UEFL Draft 2012: Appeals Board Election

Welcome to the 2012 UEFL Appeals Board election. As per Rule 6-4-a, the Umpire Ejection Fantasy League has established an Appeals Board that shall routinely rule on issues of Quality of Correctness. Comprised of three rotating voting members and a roster of five at-large volunteers, a pre-season nomination and election process has been established to select this season's Board.

Listed in random order, the following 12 persons have been nominated for the 2012 UEFL Appeals Board and your votes shall decide our inaugural Appeals Board roster. With five at-large vacancies, you may vote for as many or as few candidates as you wish. Short-form statements follow while unabridged candidate statements are available on the UEFL Portal's Appeals Board page; Candidates are additionally free to campaign as a reply to this post, if so desired. Voting closes Friday, March 30 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time; the poll is located beneath all candidate statements:

Joe Torre returns to MLB as Baseball Operations E VP

Joe Torre is back at MLB as Baseball Operations Executive Vice President, the position he held throughout 2011 until resigning January 4 in order to pursue ownership of the Los Angeles Dodgers, which Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig had mandated be sold by April 30, 2012.

Attribution: Wikimedia

After Torre's investment group dropped out of the bidding process for the iconic franchise, Selig offered Torre his old job back: As Executive Vice President, Baseball Operations, Torre oversaw on-field activities, including MLB operations, on-field discipline and umpiring. Torre will once again return to the chief disciplinarian role, serving as primary liason to GMs and field managers throughout the league.

Prior to accepting the position in advance of the 2011 season, Torre had retired as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers after spending the bulk of his managerial career in New York with the Yankees. Prior to coaching, Torre was a player.

News: Torre rejoins Major League Baseball as EVP, Baseball Operations

Proposed 2012 NFL Rules Changes

The 2012 NFL off-season is in full swing after a flurry of free agent signings of the game's biggest names, such as Mario Williams, Randy Moss, and others changed their teams last week. This week certainly had its fair share of news. Yesterday saw the legend of Tim Tebow traded from the Broncos to the Jets (after Peyton Manning signed with the Broncos the day before) and also the Saints received one of the most severe punishments in the history of professional sports for its bounty (Head Coach Sean Payton was suspended for the entire 2012 season as just part of it). Although these were the headline catching news, what cannot be missed was an important meeting regarding the upcoming NFL season. The Competition Committee for the National Football League met yesterday via conference call and proposed several rule changes, along with some made by the teams. These proposed rule changes were announced by the committee's chairman Rich McKay, the president of the Atlanta Falcons. Here is a look at the proposed rule changes:


1) Instant Replay Decisions Made by Booth
Proposed by the Buffalo Bills, this proposal would move authority from the referee to the booth official to make decisions on reviews for instant replay. The decision as to overturn or uphold an on-field call would no longer be made on the field, similar to college football. A tenant of the proposal could also end the challenge system, meaning that not only all reviews would be decided by the booth, but initiated by them too. Buffalo's reasoning  for this proposal is that they believe it would speed up the instant replay process.

While it is conceivable that replay review decisions made by the booth could reduce the time it takes for a review to take place, it could be an insignificant amount and also introduce other issues. Yes, time would be saved firing up the replay booth and having the referee go to the booth, but the time cut is largely insignificant. This especially holds true if the challenge system is abolished and all replays are initiated by the booth. There would be no limit on such reviews, likely seeing an increase, and easily taking up any time otherwise saved.

UEFL Draft 2012: Secondary Umpires and Prop Predictions

Welcome to the 2012 UEFL Draft for Secondary Umpires. As per Rule 1, the Pre-Season (Spring Training) Draft has been established to distribute crew, primary and secondary umpires. Here's how the process works: Now that we've selected Primary Umpires, we shall select Secondary Umpires. During this round only, you have the option of participating in the Standard (non-live) or Live Secondary Draft.

Important: Several members have not yet submitted their Primary Umpires. If this describes you, please submit your Primary Umpires as soon as possible. Because of the private nature of the Standard Secondary draft this year, we are able to accommodate late Primary selection submitted prior to the Live Secondary draft. (Exception: Those RSVP'd for the Live Secondary Draft have the option of submitting their Primary Umpires during the Live Draft). Failure to submit umpires timely will result in the absence of an Umpire on that member's roster. If you have any questions about this, please e-mail the Office of the UEFL Commissioner. Please note that the Crew round is currently excepted from this rule, as the Crew deadline has been extended through April 1. If the Crew List is still not available at that time, the Crew deadline only will be extended again. If this is to occur, the UEFL will make an official announcement prior to April 1.

The Live Secondary Draft is scheduled for 2:00 PM Pacific Time (5:00 PM Eastern) on Sunday, April 1. This is a day off during the March Madness NCAA Basketball Tournament. If you plan to participate in the the Live Secondary Draft, please send an e-mail RSVP to the UEFL Commissioners. If you will not attend, be advised the non-live Standard Secondary round will run from March 17-30. Prop Predictions will be made concurrent with the Standard Secondary round, from March 17-30. As previously announced, since the Umpire Crew list is not yet available, the Crew round shall remain open through April 1.

