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By Craig Degel
Arizona Daily Wildcat
October 2, 1996
I've got a lot of things on my mind this week, so bear with me.First things first.
Referees.
I thought Pacific 10 Conference officials were bad.
If you've ever participated in intramural athletics, you probably know what I'm about to go off on.
The guys who throw on the stripes every week to referee flag football games border on pathetic.
I'd rather see Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder and Helen Keller step out onto the field with a whistle than some of the people who work for the intramural office.
This is just my second semester on some sort of intramural team. I played softball with what I thought was the most competitive bunch of guys I've ever met. Then I joined my friend's football team. Those guys are insane, and they take football very, very seriously.
When a referee makes a bad call - an event which occurs almost as often as the ticking of a stopwatch - they can expect my teammates to get in his or her face.
Actually, most of the time they yell at Michael, the student assistant. He's a nice guy and deals well with angry players. I guess experience is the best teacher.
I know right now somebody is out there saying, "If you think you can do a better job, grab a whistle."
Well, let me tell you something. I was a soccer referee once. And I was horrible, too.
I just hate to see teams go out and bust their necks for an hour to win a game and then go home losers because of a bad call.
Let's transition a bit to baseball for a second.
The Dodgers probably did themselves a favor by getting swept by San Diego. They have a better chance of beating Atlanta in five games than they do in seven. Of course, they couldn't win one game against the Padres with the NL West title on the line.
Here's some predictions. If you don't agree with me, come down to the office and yell at my assistant.
Ken Caminiti is the NL's most valuable player. Albert Belle will get the award in the AL.
Florida's Kevin Brown deserves the award for the NL Cy Young based on his 1.89 ERA in this, the year of the home run. But the award will probably go to Atlanta's John Smoltz, who won 23 games this season. Andy Pettitte of the Yankees will win the AL Cy Young.
The World Series championship trophy will be hoisted this year by ... drum roll please ... the Atlanta Braves.
Of course, I'm the same guy who said Notre Dame would win it all.
Sports editor Craig Degel shares his thoughts on sports and life every Wednesday in the Wildcat.
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