I love this story about a Little League in New Jersey. Talk about taking the bull by the horns.
USA TODAY- A New Jersey Little League Will Force Parents That Confront An Umpire To Suit Up And Ump 3 Games Before They Are Allowed To Return As Spectators
A new rule this season in the Deptford Township, New Jersey Little League requires spectators who seem to think they could do a better job than the volunteer umpires on the field to come out and prove it. Anyone in the stands who confronts an ump during a game must themselves umpire three games before they’re allowed back as a spectator.
“They think that the call was bad, which always amazes me that they can see a strike better over there than the umpire can one foot in back of them,” league president Don Bozzuffi told the TV station. The abuse has been so bad, Bozzuffi said, two volunteer umpires quit last week.
I would love to be there the first time one of the parents has to umpire.
See my Video of the Day.
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When Paesanoes Restaurant in Ann Arbor opened 39 years ago, we took our son Christopher there for dinner on his second birthday because he loved spaghetti. We have celebrated his birthday at Paesanoes on the 27th of April nearly every year since, including today. The only year we missed was the first Covid year, when restaurants were shut down. It has been a great place to celebrate a birthday dinner.
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The NFL Draft begins tonight. It will be a three-day affair with unbelievable TV and press coverage. The draft has taken on a life of its own. People make a good living with mock drafts and projections that begin six months before the draft. Considering how little fanfare the MLB draft generates, the magnitude of the media coverage of the NFL draft is amazing, especially when people are putting so much faith in how 22-old young men will perform. Makes no sense to me.
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From the Detroit News. Dillon Reeves, 13, the Warren seventh grader acted quickly and prevented a bus crash. Warren school officials praised his actions and hailed him as a hero.
The Warren Consolidated Schools student was one of 66 students on a bus whose driver suddenly lost consciousness, school officials said Thursday. A video taken inside the bus was released Thursday. In the video, a driver radios to officials that she is not feeling well and needs to pull the bus over. Seconds later, she begins to visibly shake and lets go of the steering wheel as she slumps in her seat. Almost instantly, Dillon is seen running to the driver. He calmly takes hold of the steering wheel and begins to pump the brakes as he stands next to the driver. “Someone call 911,” Dillon says. Many of the other students begin to scream, but Dillon keeps his composure.
“In my 35-plus years of education, this was an extraordinary act of courage and maturity,” said Superintendent Robert Livernois. The Warren police and fire departments responded within minutes, Livernois said. The students were loaded onto another bus to head home. None of the students were injured. See my Orchid of the Day.
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Quote of the Day: “RIP JERRY SPRINGER. A true hero. All his craziness seems normal today. JERRY, JERRY, JERRY, JERRY!!!!!” A friend.
Orchid of the Day: Dillon Reeves, 13. See above story.
Onion of the Day: Den-Man Contractors. The company is alleged to have billed the City of Detroit more than $1 million for backfill dirt obtained at no cost from environmentally contaminated sources and then used at demolished properties. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s Office issued criminal enterprise and false pretense charges against the company and former employee David MacDonald on Tuesday.
Question of the Day: Did you ever wonder where they got some of the people who agreed to appear on the Jerry Stringer Show?
Video of the Day: I love this.
Dillon Reeves is a hero for all of us to share. And, good for the New Jersey league…I don’t usually root for New Jersey but requiring guilty parents to umpire three times before they are allowed to come back to “watch” the game is a good move.