Cyrus Cassidy #45437

I worked a high school double header on Saturday. Both games ended on a run rule after 4 innings. and both teams were gentlemen and played with good sportsmanship. There were no close plays or controversial calls, but one parent on the losing team was convinced we had screwed little Timmy (who wasn’t even a starter) out of his D 1 scholarship. He confronted us in the parking lot between games and was very aggressive, so much that we almost called the cops. Apparently he had started something with the opposing team, too. The coach for this crazy guy was apologetic and promised to talk to the AD and have him banned. But during the second game, a player from the winning team jacked a home run to left field. Guess who was parked there, right up against the fence? His windshield was absolutely destroyed. Of course, he accused the winning team of telling the batter to do that on purpose. If he could do that on purpose, he would already be in the MLB! After the second game, we were escorted to our cars in case he tried to start something. He did, but we didn’t engage; we just kept walking to our cars. I've never had to be escorted out of a game before, and what makes it the most crazy is that there was absolutely NOTHING close or controversial about the game. Not. A. Single. Call. I filed a report with our state’s athletic association to force their AD to ban the guy. He can't ignore it anymore; apparently the guy has been a problem all year. UPDATE: I just spoke to the A.D., and the parent is banned from all further games!!!

^^^^ This ^^^^

Wow...my favorite single malt (The Dalmore) is almost $400 at 18 years, and about $170 at 15 years.

Two 16 year-old single malts? Did you just drop close to $1000?

New flavor: Kentucky Fried Bull$@!#

Introduce him to the American Numismatic Association. I'm a long-time member, and they have a bunch of correspondence courses with textbooks and videos, etc. The courses are excellent.

Whisky (i.e. Scotch), not whiskey for me. The Dalmore 18 year is my favorite but I can only afford the 15 year.

My younger son is named after a friend who is on that page. His murderer got life without parole (which, in Colorado, means no parole!). Every now and then I can’t resist looking him up; one of my friends sends him a Christmas card every year (and it isn’t kind),

They don't make nostalgia like they used to...

Oh, pard, KFC isn't what it used to be, and neither is A&W. Both are absolutely terrible.

This has been around for a while. I make a point just to say hello to someone when I notice that tattoo.

During my LE career I took to writing down a lot of my stories of stupid criminals, tragedy, pain, and dark humor. I spent the majority of my career in the ghetto, so I had a lot of them. A lot of folks have told me to publish them as a book; I might get around to it someday.

That's ok. Baseball is an intelligent person's sport.

We prefer the term, "Saltine-Americans."

One or two in three innings. After they were schwacking the other team so badly, they pulled him and put several of their relievers in. They were also pretty good, just not as good as this guy.

So there I was... ...calling the dish for a men's league (MSBL) game. This was their most competitive division. The visiting team had been a lower level champion last year, so the league bumped them up to the highest level. They were comprised of guys 25+ who had played in high school, etc., and ruled the roost at the lower level. But they were in for a surprise. The home team's starting pitcher had pitched at Cal State, gotten drafted into the minor leagues, and made it to AA before injuring his arm. He had gotten whatever medical help he needed (I don't know if it was Tommy John's because I didn't ask), and was playing in the men's league to get him ready for Pecos League (independent minor league) in an attempt to get back into the game at higher levels. The home team catcher had played professionally in Canada over 18 years ago, before he and I were cops together. His throw down to second was a laser beam. For a men's league, this battery was brutal. The home team pitcher commanded the zone like he owned it. I have to admit, it was absolutely the best pitching I've ever had the opportunity to call. The catcher knew how to frame correctly, and probably bought his guy a few inches on the outside. After putting guys behind in the count with fastballs and changeups on the corners, and sliders, he threw what I can only guess was a "slurve." The ball looked like it was going to hit the batter, who jumped out of the box. Then it curved directly over the center of the plate, and did a 12-6 break at the end. The catcher's mitt was set up directly behind point of plate about mid-thigh high, and he didn't move it a single inch to make the grab. It was the FILTHIEST pitch I have ever had the pleasure of ringing up a batter on. Had the visiting team dugout watched the catcher's mitt, they would have known it was a good pitch. But all they saw was the batter diving out of the box and assumed I sucked. The batter was livid that I had rung him up, but he hadn't seen the pitch at all since it was half-way to the plate. He was an idiot. The next batter came up, and the same thing happened. I rang him up on the filthy slurve over the middle of the plate after he had jumped out of the box. Once again, the catcher's mitt was set up point of plate, mid-thigh high and didn't move an inch. The batter was so angry he turned around and yelled at me on the way back to the dugout. I probably should have ran him, but I just gave him my umpire glare with my helmet on. The final score was brutal; 25-3, I think, and all three of the visiting team's runs were scored after they swapped out the pitcher.

