OK, I said there would be more later, so here it is.  The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth...  from my perspective; realizing that others may view this differently.  The games are over, and no one has say so over my officiating assignments for the Series.

But before I start, I want to make one thing abundantly clear...I am absolutely blessed that I had these people to work with for the past 10 or 12 days.  They are my partners, now my friends.  Nothing I may say here has anything to do with them.  They were and are and will continue to be the best.  We bonded immediately, without any...ANY...competition amongst one another.  Those of you who umpire know how incredibly rare that is.

So, some background.  A month or two ago I went to a Dodger game with friends.  It was Orel Hershiser Bobblehead Doll Nite and everyone in attendance was given a bobblehead.  That nite an idea came to mind.  Knowing that Orel was an announcer at the upcoming LL World Series, I decided that it would be funny to somehow use the bobblehead in some fashion while here.

So I took a picture of the doll, wrapped in tape, and wrote a note below the picture.  Here is that picture.

The doll is wrapped in the ticket stub from the game.  Underneath the picture, I typed the following :

Be KIND TO ThE umpires tonitE   Or The Little Guy Gets Whacked

Wheel be in toucH

 I thought it was funny, but that's just me.  My plan was to somehow get it to Orel sometime during the WS and that opportunity arrived this past Wednesday nite.  Prior to the game, I ran across Kyle Peterson, one of the ESPN announcers.  I asked him if he could do me a favor.  At that point a rather large and well built man wearing an ESPN Security shirt asked what I had.  He asked me to open the envelope.  I showed him the picture, which was in an envelope along with my LL pin.  He then asked Kyle if he had a problem with it and Kyle said no, he'd give it to Orel.  About an hour later all the umpires were in the locker room when the Umpire Coordinator for the WS, Mike Legge, came into the room and asked to see me.  I was taken to another room where there were about 5 or 6 other people, along with Pat Wilson, LL VP of Operations.  He handed me the envelope and asked if I had given it to Orel.  I told him about giving it to Kyle Petersen and that it was a joke.  He showed me the pin inside the envelope and asked it if it was mine and I said yes.  He then said that Orel didn't think it was funny and that Orel thought I was serious.  I was shocked to say the least and said it was a joke but that if that was the case, then "I owe that Gentleman an apology"  Mr Wilson replied with "No you won't.  You're not going to talk to him at all".  I replied with "message received loud and clear".  Mr. Wilson then continued to tell me for about 5 or 10 minutes how badly I had behaved and I repeated several times "recieved loud and clear".  During one point in the conversation I replied that I had shown the letter to my supervisors and he quickly responded with "who did you show the letter to?"  I told him that I had shown the letter to Bill Carter, the Western Region UIC.  I told him that both Mke Legge, the Umpire Coordinator of the LLWS  and his Asst., Frank Policano, the Eastern Region UIC, had also seen the letter. He said that they would be talking to Orel again.  I turned to one of the gentlemen in the room who had been identified as the ESPN head of security and asked him to please apologize on my behalf to Orel.  Pat Wilson once again said "No, we're not going to do that".  He then stated that "it's too late to change tonite's schedule but after this game you and I will speak about your future in the Tournament".  I knew exactly what he meant by that... I was going home.

So I went out on the field and was awarded my plaque for being a WS Umpire, along with the other 15 umpires.  The ceremony had previously been scheduled for that nite.  Needless to say, I was not myself during that ceremony.  Everyone saw it but didn't know why. After the ceremony, I was scheduled to work 2B in the game.  I was honestly in tears, and wasn't sure I was up to it, but I went out for the introductions.  While standing at home plate waiting for the teams to take the field, the home plate umpire (Torbin) told me to turn around and look at the ESPN booth.  Orel was looking at us and was making a gesture with his fingers to his eyes and then pointing at us as if to say "I'm watching you".   He had a huge grin on his face.  I turned away but Torbin said that he and Orel made eye contact and that Orel pointed towards me and then wrapped his arms around himself as if to say "give him a hug".  I took that to mean that Orel was now OK with things.  According to several people, he identified me by name several times during the broadcast and made positive comments. I was the 2B umpire, who does that?  But again, I take that to mean he was OK with things.

