Going all the way back to my Sportswriters days, I have always disliked the referees/umpires, whoever was there to officiate the game. The reason was and is that the refs, especially umpires were there to call the game, fairly, and to the best of their ability. No one in the history of sport has ever bought a ticket to watch an umpire. I met a couple of umpires, and I knew Eric Gregg. I think it was because I looked like Mini-Me to him: overweight, Black, both sweating profusely all game. I liked Eric, and a couple of others, but too many umpires thought that they were beyond reproach, couldn’t be criticized or get thrown out of the game and fined by Major League Baseball.
Umpires/refs, etc. have a tough job and most of them try to make as few mistakes as possible. However, there were some who felt that they had to “teach players a lesson.” I think it was Jake O’Donnell who considered the court his own personal fiefdom (however, most of his comments faded into significance by the Tim Donaghy cheating/gambling scandal).
Fans each have their own most hated officials because of accused bias (against their favorite team). In Chicago, it was Andy Van Hellemond in hocket, and Hue Holland in the NBA. There was no referee or umpire who was renowned in an entire sport as being incompetent, but then there was Angel Hernandez. An MLB umpire since 1999, no one has made glaringly incorrect calls like Hernandez. Fans held up eye-charts when he was in town. Pitches far outside were called strikes, television replays showed how bad Hernandez was. Rather than having a bit of humility, Hernandez doubled down on his calls, throwing players and coaches out of games for questioning his authority. One of the Chicago papers printed a time when former Chicago Bear Steve McMichael was signing Take Me Out to the Ballgame and McMichael, never a shy, retiring fellow, said that after the anthem he was going to come down to the field and have a discussion with the home plate umpire. They attempted to get Mongo thrown out of the park.
So I guess Major League Baseball had been tired of the complaints against Hernandez, and he was hurt most of last season, but over the winter, MLB wanted him to retire. Hernandez said no (including reportedly slamming doors at MLB headquarters. The sides were negotiating a severance package, and I guess this week, they came to an agreement, and now Hernandez is a former umpire. Major League umps and refs are unionized, limiting the power of the leagues to get rid of the worst offenders. I have always felt that the Big Ten Conference have the worst officials in college because they are not subject to punishment. In the times that I have written the commissioner of the Big Ten, I have complained not about calls on Northwestern, but called NU received wrongly from the other team. I have long said that the players and coaches deserve top quality officiating, not a commissioner’s wife’s uncle who can’t see and can barely run.
Getting rid of Angel Hernandez is a solid first step. Now, let’s take a long look at some of the rest of them.

Long time readers know that there is no one is all of sports broadcasting that I hate more than Stephen A. Smith. He is a loudmouthed jigaboo who spouts ignorant opinions with an African-American slant that appeals to low intelligence Black people, who feel that he speaks to them in their language, and to low intelligence whites who aspire to be Black and hip, or get to see a stereotypically ignorant Black man who is less than they are. He does not add pertinent analysis, background information, insight from front office members or coaches or owners. He just gives faux hip hop commentary.
For a very long time, I have hoped that ESPN and the journalism world would find a way to jettison this man at least from national prominence, but he gets big ratings and therefore is the highest paid sports broadcaster in the business. For my part, I just avoid any show that he is on, and change the channel if he appears on SportCenter or other shows.
I don’t write about Smith very often because I try to ignore him, plus my blood pressure doesn’t need it, and I have nothing new to add on the subject until this week. For the past few months, Smith has been wading into political commentary and I saw a couple of comments that were moderate, thoughtful, and I actually agreed with it. I should have known that it was a matter of time before he went back to grandstanding and opening his mouth.
Last week, Smith appeared on Sean Hannity’s Fox News program (saying that he and Hannity are close friends, which is nauseating enough) and talked about how Democrats and President Joe Biden need to shore up support in the Black community because to him, Trump is right about gaining greater support because he has been indicted on numerous criminal counts making Black people switching support (and with the dog whistle that Black people like gym shoes, especially the gaudy gold shoes). Hannity chimed in to agree that there has been inequality to Blacks in the criminal justice system. That has to be the first time that Sean Hannity ever mentioned, much less admitted that there is systemic racism in the system.