Every now and then in my Army travels, I come across some of those in the DFAC. I'd wager they were the same ones you drank from in the 1960s!

I think your timing is off, pard. They would be in their 90s now. The war ended 77 years ago, and they didn't show up the day they were born!

So there I was, I was umpiring the bases and my partner had the plate (title notwithstanding, it was a title I started using a few years ago to describe my umpiring experiences). No one on, no outs. I was in position "A," about 15 feet beyond first base and in foul territory. The batter hit a line drive to left-center field and the center fielder started making a run for it. On that play, the plate umpire has the catch-no catch call, and I'm supposed to cut infield and observe the batter-runner touch first (and second, and third if he keeps going). I did. I was looking right at first base when the runner touched, and the batting team all erupted in cheers. I surmised the fielder had not made a catch. But he threw it to second to cut off the batter-runner, so he stayed at first. The plate umpire said, "I have a catch." The batting team erupted into confused questioning, and I heard several of them discuss how the ball had bounced off the fielder's wrist and hit the ground. Obviously, my partner did not see it, and I was looking elsewhere like I was supposed to be. We conferred, and I told him what I saw -- the batter-runner had touched the base and that's all I saw. Without me having seen anything different from what he had seen, all he could do is call what he saw. His integrity should not allow him to overturn himself based on what players and coaches saw, and he upheld his integrity. I fully support him in that. He MUST call what he sees and not allow himself to be influenced. So we called the batter-runner out. The batting team was furious. They were probably right, but players don't get to call the game; the very second we allow ourselves to be influenced by them, everything goes lunatic crazy. The game continued. Once there were three outs, the batting team ran out to take the field. As their center fielder jogged past me, he mumbled something under his breath that I was intended to hear without being certain of what was said. I'm 75% sure he called me a "F-ing idiot." If I had been 100% certain, I would have heaved him right there. But I'm not heaving anyone unless I'm certain; my integrity will not let me do that. I said nothing and gave no reaction whatsoever. However, between innings I went and spoke with the head coach, and told him what I had heard. I even told him that had I been 100% certain, the kid would already be gone. The coach thanked me, and then yelled the kid's name. He pulled him off to the side and gave him what-for. This kid is one of their star players and this was a varsity game. Losing him for something stupid is -- well -- stupid. The funny thing is, although I'm convinced my partner probably blew that one call, the team it went against won so strongly that we had to end the game early on a mercy rule. 14-1 after four innings. So it didn't change a single thing, and both of us left with our integrity intact.