Secondary: SECTION 4. Prior to the start of the year's regular season, and after the primary umpires have been chosen, league members select two additional umpires.

a.     This round shall be conducted privately (Standard) or publicly (Live). Accordingly, two UEFL members may not choose the same permutation of two umpires, though individual selections may duplicate.  

b.     Please reference the UEFL Member Roster / Results for Secondary draft order. 

c.     Umpires classified as AAA call-ups are not eligible for draft in the Secondary round.

Please read on for important procedural information, for Prop Predictions information including the first round of Prop Predictions and for important injury information.

Notre Dame Lane Violation Proves Costly Against Xavier

Talk about déjà vu, not 24 hours after a lane violation against UNC-Asheville stunted a late-game upset attempt, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish have been burned by the same exact violation of this NCAA basketball rule.

Just as was the case during Asheville vs. Syracuse, the late game lane violation call during Xavier vs. Notre Dame was the Correct Call (CC). Combined with an intentional foul called against Notre Dame seconds later after a ND defender grabbed and yanked a Xavier player's jersey before and during an inbounds pass (another Correct Call (CC)), the 2.8 second mark of March Madness' second round Xavier-Notre Dame game was devastating for the Fighting Irish.

In the blink of an eye, Notre Dame squandered its chance to shoot bonus free throws and saw a workable 65-63 deficit turn into a 67-63 hole with Xavier in possession of the basketball.

Both calls were correct, though this fact did nothing to quell the ire of...the...Irish. [editor's note: Come on, really???]

Still, with Notre Dame's lane violation Friday and UNC-Asheville's violation on Thursday on very similar plays, we must wonder whether rules knowledge is really poor outside of the officiating community or whether nerves and the prospect of scoring a huge upset interfered with both teams' players from thinking rationally. At the very least, we know at least two referees were not deterred from making this very gutsy call at crucial moments in their respective ball games.

Regardless, here's NCAA Basketball Rule 9, Section 1, Article 2, Provision g.

Players not in a legal marked lane space shall remain behind the free- throw line extended and behind the three-point field-goal line until the ball strikes the ring, flange or backboard, or until the free throw ends

Keep on calling those rules as written, folks. It is an official's job to enforce the rules, not to rewrite or ignore them. Well done by our March Madness officials these past two days in achieving that goal.

Pre-Season Ejection 002: D.J. Reyburn (1)

HP Umpire D.J. Reyburn ejected Mets Manager Terry Collins for arguing a batter's interference call in the top of the 8th inning of the Mets-Marlins game. With one out and none on, Mets batter Jordany Valdespin bunted a fastball from Marlins pitcher J.D. Martin to catcher Kyle Skipworth. As Skipworth was attempting to field the bunt, Reyburn called Valdespin out for interfering with Skipworth's attempt to play the fair ball. Video replay is unavailable, this ejection does not carry a Quality of Correctness. At the time of the ejection, the Marlins were leading, 3-1. The Marlins ultimately won the contest, 3-1.

This is D.J. Reyburn (70)'s first pre-season ejection of 2012.
No points are awarded for ejections during the Spring Training period (Phase i), as per Rules 2 and 4.

This is the 2nd Spring Training ejection of 2012.
This is the 2nd Manager ejection of the 2012 pre-season.

Wrap: Mets at Marlins, 3/15/12
Video: None

Reviewing the Officials' Calls at the end of No. 1 Syracuse vs. No. 16 UNC-Asheville

NCAA Basketball Referee Ed Corbett was thrown under the bus by Director of Officiating John Adams Thursday afternoon after a series of controversial calls and perceived missed calls went against underdog No. 16 UNC-Asheville, a team that had tried to defeat No. 1 Syracuse during the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament colloquially known as March Madness.

Throughout the UNC-Asheville vs. Syracuse contest, fans complained of several close calls they felt were gross misses. Let's go to the tape, it's time for a video analysis. The following three plays shall be discussed:

1. Goaltend, Basket Interference or No-Call
2. Lane Violation Against UNC-Asheville or No-Call
3. Foul Against UNC-Asheville, Ball Awarded Out of Bounds to UNC-Asheville or Syracuse

Exclusive: Umpire John Hirschbeck to the Disabled List

According to a source, MLB umpire John Hirschbeck will miss the 2012 season—and potentially more—due to illness.

Hirschbeck was one of several umpires who suffered injury or illness and missed significant time during the 2011 season. After Hirschbeck worked first base during the Nationals-Padres game on June 12, he did not return to action until July 8's Pirates-Cubs contest. He also suffered through a few painful deflections while a plate umpire, once on April 12 and again on July 24. Prior to deflection, the second pitch had been clocked at 95 MPH.

