I officiated high school baseball in the '90s and worked my way up to the JUCO and small college level by the end of the '90s and early 2000s. After that, I moved to the press box and did game operations for A&M and Texas State baseball/football/volleyball/basketball, as well as the same for the Big 12 and Southland Conferences. The Bible/Christal story told above is 100% true...and it's not even close to the worst Texas sports-related story involving those two guys. Bible and Christal both have that down home, awww shucks, I'm-just-a-good-ol-guy-officiating-sports persona and they...away from the field...are likable guys. HOWEVER, they were not about to upset the apple cart of the University of Texas gravy train. They knew that one tiny recommendation from Coach Gustafson or DKR or DeLoss Dodds meant they'd get to work the highest levels and most marquee NCAA regionals, the CWS, any college bowl game they wanted, etc. They also knew any small bit of hesitation from those guys would send them to the referee/umpire equivalent of Russian Siberia.
To say Bible and Christal have long been biased in favor of the Longhorns is like saying the sun is hot or water is wet. Those guys spent 30+ years knowing who stocked their cupboards and they weren't about to do anything that didn't involve bowing down to the proverbial golden calf in Austin.
To say Bible and Christal have long been biased in favor of the Longhorns is like saying the sun is hot or water is wet. Those guys spent 30+ years knowing who stocked their cupboards and they weren't about to do anything that didn't involve bowing down to the proverbial golden calf in Austin.
But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31 (NIV)
