The Daily Dose/April 9, 2019
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
Leading Off
Blown calls in America’s biggest sports events continue to make news. Recall in January a pass interference in the NFC Championship Game that could have been called from the moon was not made and there is whining about two calls in the closing seconds of Saturday’s Virginia/Auburn national semifinal college basketball game.
The first call people are whining about is a no-call on a double-dribble where a player bounced the ball off his foot, possessed it with both hands, and then resumed dribbling. There is merit to these complaints. The Virginia player’s dribble ended when he held the ball in both hands and resuming it was in violation of the rules. The other call was a foul call on Auburn with 1.5 seconds. Auburn whined because that’s the way it is in America nowadays, but there was contact on the shot and it was a great call. If the situations are reversed and no call is made, Auburn is whining about that, too. Virginia made their free throws and won the game and Monday won the national title, though if the double dribble call is made maybe Virginia doesn’t even make the title game.
The double-dribble call was missed, though, and while the crew didn’t address the matter after the game it’s possible the covering official didn’t see the double-dribble. At Referee University you’re taught to “ref the defense” because it is seldom anything happens without the defender doing something. Except when the dribbler bounces the ball off his foot, catches it, and resumes dribbling and you caught watching the defender.
I tell you what, we should probably get used to blown or missed calls in big games. While the big-game officials you see on TV are superbly trained and sufficiently experienced, the pool top officials come from is decreasing every year because more and more people, at all levels, leave the trade because the abuse that attends 21st-century sports officiating is not worth taking because who wants to work in an environment where someone is advising you that you suck every other call? At lower levels, JV officials say screw it and leave, in alarming numbers, too, because two-thirds of new officials do not make it to Year 3. Another alarming stat is there are more officials over 60 than under 30. Too bad. This is officiating’s loss, but also an ex-officials loss, too, because he missing out on meeting the challenges and enjoying the successes that come with the job.
But we should get used to missed calls. Men and women who would normally become good big game officials are not getting started in or sticking with the trade anymore.
Today At The Site
The Diary of a Nobody: Sparrow enjoys a slow night at the hotel and then reports for duty as the new veteran service officer for the county, where already he is whining about his office. Today’s Diary.
The worst part was the computer’s keyboard was one of those goddamned, wavy, new fangled ones that I don’t see the point to…Good gravy, it was as if I’d never typed before as I was obliged to look at the keyboard the whole time and my first email was to the Help Desk, opening a ticket for a new keyboard, which was delivered in short order.
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On This Date
In 1865 – The American Civil War effectively ends when Confederate Army General Robert E Lee surrenders the Army of Northern Virginia to Union Commanding General Ulysses S Grant at Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia. Gen. Joseph Johnston surrendered 90,000 troops to Gen. William T Sherman on April 26 and other surrenders followed. The final Confederate general to surrender was Brig. Gen. Stand Watie, a Cherokee, who surrendered in Oklahoma on June 23.
1912 – Fenway Park in Boston hosts its first game as the Red Sox defeat Harvard 2-0. The first batter was Harvard sophomore Dana Wingate, batting against Casey Hageman with the game was called after seven innings due to cold and snow. Harvard, which had been playing baseball since 1865, would go 12-10-1 in 1912, while the Red Sox would win the American League pennant with a 105-47 record and defeat the New York Giants in the World Series.
In 1977 – ABBA is at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with Dancing Queen. An enormous international hit, Dancing Queen would spend one week at #1 in the US and hit the top spot in 16 other countries, including Britain, Mexico, Rhodesia, and their native Sweeden, where it spent 14 weeks at #1. ABBA remains one of the most commercially successful groups in pop music history and had 14 Top 40 and four Top 10 hits in the United States and Dancing Queen remains their only US #1.
Quotebook
In short, I am convinced, by both faith and experience, that to maintain one’s self on this earth is not a hardship but a pastime.
Henry David Thoreau
Walden
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Henry Aaron hit his first major league home run on April 23, 1954, in the sixth inning of a 7-5 win against the Cardinals in St Louis. The homer came of Vic Raschi.
