Officially Un-Official: March 2008

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Feel Good, Small World Story Regarding BLUE for Kids Charity

This story ties together many BLUE for Kids supporters, including us.

Last year, I met umpire Richard "Dick" Davidson while at the NASO Summit in Denver. Dick signed up for our e-mail list while there and recently received our e-mail regarding the BLUE for Kids sports auction.

The e-mail led him to bid on and eventually win 2 tickets to this year's All-Star game at Yankee Stadium!

These tickets, donated by MLB umpire Sam Holbrook, will be special ones to have considering this is the last year baseball will be played at Yankee stadium before moving to new confines next year. It's also special for BLUE for Kids as the money will fund an entire children’s hospital event.

Another connection is that a few years ago, Dick attended the Southern Umpires Camp, a BLUE for Kids sponsor where he received instruction from BLUE for Kids founder and MLB umpire Marvin Hudson.

I think it's neat how small contributions or connections from several individuals and entities, including the very small thing we did in sending out an e-mail, cumulated in making a greater difference in the lives of others than any one individual provided.

Enjoy the game Dick! Please send pictures.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Shin Guards Worn Images Now Available

It took a while after adding detailed worn views of chest protectors in late January to get the same result for umpire shin guards. Regardless, we now have an average of 4 additional images per shin guard that includes a back view and/or side view of them while being worn.

The one at right is of the Diamond DLGiX3 umpire shin guards.

View the shin guards section and detailed views here and feel free to e-mail me at jim@ump-attire.com for feedback.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Rare March Snow Storm Throws Us a Curve Ball

Here in the Louisville area, we've had the craziest winter. Besides more snow than what's typical, we've had tornadoes and thunderstorms... that's in Jan. and Feb!!!

Last week continued the odd winter with a 12" snow storm that pretty much shut everything down Friday and Saturday. The snow, the most ever for Louisville in any March, and terrible road conditions kept staff away (or had them leaving early) and had all our shippers running a day or so behind.

The issues with shippers concerned not only shipments being delivered on time, but also in getting expected inventory deliveries in... the latter of which put us behind on filling some orders even after most of the snow had melted away.

From an operational standpoint, the snowstorm couldn't have happened at a worse time of the year considering this is the start of our busy season. Although we typically ship out around 98% of the orders due to ship within 1 business day, we ran around 80-85% Friday, Monday and Tuesday at those standards.

We should be fully caught up today and oddly enough, the high today is expected to hit a rather pleasant 66 degrees!

Ben, Age 5, Sizing Up the Umpire Gear

My son Ben recently stopped by after school, and he grabbed some gear to wear around while I wasn't looking. Looks like he's a Wilson Gold and Diamond Lightweight Mask fan.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Email Subscribers Eligible to Enter Free MLB Tickets Drawing

BLUE for Kids, a charity founded by a group of MLB® Umpires, to which we are a sponsor, has 80+ items available in an online sports auction through March 7th.

BLUE for Kids has offered us 2 Free MLB tickets (lower level) for a drawing for our e-mail subscribers who bid in this auction. Winning the auction item is not required. So if you win the tickets, you pick the stadium.

So if you're an e-mail subscriber, bid before March 7th. If you're not an e-mail subscriber, subscribe here then bid before March 7th.

My Favorite Items (that I'm considering bidding on)