Fox is very good at bringing African-Americans on the air who can spout the right wing talking points. Candace Owens, Ben Carson and Jason Whitlock among others have become right wing mini-celebrities and allows the station to point at these people to say “look we have Black people, we can’t be racists. As Keith Olbermann said on his podcast, there is a long record of network prohibition at ESPN for on-air staff to make political statements or make political appearances. Maybe this will be the chance for S.A.S. to be fired from the “Worldwide Leader in Sports.”:
From what I have heard about television network executives, they are not paragons of integrity. The current problem with print and broadcast media is the “whataboutism:” anything bad about Trump has to be met with a negative story on President Biden. It is believed that this is being done to not piss off Thump just in case he gets back in the White House. If they had any balls, ESPN management should be marching Smith out immediately. Then he could rejoin the white version of BS sports talkers, Skip Bayless.
Do I think it will happen? Of course not; money talks all else walks, but it would be nice. If I need to feel better, I just go to this online seller of signed books. They usually sell books at the list price but signed (although they do have high price books like Bono’s book). They have regular sales on books that don’t sell. Stephen A. Smith’s book “Straight Shooter”, with a $30 cover price is being sold for $15.

All the way back when I started writing for The Sportswriters On TV, I have long written that umpires and referees have too much power. The officials, especially baseball umpires, are some of the most thin-skinned people you would ever encounter. I always thought the most exemplary case was that of Robbie Alomar/John Hirshbeck in 1999. At that time, Alomar was a multi-year All Star and considered one of the true gentlemen in the game (although Alomar was banned by MLB for Sexual Misconduct in 2021). Hirshbeck is shown saying something to Alomar at which time Alomar goes nuts, rushing and spitting at the umpire. Alomar was suspended although it was quite apparent that the umpire said something, perhaps a racial epithet to get Alomar to become so outraged. Eventually the men buried the hatchet although it has never been disclosed what Hirshbeck said.
This past weekend, let’s get the crying towel out for baseball umpire Hunter Wendelstedt. Oakland’s Esteury Ruiz, the game’s first batter, was struck on the foot by a slider thrown by Carlos Rodón. Wendelstedt deferred to first-base umpire John Tumpane, who ruled that Ruiz did not swing and awarded him a hit-by-pitch, allowing him to advance to first base. Boone took issue with the call and raised it with Wendelstedt, whose reply was picked up by broadcast hot mics. “Guess what? You’re not yelling at me. I did what I’m supposed to do and checked [with Tumpane],” Wendelstedt was heard saying. “I’m looking for him to get hit by the pitch. You got anything else to say, you’re gone, OK?”
The cameras then cut to a frustrated but silent Boone who went to concentrating on the game. Television footage then shows a fan sitting behind Boone yell something at the umpire, who then immediately turns around and throws the manager out of the game. Boone and the Yankees dugout protested his innocence and immediately pointed at the stands, indicating that the comment had been made by a fan. Boone then launched into an expletive-laden rant as he pleaded his case to Wendelstedt. “I did not say a word! It was above the dugout!” he said. “I didn’t say anything! I did not say anything, Hunter!”
Wendelstedt was not prepared to debate the matter. “I don’t care who said it. You’re gone!” he told Boone as jeers rained in from the New York crowd. After the game, Boone told reporters that it was “hard” to wrap his head around the decision and said that he would be reaching out to MLB about the situation.
Per MLB, Wendelstedt conceded postgame that Boone “probably, you know, is not the one who made the comment,” but doubled down on his reasons for the ejection. “I know what Aaron was saying, that it was a fan above the dugout,” he said. “That’s fine and dandy. There were plenty of fans that were yelling at me before I called a pitch until the end of the game … but Aaron Boone is the manager of the New York Yankees and is responsible for everything that happens in that dugout.”