After the game I walked past Pat Wilson and said "I  have spent 35 years of my adult life supporting this organization and it's principles, please don't make my dream end this way".   His response..."I'm not taking anything away, I didn't do anything".  My response "I hear you, I'm an accountable person, I'm not blaming anyone for this, I did it, but you have to hear what I'm saying".  His response "Well, we talked to Orel and hs says that he thought you were serious but now he knows you were just goofing so you'll continue to get assignments".  the next morning Mike Legge called and said that "Orel had let things go so Little Legaue had let things go"  I took him at his word. 

I did get a 3B assignment in the International Final after that, so again, I thought that things might be OK.  Mike had mentioned that all assignments for the US and International Finals, as well as the World Championship had to be approved by "the powers that be".  When the assignments came out for the Final Game, I must admit I was surprised.  I was the only umpire of the 16 to only get a single plate assignment.  I asked Mike "if it was what I thought it was" and he said "yes".  I replied that they said they had "let it go".  He said "What can I say, they could have sent you home" and walked away.  I have been told by someone who would seem to know that the umpire schedule he sent upstairs for approval is not the same as the schedule that the umpires received at our meeting.  I am told that it was changed  upstairs.  What that means, I don't know.

So, that's it.  My LLWS didn't end like I thought, and hoped, it would.  Yes, I worked the Championship game, and others didn't.  But the left field line is not what someone dreams about for 35 years. I clearly did not learn from Bat's experience of last year.  I did not lay low and fly under the radar.  Clearly, I am not a "fly below the radar" type of guy.  Never have been, probably never will be.  I am disillusioned mostly, but I am also hurt, I am also angry and I am not sure how to process those feelings all at once. I am honestly not sure how I feel about the organization that I have spent 35 years of my adult life supporting and I'm not sure that my association with that organization can survive this.

Suffice it to say that I ran afoul of the powers that be back here.  Not my fellow umpires or the umpire staff, but the ones higher up. I am totally 100% responsible for that. I own it... my fault... I caused it... all by myself. But I had shown it to my supervisors.  I was told that they had "let it go". 

Clearly their definition of "let it go" is vastly different than mine.

Left Field line in the last game.

I'll explain more later, but for now, I've got to spend some time sorting this out.

Mornin' Y'all.

Too many umpires here from the South, so I'm startin' to talk like them now.

As I've said before, today is an off day; no games scheduled.  It is set aside each year in case of a need to makeup any games if we have had any rainouts.  Since we haven't had any, we're free for the day.  I'm going to take the time to head on down to Gettsburg which is about a 2 1/2 hour drive.  Long drive, but not as long as the drive from home !

So, we just got our assignments for the two Championship Semi-Finals on Saturday.  The International Championship between Japan and Panama comes first. I've got 3B on that one.  12:30 start back here, which means 9:30am back home.  Following that at 3:30 will be the US Championship between the SouthEast (Tennessee) and the West (Northern CA).  Not sure, but I think both of those games are on ABC.  The two winners will meet on Sunday for the World Championship.  The two non-winners also play on Sunday to determine third place in the world.  Hopefully I'll get to work one of those games but those assignments aren't made until after the two games on Saturday. The assignments will depend upon a lot of things, one of them being how the team from the West does.  As far as Little League goes, one thing is set in stone, no exceptions, period.  Non-negotiable.  No umpire, ever...EVER...can work a game if the team from their Region is involved.  So IF I get an assignment on Sunday, it won't be the game that the West will be playing in.

Well, off  to Gettysburg.  More later tonite depending upon what time I get back.  And let me say this, Thank You.  Thank you for being interested, or curious, or whatever for following along on this adventure.  It's been a wild ride so far, and it's not over yet !

Once again, a late-nite posting.


If you were watching, Japan beat Panama so Japan is into thre International Final on Saturday.  Panama now plays Mexico tonite (remember, I said it's past midnite again) to see who plays Japan.

