BY MARK ANDERSON
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
It used to be officials considered it a good day if they weren't noticed.
Not anymore.
Whether it's an NBA referee tossing a ball at a fan or ejection-loving (and, apparently, thin-skinned) major league baseball umpires, those supposed to stay in the background are drawing way too much attention.
The suits in New York aren't happy.
One executive, baseball head of discipline Bob Watson, reportedly will call umpire Bill Hohn and let it be known his ejection of Houston Astros ace Roy Oswalt on Monday crossed the line. Oswalt was unhappy with a ball-strike call but didn't yell in Hohn's direction, and the umpire escalated the situation.
Baseball also recently fined umpire Joe West after he tossed Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle and manager Ozzie Guillen for arguing balk calls. West is the same ump who had criticized the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees for playing such long games.
Maybe he has a point about that, but West goes against umpire/referee tradition by being all too willing to grant interviews. He also is a country music singer and songwriter and has a publicist.
No doubt he's available for weddings and bar mitzvahs.
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