Reportedly, Major League Baseball reviews incidents when people are ejected by an umpire, however, considering the power of the umpire’s union, I doubt it will ever be publicly adjudicated. I have long advocated for umpires, referees, line judges, anyone judging a major sport, can be reviewed and suspended, temporarily or permanently, with or without pay for abuse of power. Baseball umpires and basketball officials seem to be the worst they need to be held accountable.

For the past couple of weeks, I had planned to write about the money/gambling controversy surrounding the best baseball player in the world, Shohei Ohtani. As the major sports leagues become more entwined with sports books, it was only a matter of time before players, coaches, front office staff, even owners now have the opportunity to bet leading to potential cheating. Right before the start of the season, Ohtani’s interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was fired for reportedly stealing money for gambling. It was unclear for a few days, if it was the interpreter who bet or whether the reigning American League MVP was actually betting or Mizuhara was making bets for himself or Ohtani. Making it more problematic is the fact that sports betting is illegal in California. In the early stages, it was quickly determined that the player was not making the bets, but it was Mizuhara. A new interpreter was hired, Ohtani said he didn’t know what was happening and got off to a great start at the plate.
At first, Mizuhara was reported to have embezzled $300,000, then the number became $4 million. Finally, he was charged with bank fraud and accused of stealing more than $16 million from the Dodgers superstar to “finance his voracious appetite for illegal sports betting,” prosecutors said on April 11. Mizuhara allegedly siphoned millions from Ohtani’s bank account, to which he had direct access. Between December 2021 and January 2024, Mizuhara allegedly lost more than $40 million across about 19,000 individual bets, according to a criminal complaint. Ohtani has denied that he had placed any bets or had any knowledge of Mizuhara’s gambling. Prosecutors have also said that Ohtani is a victim and was not aware of the gambling or the wire transfers from his bank account.
Looking at this, a lot of people might be curious about some of the reasoning here, but having some experience with Asians, I just want to make two points. First, while it is a gross stereotype, Asian people do love gambling. The second point is – why didn’t Ohtani notice all of the money flowing away from his accounts? Mizukawa kept the information from Ohtani, from his people who didn’t speak Japanese. However, I want to interject the concept of “saving face.” Many years ago, at an Asian bank branch examination in Chicago. One of the major parts of a bank examination is a review of the loans on the books. Delinquent loans, those past due, are certainly going to be reviewed. At this branch, there was a loan, I think it was for around $180,000 to a young man in the area. The loan was around 180 days past due, which would have required us to note it. So, I asked the branch manager when was the last time he had seen the borrower. He said he had not seen the borrower, a 30-ish year-old Asian gentleman in many months. The branch manager said that he had heard that the borrower had gone back home.
I told the branch manager that I had to classify the loan as a problem loan. The branch manager disagreed, saying that they were sure that the borrower would pay them back, because the man and his family would “lose face” – suffer shame. However, I told the man that the borrower had spent most of his life in America, where the traditional Asian views might not apply as strongly. The borrower never returned and the branch wrote that loan off.
The same level of misplaced trust may have been in the situation here. Mizuhara was Ohtani’s best friend from Japan, his nearly constant companion in the United States. He used Ohtani’s friendship to rip him off, hid his robbery from his business counselors. Perhaps Ohtani thought that friendship and the shame of losing face would be enough. That world is gone.

By now, the entire world knows about the death of Orenthal James Simpson this week at the age of 78 from cancer. As the most controversial man in the last part of the 20th Century, newspapers and broadcast media is covering the death with many thousands of words, as has been the case since that fateful day in 1994 when Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Coleman were hacked to death at her house in Brentwood, California. Still, it was such a titanic event, the murder, the Bronco chase, the trial, the aftermath, that had an effect on everyone, myself included.