And on the US side, SouthEast (Tennessee) over SouthWest (San Antonio) so  SouthEast is into the US Final on Saturday.  SouthWest plays NorthernCal tonite to see who plays Tennessee.

I'm off tomorrow as there are only two games so only 12 umpires are needed.  Friday is a scheduled off day for everyone as it was set aside for any needed rain make-ups.  Since we didn't have any, it's a day of rest for the teams, umpires, fans, and all you watching on TV. Mow the lawn, do the laundry, or just take a nap.

I'll get back to the blog once we get our schedule for Saturday.  That may be tomorrow nite, or if not, on Friday.

Well it's almost midnite here so this is gonna be a short one.

Had the RF line in tonite's game between Mexico and Aruba.  Actually had a call on a sinking liner that the right fielder caught at his shoe tops.  Pretty cool.  Mexico won so they get the loser of tomorrow's game between Japan and Panama.  The winner of the Japan / Panama game goes straight to the International Final on Saturday.

Tomorrow and Thursday we are down to two games a day so some umpires are off because we only have 6 teams left alive in the World Series.  Two games @ 6 umpires per game = 12 umpires.  There are 16 of us here.  I've got 2nd base in the SouthWest / SouthEast game at 8:00 Eastern time (5:00 home time).  That's the Winner's Final.  The winner goes to the US Championship game on Saturday.  The loser has to play on Thursday nite against the team from the West who beat New England tonite.

Unfortunately, Veronica leaves in the morning because she has to get back for the start of school. Had our last get together with the gang tonite over at the Hospitality room sponsored by the World Series Umpire Alumni Association. Was a little sad as she had to say goodbye to all her new friends.  Like I said in an earlier post, she really did get close to the wives and umpires alike so it was sort of a fond farewell for her.  Ken and Linda Holliday don't arrive till Friday so looks like I'm on my own for a couple of days.

More tomorrow.

I realize that I am supposed to say this, but it doesn't make it any less true.  I am having the time of my life and enjoying every second of this adventure.  I now have 15 fantastic, wonderful new umpire friends who I will remember forever.  I am watching some terrific baseball from some of the best seats in the house, and laughing my @#$%^ off at some of the jokes ands stories we share.  I knew this trip would be special, and memorable, and a once in a lifetime experience, I guess I just never factored in the absolute joy and laughter that goes along with all of that.  THIS IS SPECIAL !

OK, nuff on the mushy stuff.  Back to basics. If you had the chance to watch the first game, you saw the rain, and the rain, and then when the rain stopped, you got to see it start again.  We had about an 1:45 rain delay, but it just put off the inevitable.  Lopsided score, and one of those games that  challenges your ability to focus.  Final score, 17-1.  All this and I'm fighting a cold, so standing in the rain wasn't a lot of fun, but the kids deserved our full attention and we did our best to give it to them.  Just felt bad for the kids from Europe (US kids, Ramstein AFB).

Seond game was much closer.  Losers Bracket / Elimination Bracket game between New England (connecticut) and the Great Lakes (Indiana).  Kid from New England threw a no-no.  Had a few calls at 2B so was a bit more enjoyable than the first game.

Tomorrow - We're down to just 3 games a day, so fewer assignments for everyone.  18 slots for 16 umpires.  I've got a RF line at 4:00, so may have some time to explore some of the good restaurants they have in the area.

Dave Long and Shari left this morning to continue their trip up into Canada and Niagara Falls.  Lee (Batman) and Barry Silverman arrived last night so the six of us had the opportunity to spend a great time at a terrific local family owned Italian restaurant before Dave and Shari left town.  Too much food, but it was so good we just had to keep eating.  Having friends here is really cool, and truly makes the experience much more special.

Well, like I said, fighting a cold so I'm going to finish this beer (some things never change) and call it a day.  Thanks for tuning in, and I'll try to get ya some more stuff tomorrow.

