Sunday morning I spent 3 hours with fellow umpires Jeff, Courtney, Mark and Jason training approximately 40 young men and women from Northville in the basics of umpiring at the D-Bat Baseball and Softball Academy in South Lyon. It was a great way to spend the morning. Courtney and Jeff trained them on base umpiring and Jason and I worked on plate mechanics while Mark coordinated the whole event. The young umpires were extremely attentive and were absorbing the training like a sponge. With the average age of a MHSAA high school umpire being 54, it is extremely important that we get young new blood into our profession. We will be back again in April working with them outside on the field, which is where we can really do some things with them. The five of us will probably be working with one or two other cities to help with youth umpire training. I cannot wait. Working with young men and women on the basics and benefits of officiating is something I treasure.
I don’t know about everyone else, but I am still looking for my lost hour of sleep. Switching to daylight savings is especially hard when you go to bed late on Saturday and have to get up much earlier than normal on Sunday.
March Madness is starting this week. For a basketball junkie like me, it is the best three weeks of sports in the year. MSU made the tournament on the bubble as they were part of the “last four in”. MSU extended their streak of tournament appearances to 23, the third longest in the country. Their first game is with UCLA, another storied program who barely made it. Missing from the tournament were two of the most storied programs of all time, Duke and Kentucky.
The B1G was well represented with nine teams including two number one seeds, Michigan and Illinois and two number two seeds, Ohio State and Iowa. Michigan enters the tournament on a downward slide as they have lost 3 of their last 5 games (MSU, OSU, Illionois) but more importantly, they have lost their leading scorer and best all around player, Isiah Livers, for the remainder of the season to a stress fracture in his foot. Michigan should make it to the sweet 16. After that, they will have to win with their defense and with minimal turnovers. They only had two turnovers in their game with OSU on Saturday. Making it to the final four will be a real challenge without Livers.
I am watching with great interest the “mortgage war” between Matt Ishiba’s United Wholesale Mortgage and Dan Gilbert’s Rocket Mortgage. Ishiba has layed down the gauntlet and told the mortgage brokers they can do business with UWM providing they do no business with Rocket Mortgage. UWM is the largest wholesale mortgage company in the country while Qucken Loans and Rocket Mortgage are the largest mortgage originator in the country. Both of the companies are major contributors to MSU athletics. Matt Ishiba was a member of MSU’s 2000 National Championship basketball team.
Joaquin Consuelos, the youngest child of popular TV host Kelly Ripa and actor Mark Consuelos, will be wrestling for Michigan. Michigan announced the signing Saturday night. Don’t be surpised if you see mom and dad in Ann Arbor the next four years.
Stay safe. Social distance. Wear your mask properly. Wash your hands regularly. Schedule your vaccine.
Quote of the Day: Arizona state representative John Kavanaugh, who chairs the state’s Government and Elections Committee, made headlines yesterday when he explained that Republicans were happy to create measures that kept people from voting fFbecause “everybody shouldn’t be voting…. Quantity is important, but we have to look at the quality of votes, as well.”O
Orchid of the Day: Michigan’s women’s basketball team for their number 6 seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament. The highest seed a Michgan women’s basketball team has ever received.
Onion of the Day: Arizona state senator, John Kavanaugh for his above comment.