At the time of the whole event, I had a sideline job writing for The Sportswriters on TV. I wrote approximately 2,000 – 3,000 words per weeks and FAXed it to the producer. When it occurred, I don’t remember having written about it, but as time vent on, it became such a news event that I felt I had to give the view of a different Black man. First, I never saw myself in O.J. Simpson. He wasn’t a typical Black man, no matter what his poor background was. I admit that Simpson and I have one thing in common, I think he and I both feel that we are men, people first, Black second. In my case, I just have some many experiences, friends, that I don’t think of myself as Black first. Simpson was the same except he was above everyone else because he was O.J., above everyone, even me and people like me. Unlike Ali, Jim Brown, Bill Russell, Simpson never stood up for the issues of Black people. He was only about O.J. Of course, at the end of the day, to the world, I am a Black man first. O.J. however, was rich, talented and a huge celebrity, which allows anyone a benefit of the doubt that I will not get.
I wrote after the Bronco chase that I felt that he was guilty. I even went out on a limb to say during the trial that in many ways I wish that he had gone and killed himself as he threatened to in the back seat of the Bronco. In many ways, I felt that I was considered not Black because I thought that Simpson was guilty. (It should be noted that it was yet another way some people didn’t think I was Black enough: listen to rock music, have friends of every race and background.) When the not guilty verdict came down, I was as stunned as many people around me. I couldn’t understand the “Black man gets off” joy that many people seemed to feel. I remember a Black comic asking “where was my O.J. prize” and then laughter.
Then came the civil trial and judgement; getting arrested for trying to take memorabilia from some dealers in Las Vegas; doing time. Eventually he was found guilty ad sent to prison. Then he was released on parole, still being covered occasionally like a bizarre curiosity. It was like seeing Hannibal Lector in real life.
The life of O.J. Simpson is done. He used his football talent to be a Hall of Famer. He used his natural charisma to become an advertising icon, a mediocre sports broadcaster, an actor of limited talent. If you just look at this, the rags to riches story, he would be someone to emulate. Then the allegations of wife beating came out, were generally covered up, leading to a horrible murder. Instead of being famous, he became infamous. He died owing the Goldman family a reported $114 million. He has four children who will always be haunted by their father’s legacy. Some people will rejoice at this news; I guess a few people will be sad, probably Simpson’s family, but like many things in life, there is no joy and no sadness other than a general sadness about the narcissist who was Orenthal James Simpson.

Over the years as a trainer, I have been evaluated by lots of people, and almost every time, there was one person who had to complain about something. Even if I did a fine job and exemplary evaluations from others, there was always someone who had a bone to pick with me. Occasionally, the criticism was warranted, but the great majority was just grousing about nothing. That said, let me be the one critic on the Caitlin Clark bandwagon.
Yes, Caitlin Clark has been a phenomenon – scoring the most points by any player, male or female in NCAA basketball history. I have watched some of her games and marveled at her scoring prowess. I didn’t watch yesterday’s NCAA Women’s final between Iowa and South Carolina, but I had an excuse – I was at the United Center watching the Blackhawks and Wild (and considering how poorly the Hawks played, I probably could have stayed home). I did keep track of the game, but I kept my comments to myself because I was openly rooting against Iowa, but I have my reasons…
As South Carolina’s Head Coach Dawn Staley said from the winner’s platform, Ms. Clark and the other superstars have elevated interest in women’s basketball to all time highs. The Women’s NCAA tournament has drawn better than the men’s tourney, which bores well for the upcoming WNBA Draft and summer season, which is wonderful and I applaud it and will be supporting it. Ms. Clark’s celebrity reminds me of one person – Larry Bird.
Back in the late 1970s and 1980s, Bird was “The Great White Hope.” In a sport dominated by African-American players, Bird was an anomaly. Bird couldn’t leap out of the gym, but he could jump and was an effective rebounder; he could pass almost as well as his chief “nemesis” Magic Johnson. But boy could he shoot the basketball, from anywhere. As it turns out, Bird played the same style as the Black superstars, including a great deal of trash talk, which gained the respect of the Black players, especially Johnson, with whom he has become close friends.
