The Last Bastion

On the TunneySide of Sports April 18, 2022 #896 Up next… The Last Bastion

After further review… I have often thought that sports or the field of sports would be the last bastion in maintaining truth and honesty or at least doing it the right way. Let me lay out the definition of bastion which is: (as I understand it): “An institution, place, or person strongly defending or upholding particular principles, attitudes, or activities.”

This was the lesson I learned playing on the playground after school and on weekends. I guess I shouldn’t say after school since what we were learning on that playground were life lessons that would serve us well. On the playground, we were the last bastion. There were no coaches or referees or umpires to guide us. We had to figure it out ourselves. And do it quickly since we were running out of daylight! Time was of the essence as we needed to be home before dark. Oh, yes, we argued about a foul or a procedure but settled it quickly.

The thinking behind this article is what we are seeing daily through our media. Elected officials are being charged with crimes that we always assumed were being committed by known criminals, not those we elected to represent us. Crime is rampant in our streets –always has been, always will be – but we, hopefully, draw the line when it happens in institutions we hold as sacred.

The case(s) in point are those colleges and universities that have succumbed to outside  brokers who have fallen into the hands of private citizens who want to get their young people into that school by offering financial “bribes.” Granted these brokers are not part of or held accountable to said college but are only in this “scheme” to make money – legally or illegally – the latter is the issue.

However, that broker is working with an employee of that college who have the ways to make it happen. That person associated with the college has to be that “last bastion” who says STOP – we are not interested in this way of enrolling students who don’t meet our admission standards. Colleges and universities need to do a better job vetting these types of employees.

Let’s not be naïve enough to think that this has not happened in the past. It certainly has, but hopefully, the law has come forward to stop it or at least slow it down.

Will, you, if ever involved, avoid being part of a scheme to go against standard procedures?

To contact Jim, go to www.jimtunney.com or email jim@jimtunney.com. “Impartial Judgment” is now out of print but is available for $20 with free shipping from the website or contact Jim at 2962 Club Rd. Ste #32 Pebble Beach, CA. 93953. It includes Jim’s autograph. 

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Jim’s books include many messages about rules and regulations (remember he was a referee). His bobblehead on your desk or shelf will be a treasure in your office or home. Jim’s Bobblehead includes no tax and comes with free shipping. Use PayPal or mail check to 2962 Club Rd, Ste 32, Pebble Beach, CA 93953.

Shop here.

To contact Jim, go to www.jimtunney.com  or email jim@jimtunney.com.

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Getting the Green Light

M.L.B. Approves Technology to Limit Sign Stealing

On the TunneySide of Sports April 11, 2022 #895 Up next… getting the Green Light

After further review… I read recently that major league pitchers and catchers now have been given permission (the green light) by MLB to establish signals to counteract “signal stealing” by the opponents during a game. You certainly will recall the system that the Houston Astros were caught using during the 2017 MLB season. But just a minute, stealing signals has been part of baseball since Elston Howard moved from the Negro Leagues to catch for the New York Yankees.

Catchers have been changing signals to their pitcher even before Howard was sitting in that crouch in the Bronx. You’ve seen catchers waggle their fingers from a one or two and move their non-glove hand from one leg to the other. As a kid on the playground, it was simple “one” was a fastball: “two’ was a curve. That was about it. No sliders, no knuckleball, etc. Of course, this was before Little League and adult coaches and way before Tommy John’s surgery. It was a simple game: somebody threw the ball. Somebody caught the ball, and somebody hit the ball. My, how it has grown.

Of course, if you’ve watched MLB managers in the dugout or in the third-base coaching box relay signals to the batter or baserunner, you gotta be confused as to which maneuver was the correct one. If your aging father or old uncle Earl did that in your living room, you gotta think about where he should be living!

When technology appeared, MLB outlawed it. Steal signals if you can but you can’t use technology. In a simple explanation of what the Astros did in 2017: a member of that organization stationed in the centerfield skybox would determine what sign the opposing catcher was using and relay what he believed the type of pitch was next to be delivered via cell phone or another device to the dugout where an assistant would bang on a drum—one bang for a fastball and so on. Hmm, sounds not too much different than what we did as kids, except for the cell phone and other technology.