My son is on his school's Junior Varsity (JV) team and "swings" to varsity. In other words, he is primarily JV and they can call him up to varsity on an as-needed basis. That's pretty good for a sophomore. Anyway, as an umpire, I am prohibited from umpiring his school's varsity games to avoid conflict of interest (no objection here; it only makes sense). However, they don't care if I umpire his JV games. The school's record is solely based on varsity games, so JV and lower are merely for developmental purposes. Last year, I was working the bases (another umpire had the plate) and my son was playing shortstop. There was a runner on 1st, so I was in the "B" position -- behind the pitcher's mound and between the 2nd baseman and the base. The batter hit a low line drive that came back FAST, probably close to 100 mph, but was very low and was going to hit the ground behind the pitcher, but in front of my son. With the reaction time of a professional boxer, he dove like I've never seen anyone dive, and made the grab before it hit the ground. The crowd from both teams gasped audibly, "OOOOOOH!!!" The batter removed his batting helmet as a sign of respect to my son, and several of the batter's teammates did the same. My son's team went bonkers. It was the absolute best catch I have seen in my time umpiring, and the fact that my son made it with me standing just a few feet from him made it all that much better. It's not technically a catch until the fielder "voluntarily and intentionally" releases the baseball, such as reaching into his glove and pulling it out. So, being a good umpire, I waited to make the call until he did so. I was telling myself the entire time, "look stoic," because I'm not supposed to be excited for one team or another. I have to be (and appear to be) impartial all the time, so despite the fact my son had made the greatest catch in the history of baseball, I could show no emotion. When he pulled the baseball out, I gave a routine "out" mechanic and kept the game going. There was no need to "sell" that call, and I wouldn't have wanted to anyway. Last night I was not umpiring, but was just a parent in the stands. On the way to the game, he expressed some trepidation. "I'm not a pitcher and they're having me start on the mound," he told me. I told him to remember how much he loves the game, and that someday -- no matter how far his baseball career takes him -- he will have played his last game and will want to look back on his time on the diamond with fondness. So he should have as much fun as possible and play his heart out regardless of what happens. He took the bump and pitched four complete innings. He held them to 0 runs through the first two, and gave up two runs each in the 3rd and 4th, for a total of 4 runs. His team had 6 runs when he was pulled (high school games are 7 innings or 2 hours; they completed 6 innings and his team won 8-4, so he gets a W on his stats and the reliever got a save). The runs were all scored due to fielding errors; his pitching was outstanding. All he has is a fastball and a changeup because he hasn't pitched since Little League. Anyway, while he was still on the mound, the batter went for a bunt and popped up a baseball about half-way between the pitcher and the catcher. My son made another diving catch, once again coming up with the baseball. It was absolutely the second best diving catch I have ever seen, and this time I was not governed by the necessity to remain stoic or unbiased. I yelled, "HE CAUGHT IT!!! HE CAUGHT IT!!!" while the umpire signaled the out. I probably even jumped up and down a few times. Although he didn't get a hat tip from the opposing team like he did before, he did get some audible congratulations from the opposing dugout.

Reagan Space Shuttle Challenger

Become an umpire in your area. Last year I was so busy the only MLB games I watched were the World Series, and I missed parts of every game! But guess what? I don't miss it when I'm umpiring. It's far more satisfying to be part of a game than to watch one.

Some baseball umpire was brave enough to show the ropes to a news reporter. I don't know him, but he's definitely the best looking umpire in Colorado. https://www.fox21news.com/top-stories/put-me-in-coach-im-ready-to-ump-fox21s-sarah-ferguson-gets-behind-the-plate/

I'm mailing some sunflower seeds to the Russian embassy in Washington, DC. I'm hoping thousands of people will join me in this. Here is a link to the official web site of the Russian embassy. Scroll down to the bottom of the home page, and it shows their mailing address. I posted the link so you know I'm not just resharing BS from Facebook. You also know it's a genuine Russian web site by the .ru at the end of the link. https://washington.mid.ru/en/

Location, location, location. Prior to COVID, I used to travel quite a lot for my job. Sometimes as often as 4 times a month. I've stayed in so many hotels that I know room layouts by brand (i.e. if I stay in a Mariott in Phoenix, it's the same room layout as the Mariott in Los Angeles). Rental cars, airplanes, and hotels took a lot of my time (and it appears that within the next year I'm going to return to that hectic lifestyle). To answer your question, it depends on location AND time of year. A nice hotel (say, Mariott, for example) in Phoenix in December may be just over $125 per night. The same room in March, when baseball Spring Training is going on, may be $300 per night because the baseball junkies have taken over the city. Being a baseball junkie, it pained me significantly to have spent 2 1/2 years traveling there every month and not being able to take in Spring Training, but that's besides the point. Go to New York City, and that very same room is going to run you $450 per night due to the demand, but in Salina, Kansas, it's about $80.