Ms. Clark is white. Very white. The Iowa team is very white, as is the state. Iowa football came under scrutiny because of reports that players of color were not treated very well under still Head Coach Kirk Ferentz. Ms. Clark seems to be a nice young woman – she has handled the attention and the popularity well, so this is in no way her fault. However, in the offices of the television networks and sponsors throughout the nation, having a white girl be the face of college basketball is something they can easily get behind and yesterday’s women’s final was a very white team against a team full of women of color. It was in my mind, as I’m sure it was in every one watching. It also has to be said that Ms. Clark’s apparent heterosexuality also is appealing to the open and quiet bigots in the country. There are some fairly butch women in the sport; it is rumored that there are far more lesbians in the league than straight (and let’s not forget that the great Candace Parker was married to a man for 6 years before divorcing him and marring a woman).
Again, this is not Ms. Clark’s burden to carry. She has already lifted the sport to a level of popularity that it has never known. I hope she has a terrific career and a great life. Eventually, I came to not only respect but really appreciate Larry Bird. I’m better than I was – I already respect and appreciate Caitlin Clark despite the attendant undercurrent.

I have long stated that owners of professional sports teams are selling one of two things: wins, or hope for the future that there will be lots of wins in the near future. For decades, the Cubs didn’t sell hope or wins – they marketed a beautiful day outside at the ballpark. That was an aberration, built on a historic park; a superstation that at the time showed every game to nearly the entire world, and the fallacy of the team being loveable losers.
Unfortunately, there have been times when there were no wins, and apparently no hope for wins. I think back to the 2021 Chicago Bears season. After going 12-4, and 8-8 in two consecutive seasons, the Bears bottomed out. The unpopular Matt Nagy seemed incompetent as head coach, quarterback Mitchell Trubisky was showing that he was a bust and therefore GM Ryan Pace’s big move was ludicrous, the team had no talent and they stumbled to 6-11 record. I said that the Bear management had once again left the fans out in the cold, while still expecting fans to come out. Looking back, that travesty may be prologue for the 2024 Chicago White Sox.
Yes, it’s very early in the season, four games into the 162-game marathon that is a baseball season. The White Sox were swept over the weekend by the Tigers, then were stomped by the very good Atlanta Braves 9-0 last night in a rain shortened game at Guaranteed Rate Field. Everyone knew that the White Sox were in full rebuild mode, with any valuable players, including starting ace Dylan Cease shipped off for prospects. The only talent on the team is Luis Robert, Jr. and the oft injured Eloy Jimenez. The team has a hitting line of .168/.230/.320, which has to be among the worst in the league. Pitching has been little better with the pitchers posting a 4.70 ERA.
Two things make this even more dire. First, Jerry Reinsdorf is trying to get state and local authorities for $2 billion for a new stadium. It worked before, threatening to go to Tampa if they hadn’t built US Cellular/Guaranteed Rate. Reinsdorf went and spoke to Nashville about a new stadium, but Nashville is the latest municipality to be skeptical of the former conventional wisdom that stadiums lead to economic rebirth. Most times, they are just places where sports owners print more money. Many Sox fans still hold a grudge against Reinsdorf. As problematic, the dysfunction that Reinsdorf ruled over for decades that led to underperforming teams got rid of VP Kenny Williams and GM Rick Hahn (very necessary), Cease, Jose Abreu; even lifelong Sox fan – announcer Jason Benetti left for the Tigers.
As Reinsdorf should know, Guaranteed Rate is no Wrigley Field. White Sox fans take a definite “wait-and-see” approach to attendance. If a team has hopes for wins, which this team does not, nor the chance of wins (I read somewhere that the White Sox may threaten the worst record in baseball history – around the 20-134 record of the 1899 Cleavland Spiders). Even if the team is not projected to do well, a quick start to the season will lure fans to the ballpark once the weather improves. But the best effort the Sox have shown this season was a 7-6 loss to the Tigers, wasting Robert Jr’s two home runs.
If it weren’t for the centenarian Virginia McCaskey, the owner of the Bears and the sudden death of Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz, Reinsdorf is the oldest owner in town – 88 years of age. Never particularly beloved here in Chicago despite the Bulls championships (since he allowed his minion Jerry Krause to dismantle the team), Reinsdorf coming with his hands open for more revenue then putting a subpar product on the field may make him the most hated owner since the death of Bill Wirtz. Not a club I’d want to be in.