Oh wait, forgot to mention something.  Veronica has discovered Little League pins. OH MY GOD !  This woman has gone absolutely bonkers!  She now spends all her time searching out people to trade with.  She's like a little kid with a new toy.  To tell the truth, it's kinda cute to see her this excitied about it.  She and all the other wifes / girlfriends / fiances truly are having as much fun as the guys are and it's pretty cool.

Talk to ya tomorrow.

I have been working so hard on perfecting that backroll, and the darn Hungarian judge only gave me 4.5 on the technical and 6.2 on artisitic interpretation.  But as my friend Rich from Palmdale put it, I'm consistent.  For those of you that remember, I also went horizontal during the Softball WS back in '98.

OK, so here's the story.  The game was at Volunteer field.  And it has something we call "the ledge".  You can't see it on TV, but that field slopes, SHARPLY, literally 4 ft downwards, behind the plate (for drainage purposes).  You're fine for the first few ft behind the plate, but after that it drops, A LOT, QUICKLY !!! We've been warned all week, and done our best to avoid it, but you know me, had to be the first. 

For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, there was a pop-up behind the plate.  I tried to open up a path for the catcher but I didn't see which way the ball went so when I chose right, so did the catcher.  I took a second step away from him and he followed.  He fell and I took a third step away from him but there was "THE LEDGE".  And down I went, backwards roll, the whole 9 yards.   Took quite a bit of ribbing from the crew, as you would imagine, but all in good fun.

Tomorrow it's back to 2 games.  3B at noon on the Lamade Field (finally) for a consolation game (Europe vs MidWest).  Teams are guaranted 3 games here, and the consolation games are set up for the teams who went 0-2 in their first two games.  Don't think they're televised, but who knows.  I come back at 8:00 in an elimination game on 2B, also at Lamade (New England vs. Great Lakes).  Don't forget, those times are 3 hours off from home.

Just a quick one tonite.  It's late, and I'm fighting a bit of a cold so want to get some rest for the day tomorrow.  Had the Ugandan team again tonite.  In fact I've had both of their games and was "their" umpire on both occasions.  They were in the 3rd base dugout, and I was the 3rd base umpire.  Tonite we just reversed it to the 1st base side.  As such, I was responsible for keeping them in the dugout until the red hat (as the ESPN production folks refer to it) would give me the high sign notifiying me that the cameras were active.  So we had many short conversations thruout both games.  Great kids, great coaching staffs.  A truly and throughly enjoyable time.   Tomorrow, the long awaited plate assignment.  Canada vs. Latin America (Panama).   Game is at noon here, which means 9:00 am back home.  Winner's Bracket game so neither team has lost yet.

On  a side note, don't think I mentioned anything yesterday about our trip to Hershey.  I only had one game yesterday (Friday) so Veronica and I had all day to ourselves so we took a drive down to Hershey (about 2 hours South of Williamsport) to visit the home of Hershey Chocolate.  Took a tour of the factory and got few free samples before dropping a lot more  than "free" in the giftshop.  C'mon, it's chocolate !  Cool little town.  I had been there before and remember the overwhelming smell of chocolate that wafted throughout the entire city.  Unfortunately, the factory wasn't apparently working that day or whatever,  but no smell of chocolate today.  Veronica was a bit disappointed, as was I, but in talking to the locals they said they are shutting down the old factory and the new one doesn't "smell" like the old one does.  Oh  well.  Still have the "Hershey Kisses" covers on all the street lights so looking down the main street of town looks kinda cool.  So from there we took a short jaunt over to Lancaster and the Amish part of PA.  Stopped by an Amish farm house and bought some small trinkets, and as we were leaving we drove past a young Amish man (early 20's) and a small boy riding down the highway in their horse drawn buggy.  Veronica waived to them, and they in turn waved back, which made her day.

That's all for now.  I'll post again after tomorrow's "big game".