While most full-time crew chiefs worked between 127 and 136 regular season games in 2011, Hirschbeck worked just 112 due to back pain. Only Tim Tschida (81 games) worked fewer.

Hirschbeck previously missed the entire 2008 MLB season due to back surgery to repair a ruptured disk, while Hirschbeck was diagnosed with testicular cancer in mid-2009. August 2 was his last game that season and oncological surgery shortly followed.

The offending tumor was removed and doctors at the time predicted a 10 percent chance of the cancer returning.

At the time, Hirschbeck had predicted a retirement in the near future: "I'm 55 and I don't plan on working a whole lot longer."

Hirschbeck was the first president of the World Umpires Association and concluded the 2011 UEFL season with zero ejections and zero points. His younger brother, former MLB umpire Mark Hirschbeck, was also bitten by the injury bug, suffering a career-ending injury when his artificial hip shattered during a game. In April, Hirschbeck settled his lawsuit with Wright Medical Technology of Arlington, Tenn. for several millions of dollars.

Umpire Bill Hohn was on MLB's Disabled List in 2011 before retiring prior to 2012.

Pre-Season Ejection 001: Tim Timmons (1)

1B Umpire Tim Timmons* ejected Marlins Manager Ozzie Guillen for arguing a foul ball call made by HP Umpire Fieldin Culbreth** in the top of the 6th inning of the Marlins-Red Sox game. With one out and two on, Marlins batter Terry Tiffee hit a 0-0 fastball from Red Sox pitcher Andrew Bailey up the first base line. When fielded by first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, the ball was ruled foul. Replays indicate the ball was first touched by Gonzalez in foul territory, the call was correct. At the time of the ejection, the Red Sox were leading, 3-2. The Red Sox ultimately won the contest, 5-3.

This is Tim Timmons (95)'s first pre-season ejection of 2012.
No points are awarded for ejections during the Spring Training period (Phase i), as per Rules 2 and 4.
*Though Tim Timmons is listed as the 2B Umpire in the box score, he is deemed the 1B Umpire for the purpose of this ejection, as he was working the 1B position at the time of the ejection.
**Though Timmons ruled the ball foul, the foul line between home plate and the front edge of first base is the HP Umpire's responsibility. Accordingly Culbreth had primary jurisdiction on the play and is therefore the calling umpire.

This is the 1st Spring Training ejection of 2012.
This is the 1st Manager ejection of the 2012 pre-season.

Wrap: Marlins at Red Sox, 3/12/12
Video: Ozzie Guillen's First Ejection as Miami Marlins Manager, Bobby Valentine Waves Goodbye

UEFL Draft 2012: Crew and Primary Umpires

Welcome to the 2012 UEFL Draft for Crew and Primary Umpires. As per Rule 1, the Pre-Season (Spring Training) Draft has been established to distribute crew, primary and secondary umpires. Here's how the process works: First, we'll pick Crew and Primary Umpires and next we'll pick Secondary Umpires. Note: The Live Secondary Draft is scheduled for the afternoon of April 1. If you plan to participate in the the Live Secondary Draft, please send an e-mail RSVP to the UEFL Commissioners. If you will not attend, be advised the non-live Secondary round will run from March 17-30. Prop predictions will be made concurrent with the non-live Secondary round, from March 17-30.

Let's start with Crew and Primaries. This year's draft will employ a secret Crew & Primary pick. That is, until the UEFL draft is complete, all Crew and Primary draft picks shall remain secret (posts will remain unscreened or "in moderation"). Here are some additional Guidelines for Crew and Primary draft choices:

CREW: SECTION 2. Prior to the beginning of the year’s regular season, and during the spring training period of the pre-season, each member of the league shall select one MLB crew chief to serve as UEFL crew chief. See Also: Rule 3.
a.     This round shall be conducted privately. Accordingly, two UEFL members may, by chance, pick the same umpire.
b.     In the event of injury to the designated crew chief, the replacement umpire shall be whoever is appointed by MLB to replace the injured umpire as crew chief or acting crew chief of his MLB crew.
c.     Although a member may select a non-MLB crew chief during this round, it is highly recommended that a crew chief be selected.

PRIMARY: SECTION 3. After or concurrent with the crew round, each member of the league shall select one umpire they believe will compile the most league points at the end of the postseason. Spring training and the All-Star Game do not count toward an individual umpire's points total. Primary umpires may be Triple A call-ups and may be the same umpire picked as UEFL Crew Chief.
a.     This round shall be conducted privately. Accordingly, two UEFL members may, by chance, pick the same umpire.
(1)  Primary umpires may be Triple A call-ups and may be the same as the umpire picked in SECTION 2 (crew round).
b.     The primary umpire picked by one league member may be the same primary umpire of another member.
c.     This process is conducted simultaneously and the primary umpire is submitted secretly, to ensure that no league member gains an unfair advantage by knowing any other member's primary umpire.