Stan's Blog

And if you don't know, now you know

For those who follow sports, my job of administering an athletics conference is a dream job. But more often than not, when I explain to a non-sportsy friend or acquaintance that I work for a conference or that I'm a commissioner, they haven't the slightest idea what I do.

Case in point: There's a guy in my office complex, an Orthodox Jewish architect. He walks by our suite each day and sees our company name. Even though I've tried several times to explain what it is we do, he doesn't get it. How do I know, you ask? When we see him in the hallway, he asks "Hey there, you guys got any conferences coming up soon?"

Do what?

Well, if you want to a closer look at the type of decisions I make, look no further than the MLB World Series. Right now, Commissioner Bud Selig is taking some flack for his decisions both to start Game 5 and, ultimately, to suspend it.

I feel for him. Somebody has to make a decision, but nobody can predict the weather. I can't tell you how many times a similar situation has presented itself at our outdoor tournaments over these past five years. But as my great predecessor said, all you can do is evaluate the situation, make the best decision based on what is known at the time, and then live with the outcome.

One thing is for sure: you can't please everybody in situations like these.

Most of the media outlets are saying the Phillies need to win in order to take the heat off Commissioner Selig, because his decision affected them more adversely than the Rays. While this is true, I am hopeful the Phillies will be mature in handling this situation, win or lose, because that can relieve the pressure on Selig just the same.

Bottom line, it wasn't Selig's fault the weather went sour in Philly this week. And any heat he takes from Phillies' fans is nothing compared to the heat he'd take from Rays' fans had he halted the game prior to a tie score, in which case it would've been a Phillies victory by rule.

His decision was the best of the worst. For some reason, most folks outside of commissioners have a hard time remembering the choices weren't all that good to start with.

posted by Stan W @ 11:45 AM