A common illness

et's get right to the nub, the main difficulty, major flaw, the psychological sin, plaguing writers for Officiating.Com. It's the main affliction of the experienced mavens on The Forum. They've all got the same bug!

Everyone thinks he has the solution to the sports' world's ills. Put two umpires in the same room and ask them to talk about rules' application. You're gonna have a heated discussion at the least.

The prime goal of each article written for Officiating.Com is providing solutions to problems. "We need to do the job correctly, acceptably, honestly, professionally." That's the mantra.

If I've been criticized, and I have, the criticism has always paraded under one of the following banners:

• He doesn't know what he's talking about.
• He's full of imagination but no substance.
• That idea won't work. It's not practical. That's not baseball!
• That's wrong ... stupid ... inconsequential ... nonsensical.

I don't care what people say about me. Pay me to tell a story, and I'll tell a story; i.e., write an article. Point is, everyone has the same goal. It's the need to be correct.

Continued...