Well, guess 3B isn't so sleepy after all.  Lots of action at the hot corner last nite if you had a chance to watch.  Two more games today.  RF line on the noon game (don't forget, that's EST, 3 hours off from PST) and then back for another shot at 1B for the 6:00 game.  All my games so far have been on the International side, have yet to work a US game.  Putting this umpire schedule together has to be a nitemare, so I'm sure I'll move over to that bracket at some point.  No plate game yet either, as we will have only played 12 games after today, which means that 4 of us have yet to work a plate.  Will probably happen tomorrow I'm guessing. 

Today's game are elimination games, which means the losers today are out of the running for the Championship.  They will still have games to play (eveeryone is guaranteed 3 games), but losing today puts you in the Consolation bracket.  No shot at any titlle and I don't think the Consolation games are televised.

Speaking of televised,  anyone else notice anything different about the games so far?  Anybody?  Bonus points for a corrrect answer.  No one?  OK, then I'll tell you.  Here's a hint?   What's missing?   Yep, you got it, no more umpire dancing with the mascot.  Bat got here one year to soon.  Steve Keeener (CEO of LL baseball) made the decision that it was important to "maintain decorum" for the umpires and the possibility that an umpire would be put in a compromising position by dancing with Dugout was something he wanted to avoid.  Tough call to end an inning, then have to go out and do the chicken dance with Dugout...not something he wanted to ever happen.  Hence, stopped.  This year only but may become permanent.  Sorry Bat.

Dave Long and Shari arrived yesterday, just in time to see the Panama / Uganda game.  Was really happy to see them.  To the surprize of no one, we hit the local microbrewery after the game.  Bullfrog Brewery, about 3 blocks from the hotel. Have to keep the local economy going, don't ya know !Uganda, what great kids and coaches.  Don't get me wrong, all the kids are terrific, as are the coaching staffs, but the Ugandan team has definitely stolen the hearts of everyone here.  Have them again tonite on that 6:00 game.

Fighing a bit of a cold right now, but all-in-all, having the time of my life and doing my best to go slow and let it all sink in.  Will post tomorrow's schedule as soon as I get it, which probably won't be till late tonite.

Bye for now.

Ok, first let's get caught up on yesterday.  I mentioned something earlier about a parade.  What I should have said was a PARADE !  O.M.G.  I had no idea.  It was huge! It went on for over 2 miles and was packed on both sides of the street.  Lawn parties, formal parties, lawn chairs, kids, adults, everything in betweeen.  This was the time to rob the Central bank of Williamsport and the surrounding 8 counties because there wasn't anyone who wasn't at this parade, I'm telling you that.  It was an absolute blast!  All the teams were on floats towed by big trucks.  there were cars, marching bands, the whole 9 yards.  And the best part, the really best part, was this. 

They had this really cool fishing boat, that was on a trailer. 

Well, it was for the umpires, but only had room for about 5 of the 16 of us.  So needless to say, we arm wrassled over who got to go in the really cool boat.  Next came the really cool golf cart.  And I mean really cool golf cart.  More arm wrassling.  That left about 9 of us to load up in the back of the really cool Army Truck.   You know, the badass ones thast look like  an overgrown Hummer.

Well, about a mile an a half into the parade, it started to rain.  And I mean really cool rain, LOTS OF IT !  Speed  boaters weren't sure if they over water or under it.  Golf carters, 'bout the same.  And those of us in the bed of the really big truck...WITH THE REALLY BIG TARP COVERING THE BED OF THE TRUCK...dry as a bone.  and LOVING EVERY MINUTE OF IT !  Had a really nice picnic style lunch before the parade at Penn College, so all in all, a  good day.

Now on to today, Thursday.  Started with ground rules meetings for both fields, Volunteer and Lamade, Now here I've got to add a small side note.  Up until now, this has all been very bitchin', but well within reason.  Nothing totally out of the ordinary, but all really great.  The ground rules meeting.  First time actually stepping onto the fields of Williamsport.  I swear to God I felt like Moonlight Graham in Field of Dreams when my feet hit that dirt.  It was electrifying.  It honest and trully sent shivers up my spine. What an experience.


Opening Cermonies were cool, all the teams, all the colors, and then, finally, the first games.