The catcher will now have a button device on his “mitt” and the pitcher will have an earpiece. The catcher can now avoid all those finger signals to relay to the pitcher which pitch he is calling for. Hmm, guess technology has been allowed in full bloom!

Will you log-in your thoughts on the use of these new devices for MLB? Or do you care?

To contact Jim, go to www.jimtunney.com or email jim@jimtunney.com. “Impartial Judgment” is now out of print but is available for $20 with free shipping from the website or contact Jim at 2962 Club Rd. Ste #32 Pebble Beach, CA. 93953. It includes Jim’s autograph. 

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Jim’s books include many messages about rules and regulations (remember he was a referee). His bobblehead on your desk or shelf will be a treasure in your office or home. Jim’s Bobblehead includes no tax and comes with free shipping. Use PayPal or mail check to 2962 Club Rd, Ste 32, Pebble Beach, CA 93953.

Shop here.

To contact Jim, go to www.jimtunney.com  or email jim@jimtunney.com.

Posted in Sports, Tunney Side of Sports Columns | Tagged | Leave a comment

Special Athletes In The Special Olympics

On the TunneySide of Sports April 4, 2022 #894 Up next… Special Athletes In The Special Olympics

After further review…  As you watch these gifted athletes perform in the final game of the 2021-22 NCAA men’s basketball season (Yes, Alice, March Madness is finally over!) and marvel at their athleticism, you begin to wonder if they really appreciate their God-given talents. If you’ve been around athletes as long as I have, you have seen all levels of athletes, unless you have not been a close-up witness to the Special Olympics.

It was the mid-1970s when Teresa Brown called to invite me to be a celebrity presenter and hand out medals at the California Special Olympic Summer Games to be held at UCLA. It was an invitation I was honored to accept. When I drove into my UCLA parking place at about 9 a.m. that first day, I was surprised to see several hundred athletes already warming up for their events. Athletes of all ages, sizes and shapes were sprinting, running the hurdles, and every track and field event one could imagine. And that’s not all as they played softball, had swimming and diving events and with a wonderful spirit. After several years of being part of these summer games, I was invited to join the CSO Board of Directors.

The closer I got and longer I watched the more I wondered how God decided to place his giftedness in some and not in others. However, to these special athletes, they seemingly never questioned that but just continued to accept what God did give them. Their spirit of competition was a sight to behold.

In the men’s high jump — yes, some special competitors were in their 40s — the competition ended with (you guessed it) the “final four.” As this competition was closing down, one of the finalists missed on his second-to-last jump attempt. His competitor ran up to him as that finalist was dejected about his miss. He hugged him (these athletes are big on hugs) and said, “Don’t worry, you’ll make it next time.” This was his competition urging him not to give up! Never give up!

Then I watched Evelyn climb the ladder of that 10-foot diving board and hold onto the side rails as she walked to the end of the board. I wondered why she had to hold onto the side rails. She then performed a beautiful swan dive. Tears trickled down my cheeks when I learned she was blind. What courage!

Will you always remember to appreciate whatever talents you have been given?

To contact Jim, go to www.jimtunney.com or email jim@jimtunney.com. “Impartial Judgment” is now out of print but is available for $20 with free shipping from the website or contact Jim at 2962 Club Rd. Ste #32 Pebble Beach, CA. 93953. It includes Jim’s autograph. 

—————

Jim’s books include many messages about rules and regulations (remember he was a referee). His bobblehead on your desk or shelf will be a treasure in your office or home. Jim’s Bobblehead includes no tax and comes with free shipping. Use PayPal or mail check to 2962 Club Rd, Ste 32, Pebble Beach, CA 93953.

Shop here.

To contact Jim, go to www.jimtunney.com  or email jim@jimtunney.com.

Posted in Sports, Tunney Side of Sports Columns, Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment