R.I.P Dutch

Lawrence "Dutch" Rennert, 88, died Sunday in St. Augustine, Florida -- and the world of baseball lost a colorful character.

There was never a question about a call with Dutch. He was as animated as they come when calling a strike. Heck, if you were sitting in the upper deck, you heard him.

Dutch was from Oshkosh, WI. A long-time minor-league umpire, he was promoted to the National League in 1973. He worked 2,693 regular season games, plus six NL Championship Series, three World Series (1980, '83 and '89) and two All-Star Games.

I first met Dutch while working with the Oshkosh Northwestern back in the  '70s, heading over to his house to interview him before he headed off for spring training. In the off-season around the Fox Valley, you often saw Dutch (paired with Larry Van Alstine) working high school or college basketball games.

What you saw with Dutch was what you got. He was a real story teller. He loved his job, and he loved people, from fans to players. He told a great story of working games in Montreal when the Expos were there, and a fan who showed up for every game, calling "DUTCHEEEE" to him before the game. He was proud of his work, and humbled by the opportunity.

RIP Dutch. I know you're behind the plate again and loving every minute of it.

Transgender Competiton Creates Questions

Sometimes, things can sorta slip under the radar. Out of sight, out of mind you might say.  So I thank one of my California contacts for bringing this to my attention. When I started covering high school sports in 1969, this sort of thing never entered my mind.

I'm speaking of an incident in Connecticut this past week, when during the State Open track and field championships, one person broke the State Open records for girls in both the 100- and 200-meter runs. That person is a biological boy. Terry Miller of Bulkeley, a transgender, won both events. In the 100-meter dash, the runner-up was Andraya Yearwood of Cromwell -- also a transgender.

The line from the theme song of the Archie Bunker show comes to mind -- "And you knew where you were then....goirls were goirls (loved that Archie accent!) and men were men". But, the time's they are a changin'.

I totally support those of the LGBTQ community. Athletes, non-athletes. Doesn't matter. It's your life, go for it.

That said, I think the whole Connecticut situation will call for some steps to clear up the muddy waters. The only solution I can see -- if an athlete is biologically male, then the athlete competes with the males. It's just not a level playing field if said transgender competes against females. It's just a fact of life.

For example, in the just completed WIAA State Track Meet, the winning time in the girls' Division 1 100 was 11.99 (and only 1 of 11 finishers was under 12.0) while the 200 time was 23.76 (again, the only sub-24.0 time turned in). For the boys, winning time was 10.65 in the 100 and 21.43 in the 200. In both events, all competitors were sub-11.0 and sub-22.0, respectively.

Hey, I don't have the answers here. Just want to get a dialogue going because sooner or later we will need to get to an answer that's fair for all. This isn't a red/blue topic or an across-the-aisle topic. It's a PEOPLE topic. And our families, friends, co-workers, neighbors...well, they all deserve a thoughtful, respectful approach.

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Kneeling, Standing & Everything Inbetween

I'm not a big fan of mixing sports and politics, mind you, but it happens. Sorry, but I just can't ignore this week's events without comment. 

Those of us of a certain age can still picture African-American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos during their medal ceremony at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. On the platform, the two of them with a single black-gloved fist thrust into the air, their Black Power Salute.

That 1968 summer saw a lot of racial unrest and violence in America. These men were drawing more attention to it -- I would hope to help correct it.

Fast-forward to this 2018. Players across the National Football League kneel (or on occasion thrust a fist into the air) during the National Anthem. Again, to peacefully protest racial unrest in America. And this week, President Donald Trump cancelled what had been a regular White House event, hosting a sports champion. In this case, he pulled the rug out from under the Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles.

His reasoning? Teams are showing a lack of respect to him -- and, by the way, the National Anthem and the military. Of course, the fact no Eagles knelt during the season was ignored. As was the fact that a significant number of Eagles were not going to attend the White House ceremony. Is it a true disinvite when the invitee chooses NOT to come? Last year's NBA champs, the Warriors, didn't go. And this year's NBA champs won't, either.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney blasted Trump's decision, saying "These are players who stand up for the causes they believe in and who contribute in meaningful ways to their community. Disinviting them from the White House only proves that our President is not a true patriot, but a fragile egomaniac obsessed with crowd size and afraid of the embarrassment of throwing a party to which not one wants to attend."

Does the action of professional (or college athletes) during the National Anthem really mean disrespect to the Anthem, the flag or the military?

And do military veterans see it that way?

I reached out to a friend for his thoughts. Mike is a huge sports fan AND from a true military family. His mother and father are both veterans -- Vietnam -- while he served in the Navy and has a son in the Marines. His thoughts?

"As for the kneeling issue, this issue is very well blown out of proportion by the media. I am under the firm belief as a service member that I fought and defended this nation to preserve the rights of citizens. I am grateful to whomever spoke to (Colin Kaepernick) to get off the bench and kneel when he first started to protest.

"Ultimately I am grateful of his choice to kneel and not stand on, burn or mutilate our ensign (flag). The country has seen multiple protests and acts that have spoken out for cause for (INSERT). The great part of our constitution and our country is "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness."

That probably sums it up best. Veterans served to give ALL of us the right to freely and peacefully speak our mind. To disagree with those in power. Somebody needs to tell a certain draft-dodger the facts.