Left Field line for the Japan / Caribbean game.  My ball repellant worked just fine. No calls except for one routine can-O-corn to the Center Fielder.  One down, hopefully several more to come.

Game off and then came back for a 1B assignment on the Asia-Pacific / Europe game.   One closeish call with the first baseman coming off the bag and then back on again before the runner reached 1B.  That was  cool.  And then had one that I'd like to see again.  Headfirst slide by the batter-runner into 1B.  Or was it?  For those of you who aren't familiar with the LL rule, that's not allowed.  By rule, a head first slide (safety rule) is not allowed and the ball is live, but the runner is declared out.  I saw a head first slide and called the batter-runner out.  Others saw it as maybe a trip / stumble as opposed to a head first slide.  After hearing those comments, from others whom I respect, I'd like to see it again.  Won't change that call, but always want to see what I can learn from plays / calls like that.

Tomorrow, have only one game and it's late.  3B at 5:00 EST.  So I've got some free time, so Veronica and I, with the UIC's permission, or going to take the drive down to Hershey, PA and spend some time at the Chocolate City.  Street lights are topped with hershey Kisses and you can smell the town LONG before you ever get there.  Should be a fun day.  5:00 game will be Latin America vs. the kids from Ugand awho are the Middle East / Africa Champions.

Should get more of my schedule tomorrow nite, so check back later tomorrow for more updates.

OK, here we go.  Time to get down to the meat-n-taters of this show.  My schedule, for the first two days, is as follows :

Thursday, 1:00 - Opening Game, Japan vs. Carribean - Left Field Line.  Televised on ESPN.

Thursday, 5:00 - Europe vs. Asia Pacific - 1B (If someone can tape this one for me, and get it onto a DVD, I'll love  your forever...or at least a really long time).  Televised on ESPN2.

Friday, 5:00 - Latin America vs. EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) - 3B.  Televised on ESPN2.

All of these times are Eastern Standard, which means they are 3 hours later than West Coast Time (i.e. a 5:00 game in Williamsport will be on TV at 2:00 on the West Coast).

Today was full of the admin stuff.  Our umpire meeeting, pictures for our badges, and stuff like that.  Getting ready for the Parade which will take  place in a couple of hours.  Morer on that later tonite.  Getting more and more excited as time moves along.  Can't wait to get onto the field and do what we came here to do...HAVE FUN !  Oh yeah, while we Boys were off at meetings and the like, the Girls had their own bonding experience...at the local Farmer's Market.  As I said earlier, this is a great group of folks, both my fellow umpires as well as their significant others.  Everyone is really meshing well and totally enjoying each other's company.  I feel really blessed to be with these folks, just normal folks.  Makes the whole experience so much more enjoyable.   Well, time to get ready  for the parade.  And then, and then, after the parade...The Bullfrog Micorbrewery, only one block from the Hotel.  You can probably see my grin all the way back home

Wow, what a day !  Started out thinking I was gonna need an Ark to get to Williamsport.  Thunderstorm doesn't even begin to describe the torrent of water that I was in.  I've taken showers and not gotten this wet ! Philadlephia was looking like Atlantis there for awhile, but it finally started to break up and I made it all the way to OZ about 2:30 this afternoon.  Ran into a few of the other guys, and I know it's trite to say it, but these guys are special, and I don't mean special ed.  Funny, friendly, and welcoming.  Not a perceived ego in the bunch.  THIS IS GONNA BE A FUN TWO WEEKS !!!!  About 5:30 or so the last of the 16 rolled into Williamsport and we proceded to spend the next 45 minutes swapping goodies, pins, and life stories. Then off to the Managers / Coaches meeting which was cool seeing all the reps from Uganda, and Mexico, and Aruba and China and Japan, etc.  Makes it real when you see, and hear, some thru interpreters, all  the lcoations that are represented here.  Tomorrow is full of meetings, and field formalities (pictures, identifications, etc.) and then the Parade.  Yep, you read that right.  A 2 1/2 hour parade, in uniform, walking, thru the downtown streets of Williamsport.  We're towards the end I'm told, and we throw candy to the kids.  Don't know, but maybe that will stop them from throwing other things at us if we blow a call.  I'm jst sayin'.  I'm also told that I will get a schedule tomorrow that will cover the first 8 games, which is Thursday and Friday.  I'll make sure that info shows up here tomorrow nite so you can watch if ya want.  Request - No one here provides tapes of the games.  And you can't get them from ESPN either.   Trust me, otheres have tried.  So if  I get a plate or 1st base assignment, maybe someone back home who has  the ability to tape to a DVD can do that for me.  Would be nice to have when I get home.  I realize that I might now get 39 copies of it, but that way at least I'll know that I'll get at least one good copy !

