was shocked to see him conduct the plate conference while wearing mirrored sunglasses.

I don't wear mirrored sunglasses (ever), but I have been known to conduct the plate meeting and/or have discussions with coaches while wearing sunglasses... Falls into the category of Sr Moment... (I forget they are there...)

Well...since my glasses are transitions lenses, I really have no choice on a sunny day. Either I conduct the conference with "sunglasses" on, or I can't read the line-up cards and see who I am talking to. :rolleyes:

Thanks Wade, but they're not ski goggles. I wear the Rec Speecs because if I didn't I would not be able to see. I used to were contacts, but a nasty infection in my eyes made me re-examine contacts. I will not wear them on the ball field again. My normal glasses cost $300. After being hit in the snot bucket with a ball I will not wear glasses on the field. The Rec Speecs cost $100 are practically indestructible and don't come off when I take my mask off. They do sometime fog up, but a treatment of shaving cream will clear that up. I have a pair with a clear frame and these with the blue frame. Since on the ball field they call us blue I wear the blue.

As far as the looks is concerned, it is a matter of taste, I suppose. I will (sometimes) wear prescription glasses on the field, and I have had a pair or two end up damaged (scratched) from being knocked into the dirt and stepped on, that kind of thing.

I did look into rec specs and similar sports glasses last year, but decided they were not for me (again, taste).

I was poking fun in my brief post on the glasses, earlier.

But on a serious comment, it is the wide strap going around the ears and over the hat that bothers me more than the goggle-look itself. But, to each his own.

i'll definitely stick up for Bob on this one. I love Bob, have worked with him several times...have great memories of that 18A regional we worked in 2006, which was almost my last game ever. I was assistant TD for the 16A National after that, then day after the tournament had the gorilla step on my chest and discovered I had 99% blockage in one of my arteries. :eek:

Bob had the dish on that final and did a tremendous job. The UIC, Dan Duffy, wouldn't have put him back there if he couldn't do the job. I've worked with him other times and it's always been a great experience.

Anyway, Bob wears those because he has to wear them. His name on here, BuggBob, is in honor of those specs.

Besides, he lives up north of here where it REALLY rains all the time. Heck, if I lived up there I'd probably wear goggles too...and a snorkel, and special shoes to cover my webbed feet.:D

For whatever it's worth (well, either $0.02, or the universal "opinions are like a$$holes, everyone has one, and most of them stink), I agree with Tom on this one. No disrespect intended to BuggBob or John (in supporting him).

The specs make sense, and are probably very functional, so Wade is over the line (but, hey, that doesn't shock any of us regulars, does it?). But, the strap is also over the line, IMO; too wide, too commercial (hey, we are expected to black out the gold "W" on our masks and mask straps, aren't we?), and the over the hat look just doesn't seem right to me. Surely a plain black strap worn below the hat would look more appropriate to traditionalists (or NUS members)??

Let's lay off him, guys. He's just happy that he made the paper. He wasn't asking for fashion tips. ;)

Fine!
:D

Congrats on making the paper.

Hey its not as bad of a look as those slobs who wear light purple dirty wrinkled faded hats, pink blue shirts, and ragged walmart clothes on the field.. at least the ski goggles do actually have a purpose and its not intentionally filthy. Trademark I suppose.. Who knows, maybe hes a trend setter. :cool: