Is there anything more despicable than preying on the decency of people in order to commit indecent acts upon them? A pathocracy has infiltrated & infected our government. Sociopaths with zero empathy are running the show, demanding that the rest of us rid ourselves of the burden of our consciences

ICE using the same ruse that Ted Bundy used to kidnap people should tell you something.

"First ever"? What took so long?

No one creates and curates a vast network of blackmail victims, trafficked children, and financial incubi without enablers, and for decades, Deutsche Bank has been at the center of both Epstein's AND Donald Trump's financial "growth." "Growth," like a cancer. Deutsche Bank is a financial cancer.

So Florida legislators are finally growing a spine and rebuking the governor's disgusting fetish for feeding Brown people to the alligators. Progress!

When you do something ethical knowing it will cost you dearly, but you do it anyway, that's courage. Slava Ukraini!

A lovely encomium to the Harry Wendelstedt Umpire School, which provided me with the training that has allowed me to distinguish myself as an umpire over the last 46 years, and fostered hundreds of close friendships I now have with other umpires all over the world. www.nytimes.com/athletic/704...

In honor of #nationalguitarday, my cherished 1953 Martin 00-18, cracks and all. It's been played by Steve Goodman, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, & Paul Simon; they all said it has the sweetest sound they'd ever heard. Also shown: me, playing it at a Goodman tribute show, and my cat Lucie posing near it

Books by or about baseball umpires are my favorites!

@craigcalcaterra.bsky.social's newsletter alerted me to the weak-kneed but predictable abandonment of Latin players by @mlb.com & @mlbpa.bsky.social as the horrifying possibility of ICE raids at spring training camps now looms menacingly over what should be a glorious time of year for baseball fans.

This is not good

His thought was not to take advantage of the situation and enrich himself by extorting the families of the disappeared, but to help both them and his city at no cost. Respect to Juan Leon of Leo's Tow in Minneapolis! A link to the company's Facebook page: www.facebook.com/profile.php?...

Happy Birthday, B-R! One of my go-to websites for just about everything except maybe gynecological advice

Happy National Girls and Women in Sports Day! We are proud to count Jen Pawol among the trailblazers who call Northern New Jersey home. Check out the story about her, written by @umpireplb.bsky.social, that ran in our Fall 2025 newsletter.

To repeat, Cruelty is Big Business. It's making lots of money for a few people, but standing up to it and saying "NOT HERE, NOT TODAY, ICE," is making a big difference

At the Last Class of the Harry Wendelstedt Umpire School, students are divided into groups named in honor of past umpires. My crew was "Rennert," after the great and memorable Dutch, who was a good friend and mentor for years after I graduated from school in 1982. Respect to my Rennert crewmates!

The last week of the Last Class of the Harry Wendelstedt Umpire School is upon us, and the record-breaking 16 women in attendance and a few more online are celebrating and mourning at the same time: celebrating the friendships we've formed here, and mourning the end of an era. Time marches on!

Children over politics! What a concept.

Trying to keep it positive here, but I mean, how dare we. HOW DARE WE.

Every new year is a reminder of Clemente's generosity and regard for his fellow humans, the ones who suffered, the ones he would never know, not they, him, but whose lives he touched because that was who he was, a life-toucher, a game-changer, a man who didn't want to be a hero but was one anyway.

Mets v. Braves too

"Locker Room Talk: A Woman's Struggle to Get Inside" is Melissa Ludtke's eyewitness account of the turbulent times during which she opened the doors to the locker room to ALL reporters. Reading it will help you understand the context and the incredible intrepidity it took for her to do what she did.

New York City is a treacherous, slushy mess today, with more snow and dipping temps on the way, which will turn already slippery sidewalks into sheets of ice - but the dedicated building employees of Local 32BJ are hard at work salting and shoveling. Those good union jobs help keep New Yorkers safe!

A nice profile today at Ball Nine on Leslie Heaphy, one of the foremost scholars of Negro Leagues baseball (and one of my favorite people on the planet): ballnine.com/2025/12/26/d...

Don't stop believing! youtu.be/dbUDSxJFsDA?...

We can't all be Curt Flood, but we can all sure as hell be outspoken and brave - and right now, we all NEED to be.

The landscape of professional umpiring has been a barren plain for too long, but Harry's Last Class - the final session of the Harry Wendelstedt Umpire School, which is shutting its doors in January 2026 after almost 50 years of promoting umpires into pro ball - will be changing that in a BIG way!

I never really thought of Adam Smith as anything other than an economist because of his landmark tract, "The Wealth of Nations," but it turns out he was quite the soulful philosopher too. This quotation from his other book, "The Theory of Moral Sentiments," supports my conclusion.

Who among us can't use a pep talk to reset our emotionally frothing feelings before we do something we might regret? Thank you, PepToc Hotline (love the name!)

Sickening and infuriating. A Black woman is silenced so Karoline Leavitt can lie through her teeth about "unanimity," and the Trump name can be slapped on another building, defiling its history and purpose.

Women in baseball are hurting at the devastating loss of Rob Reiner, adoptive dad of Tracy, who's been a friend to all of us via her role as Betty Spaghetti in her mom Penny Marshall's classic "A League of Their Own," her support of @iwbc4me.bsky.social, & all of us in the women's baseball universe💔

Jen Pawol is Baseball America's 2025 Trailblazer of the Year, and she deserves all the accolades. Thanks to JJ Cooper and @baseballamerica.com for connecting Jen's journey to the majors with my dream project sponsoring 20 women at umpire school next month. www.baseballamerica.com/stories/mlb-...

Life in Kyiv continues as brave Ukranians carry on and the world bears witness. In a few months it will be four long years since the monster Putin made his move to steal what was not his. Why can't we end the war and preserve the beauty that remains, like this awe-inspiring cathedral and grounds?

Why I love closed captions (The line is, “My invisible ray gun will soon stop him.”

"New York will always welcome immigrants, and I will fight each and every day to protect, support, and celebrate our immigrant brothers and sisters." A declaration of love from our incoming mayor, plus practical advice for how to lawfully exercise the right to protest ICE incursions. Chef's kiss!

"New York will always welcome immigrants, and I will fight each and every day to protect, support, and celebrate our immigrant brothers and sisters." A declaration of love from our incoming mayor, plus practical advice for how to lawfully exercise the right to protest ICE incursions. Chef's kiss!

I hope ALL soccer fans will follow this lead & stay away in droves from next year's World Cup matches, but absent that happening, it would be awesome to see some insanely clever guerrilla tactics used during games to highlight the criminality & incompetence of the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize "winner"

We can't all be Jane Goodall, but we can all sure as hell be difficult.

I believe this with all my heart

Horrified at the laughingstock the United States has become because of this gross, greedy, grasping creep. He doesn't even understand this award is not an actual "honor" as much as it is a supplication because of the bullying jackass he is www.axios.com/2025/12/05/t...

A notable woman

As I lay feverish in my sickbed in New York earlier today, the temperature sinking lower & lower toward record- setting single digits, I watched “The Jackie Robinson Story” and was struck by how marvelous a film it is. A bit hokey and preachy in spots, but Jackie is phenomenal in it!

Get to know the umpires from The Before Times

One Christmas tree a day? Not sure. But here’s the beauty I saw today. I really want you to feel our resilience and see how beautiful Kyiv is.

Wow. Research led to this important step forward in eradicating AIDS from the planet. Research, funding, and commitment, none of which is a high priority for RFK's Dept of Health.

So many good things happen from giving a little IWBC is making huge strides for girls and women's baseball, from sponsoring playing opportunities to building a museum and activities center in Rockford, Illinois near historic Beyer Stadium, which we're also raising funds to renovate. You can help!

What Doge tooketh away, brave, resourceful people are putting back

This match brought to you by my sweet girl Missy. Her sisters, Penny, Pippa and Callie all came to us from LC3. They are an amazing local group working tirelessly to save the lives of the most needy cats in our area. 🐾🐾🐾🐾