Well, I've made it to Pennsylvania, but only as far as Philadelphia.  Had some dinner (Philly Cheesesteak, what else, DUH!), and it's off tomorrow morning for the three hour drive up to Williamsport.  And yes, it's starting to sink in. The other shoe has dropped so to speak, and it's really starting to dawn on me as to what's going on here. And to be honest, it's really calming. I find myself looking back on the past 35 or so years in Little League and remembering all the people, and places, and experiences along the way.  And one in particular comes rushing to the forefront.  Mid 80's, and I've gone to a LL All Star game with my daughter, Stacey.  Up at the old Ladera field that some of you might remember; the one with all the oil dericks and dirt.  Yeah, that one.  As a lot, if not most, of you know I started umpiring back in '77 because I had too.  If you were a Manager in Westchester LL, and you managed in one Division, you were required to umpire in another. Never really thought that much about being an umpire, just did it.  Had to, oh well, the price of being involved.  But this day, this day, something different happened.  This guy was calling the game, and I was mesmerized, transfixed.  I had never seen anyone umpire like that.  So calm, so COOL!  And I knew.  I just knew, that someday I wanted to be that good.  Watching him in that Marroon umpire shirt (yeah, you read that correctly, MAROOON!) was just the coolest thing I had ever seen.  Didn't have any idea who he was, but I was hooked. Thanks Jerry, from the bottom of my Heart.  And I guess the lesson here is that you just never know how, or when, you have an effect upon others.  I'm just extremely happy that Stacey and I went to that game, that day, because without that, I'm not writing this.

Yeah Bay-Bee !!!

Gettin' close now.

The Crew.  Well, we've got 16 umpires from all over the place !  We've got 13 umpires from the U.S. and 3 folks from the International side. 

On the U.S. side, we have 3 from the West (Northern CA, Southern CA (me!) and for the 1st time in the history of Little League, one from Idaho).  Three more come from the Southwest (2 from Texas and one from New Mexico), with another 3 from the Southeast (Virginia, West Virginia, and Georgia), 2 from the Central (Ohio and Iowa) and 2 more from the East (Connecticut and Delaware). 

Our International umpires are from Canada, Germany and Puerto Rico.

We're a pretty talkative bunch, and have been keeping the internet busy with emails and war stories and the like about our seasons and how excited we are to be working the Grandaddy of LL Tournaments...Williamsport.  The "bonding" process began immediately, and all of us are looking forward to finally meeting "the family".  Even have another Cooper in the bunch (Ohio).  But he comes from the intelligent side of the family...Microbiology Professor at Youngstown St. doncha know !

OK, a bit more info for those of you who care.  I leave for Williamsport, via Philadelphia, on Monday the 13th. I'll spend the nite in Philly, and take the 3 hour drive up to Williamsport on Tuesday the 14th.  We've got a Managers, Coaches and Umpire meeting that nite around 7:00.  Another meeting the next morning to get acquianted with procedures and such, take pictures, and then join the LL Parade that evening.  Thursday we get our field orientations for ground rules etc. and then, and then, and then.....Friday we get to start calling balls and strikes !  As far as "my schedule" goes, all I have at this time is the master schedule.  You can get a copy of that here -World Series Schedule.  By the way, all times are Eastern Standard Time, which makes them about 3 hours off for those of you back home.  More when I know more.