My Officiating Experience

Posted inColumns, Sports, Wrestling

When I first got out of college 20 years ago, I wanted to find ways to stay involved with wrestling.
I couldn’t decide between officiating and coaching so I did the sensible thing – I did both. That lasted for two seasons when work and life made it clear that I had to give up one or the other.

Coaching won for a number of reasons. I thought many times about getting back into officiating, especially after I stopped coaching in 2001, but I always found a reason to stay away for one more year.

That all changed last fall. I took the officiating test and started working some local matches at the elementary and junior high levels.

Hard to Understand

Posted inColumns, Soccer, Sports

A friend took me aside recently. She had watched two co-workers engage in an hour-long conversation about college football and wanted to ask me something.

How can they do that?

She really had no idea how two people could carry on a conversation about sports for so long. She admitted that she tried to get into sports in the past, but just couldn’t maintain an interest. When she finished, I had a confession to make.

I envied her. I envy every single person who can walk around without having sports fill their brain with possibilities and arguments and everything else that goes along with being a fan.

You Just Have To

Posted inBaseball, Blogs, Sports
I hate the phrase "have to" as in "you have to watch this show" or "you have to find this funny." A former co-worker would always respond to comments like…

Rocking the Red

Posted inHockey, Sports
The irony of my interest in tonight's NHL playoff Game 7 between the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers is that the Rangers got me interested in the sport, but…

New Sport Has a Kick

Posted inColumns, Freelance Writing, MMA, Sports, Wrestling

I didn’t have any plans a couple of Sundays ago. We planned on having some friends over the Saturday before to grill and hang out, so I assumed I would spend the next day napping and watching sports.

Then I got a fateful phone call.

Well, it wasn’t fateful, but it was intriguing. The fine folks over at the York Daily Record wanted me to come out and cover an event for the paper.

Sure, I said. A little freelance money never hurt anyone. Plus, I could take part in a little bit of history.

They wanted me to cover the state’s first legal mixed martial arts event. I was going to get paid to see guys beat the snot out of each other. I love this country.